History: Historical Controversies QB
Revision cards for the Question B section of the Tudor A2 exam
- Created by: Michael Woodland
- Created on: 13-01-14 22:34
Tudor society 1536: Causes of rebellion (1)
-Country of villages/towns, some borough status, wealthier citizens took over local government
-Only large city was London, although town like Norwich/Hull had a large population and considerable wealth from merchant class
-Vast majority of the population were famours, who varied from labourers/smallholder/yeomen (class of prosperous peasants who worked their own land), also tradesman/craftsmen
-Above made the common people, who were different from social/political elite, made up of gentry/nobility governing class, money from rents of owned land or professions of law/church
-There was popular protest (dismantling fences/filling ditches in enclosed land), but was often small in scale, although this could spread and lead to riots (attacks on property/people)
-Often try appeal to higher authorities to solve local grievances, and tolerated them only killing a few ring-leaders, protest was a safety valve for powerless to make their views known
-No standing army, king relied on his authority over nobles to put them down, but this meant that rebellion could be a highly dangerous threat to the monarch/state itself (Peasants Revolt: 1381)
Tudor society 1536: Causes of rebellion (2)
Population and food:
-Population doubled between 1500-1600
-This led to pressure on resources and rising prices
-It also meant there was a large labour force, large periods of unemploment were experienced
-"Nothing will sooner move the people unto sedition than the scarcity of food", quoted from a anonymous paphlet adressed to the government of 1549
-The South of England had the greatest population density
-When the situation continued to worsen the laity were beginning to question their allegiance, why should they be loyal when their children were starving?
Tudor society 1536: Causes of rebellion (3)
Great Chain of Being:
-Society thought to be a series of linked units from God to animals and plants.
-Each section had a fixed place with it's own rights and responsibilities
-Higher order had to protect those lower than them, whereas the lower order laboured and obeyed their better and had the right to recieve protection/care in the community
-Because of this Tudor government acted on regulating enclosures, treatment of the poor and the toleration of limited protest
-Enclosure legislation was hard to enforce and brutal measures to control vagrants was included in treatment for the poor
-The Church did a lot to bridge the gap and encouraged charity but were abandoned when nobility/ gentry/government were involved
-1536 Commonweal was endagered by landlords encolsing land, spread of sheep, decline of customary rights and changing social relationships
Tudor society 1536: Causes of rebellion (4)
Religious conflicts:
-Lack of rebellion/opposition until 1536 as a result of reformation stemming from individuals
-Historians views differ, Elton believes Church was weak and therefore opposition/support was lacking, whereas historians such as Haigh argue the Church was very popular
-Change was slow and had little effect on the laity whereas the gentry saw it as a border "on revolution", although normal religious processes contiuned uninterrupted
-1535/1536 marked huge religious change which resulted in complaints as the church was central to religion/communities, tension mounting between those who wanted reform and those who didn't
-Line between politics/religion blurred as the monarch became head of the Church, as private faith could now become a political crime therefore people's reactions were often riots
-Threats to the state depended on their complexity, the actions of the elite and reaction of the government
-Overall economic pressures/religious conflicts played a huge role in causing protest
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (1)
Outline of the events (1):
-Not so much a single rebellion as a series of rebellions that spread across Northern England between Oct 1536 and Feb 1537, and it originated in Lincolnshire where 3 sets or Royal Commissioners were at work in 1536, one dissolving monasteries one collecting taxes granted by Parliament in 1534 and one inspecting clergy, showed authority meddeling in local affairs
-1st October: Local men guard Church in Louth from Bishops Registrar
-2nd October: Nicholas Melton leads commoners and seizes registars, burnt their papers and forced the local clergy to swear loyalty to the mob
-3rd October: Captain Cobbler (Melton) marches to Caistor and intercepted commisioners meeting with the locals, some were captured and made to write a letter to the King asking for a pardon to be granted and for local grievances to be addressed
-4th October: Local gentry became leaders of rising, Bishop of Lincoln's chancellor beaten to death by Miltia at Horncastle, Robert Aske meets Lincoln rebels and took them to Yorkshire where he took charge of a local rising, around 10,000 men marched into Lincoln and were joined by local Lord Hussey, who drew up new demands to be sent to London
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (2)
Outline of the events (2):
-6th/7th October: Sir Thomas Percy led 5000 men into the North Riding and joined the rebels at Jervaulx
-8th October: Planned muster at Grantham wait for King's response by Gentry, letter from Aske calls for support from Berverly
-10th October: Aske musters support, King's response threatening harsh punishment if the rebels di not disperse
-11th October: Many of the 18 gentry left on hearing the King's royal army was approaching, later the King issued the arrest and execution of the 100 ringleaders,only 57 carried out
-Second half of October: organized outbreaks in Durham, Westmorland and Cumberland, rebels in Durham seized Barnard Castle, Durham Cathedral and Bishop's palace at Bishop Auckland before sending most of their force to join Aske in York
-13th October: Aske marches 10,000 men towards York
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (3)
Outline of the events (3):
-15th October: Musters held at Richmond by Lord Latimer and Sir Christopher Darby, but military leadership was taken by Robert Bowes on this day
-16th October:
1. Aske and his supporters entered York
2. Beverly rebels entered the city of Hull
3. Muster were called at Kirby-Stephen under leadership of a minor gentleman Robert Pulleyn and a yeoman Nicholas Musgrave
4. Adopted the Pilgrim's Oath and the Banner of the Five Wounds of Christ, officially became a Pilgrimage from this point on
-18th October: Hull surrendered to Beverly rebels, Durham rebels arrived to support Aske
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (4)
Outline of the events (4):
-19th October: Aske met Lord Darcy and gentry at Pontefract, Darcy surrendered Pontefract Castle to the rebels, more musters in Penrith by Pulleyn and Musgrave
-27th October: In a meeting Norfolk assured the King that he would not have to keep any promises he had made to the rebels, Norfolk then tried to persuade leaders to abandon campaign, he failed to do this and sent a petition to the King, but Henry rejected this and delayed the response, when news of this reached Skipton it took all of Aske's authority to hold the Commons in check
-27th/28th October: Muster of rebels in Cumberland, but efforts to take control of Carlisle failed, following this the main body of rebels then moved down to Pontefract
-21st Novemeber: Aske agreed a further meeting with Norfolk in Pontefract in early December
-2nd/3rd/4th November: Pilgrims Council met and finalised demands
-6th December: Met with Norfolk, recieved a free pardon and free Parliament in York, Norfolk persuaded leaders that problems will be discussed in Parliament, if abbeys surrenderd to commissions this would continue until Parliament met
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (5)
Outline of the events (5):
-25th December: King celebrates Christmas and does nothing
-16th January: Sir Ralph Bigod planned capture of Hull and Scarborough and told them so the King would act, but it was a massive failure
-10th February: Bigod was arrested after he fled to Cumberland
-February: Norfolk then improsed martial law on Cumberland, and captured and hanged rebels, Rebel leaders were taken to London and put on trial
-178 were executed, and Aske himself was hung, drawn and quartered in York (typical punishment of those who have committed high treason)
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (6)
The Pontefract Articles:
-Remove heresies of Luther, Wycliffe and Huss and have Supremacy of Church restored to Rome
-Lady Mary to be restored, Abberys to be restored, First Fruits and Tenths to be stopped
-To have Cromwell and Richard Riche punished for being heretics/undermining laws of the realm
-Statues preventing carrying of handguns and crossbows to apply only to royal parks
-Enclosures were to be pulled down
-To have a parliament convene in Nottingham or York
-Loades: Statement of the Conservativism of the peasants, but this made them an enemy of Henry VIII because he could not repeal 20 years of policy and appear as though monarchy had now become democratic dictatorship
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (7)
Causes/nature/significance of the rebellion:
-Historians disagree over causes and relative importance of economic/religious/political motives
-Some believed it was the result of a sponteanous outbreak of popular resentment of change, led by yeoman/tradesman who were leader in their towns
-Others argue rapid intervention of the gentry and suggest this reflect the anger of the entire community, and this meant a bridge of the gap between high and low politics and therefore posed a serious threat to the King
-Raise 4 important questions:
1. Were the risings pre-planned and orchestrated by the gentry and members of the elite?
2. Were the gentry co-orced into the risings through popular pressure and the commons sought the leadership of the elite?
3. Did the commons have limited impacts on the demands that were made?
4. Did the commons/gentry share the same grievances, which were reflected in the demands?
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (8)
The risings were pre-planned and orchestrated by the gentry/members of the elite (1):
-Clergy, 11 out of 24 articles were religious and some specific (First Fruit and Tenths only applied to the clergy)
-Gentry that refused to participate faced danger and isolation
-Charles Brandon owned a monopoly of land as Henry's friend, local gentry did not like this
-Early risings led by peasants, but gentry quickly took over and comandeered them
-Clergy spread rumours about government policies to commons to get them to revolt
-Statue of Uses: legal arrangement used by gentry/nobility to give property to their heirs without paying feudal dues, Cromwell acted a law against them in 1536 which landowners resented, when the Sheriff read the demands to the rebels had to explain what it was, they did not know
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (8)
The risings were pre-planned and orchestrated by the gentry/members of the elite (2):
-Northumberland's family role: Thomas Percy's elder brother Henry Percy was old, in-debt to the crown and had no heirs, was forced to name his ward as Henry VIII and this clear perversion of family succession angered many peasants
-Appeared to be more planned when Captain Cobbler knew Yorkshire wasn't ready to rise, implied he had contacts already there
-Pontefract Articles had a number of grievances that were primarily gentry-oriented, and seemed to represent their interests very well
-ELTON AND THE ARAGONESE FACTION THEORY
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (9)
The gentry were co-erced into the risings through popular pressure and the commons sought the leadership of the elite:
-Peasants needed well-educated individuals to write the demands
-Gentry quickly abandoned due to the approach of royal forces
-Some gentry were threatened by their people to lead them showing it was not their decision
-Nobleman led the peasant army, needed a decent leader in order to fight
-Gentry being forced only revelant to the Lincolnshire rising, the Yorkshire one by contrast was planned
-Peasants liked the local nobility compared to that of the central government
-Joined to limit the peasants risings, acted more like damage control
-However, gentry could of used this an excuse to prevent their downfall when they saw the rebellion was clearly failing
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (10)
The Commons had limited impact on the demands that were made:
-Needed more educated people to write demands, and these individuals could write what they wanted
-Grievances against Cromwell, did not blame King but his "evil counsellors", however individuals like Richard Riche it is unlikley the individuals would of known who they were
-Similarly, named specific protestant writers such as Luther and Huss, commons would not have known who these individuals were
-11/24 articles were religious, shows clergy influence on demands
-Referred to the Statue of Uses which the Commons had no knowledge of
-Few economic ones relating to taxation, parliament in the the north
-Written by Robert Aske and influenced by the gentry (Henry Percy), so peasants likley had very little impact
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (11)
The commons/gentry shared the same grievances, which were reflected by the demands:
-Religious issues sich as dissolution reflect in the Pontefract articles, had a large impact on both peasants and gentry and reflect their religious conservatism
-Gentry wrote a majority of the Pontefract articles
-Points on taxation affected both groups
-Rapid change to traditions which gave gentry their statuses
-Against religious change which had a huge part in the demands (11/24 articles religious)
-Commissioners were condemend in the articles which the commons agreed with
-Government interference in York was unpopular, Pontefract Articles wanted punishment for those involved in this
-Responsibility to administer law, some claues eased and regulated village life for both groups
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (12)
Was the Pilgrimage of Grace the result of a political conspiracy (1):
-Elton argued that the Pilgrimage of Grace was not a popular movement, but that it originated in the "high politics of Court" and was devised by the defeated supporters of Aragon/Mary
-Orignated from decision to take the battle from court out into the nation to raise a loyal rebellion
-Argued had two key objectives; restoration of Mary to succession and the destruction of Cromwell
-Elton proved this by showing the main leaders as being linked with each other and having Aragonese interests:
1. Robert Aske: Lawyer who often travelled to London on a regular basis and Sir Robert Constable
2. Hussey closely linked to Darcy who surrendered Pontefract castle to rebels, had served Catherine/Mary and was opposed the King's divorce as early as 1527, Hussey had also been Chamberlain of Mary's household from 1535 until he was dismissed and his wife imprisoned
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (13)
Was the Pilgrimage of Grace the result of a political conspiracy (2):
-Both Hussey and Darcy had been engaged in talks with Eustace Chapuys (Imperial Ambassador who represented Charles V in England, Charles V was nephew of Catherine and leading Catholic power in Europe so opposed to religious changes, Chapuys encouraged resistence to such policies) about the possibility of co-ordinating rebellion and Imperial invasion to reverse the changes
-Elton argues by 1536 Darcy/Hussey and their associates stopping the change process from Cromwell through court politics was abandoned and they took a more desperate strategy
-There was discontent in the North throughout 1536, and the Aragonese faction hoped a show of strength would get the King to change his mind, and in this sense Elton does not deny there was popular discontent but that it was clearly manipulated by court factions for their own ends
-Elton's argument however fails to explain the scale and spread of the rebellion, as while critics do not deny that there was some political conspiracy involved, the numbers involved, the range of localised leadership and the difficulty the leadership experienced in holding back the commons all testify to more deep-seated causes of unrest
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (14)
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a serious threat:
-Rebels had some success in their demands, paused the reformation, Greater monasteries were not dissolved until 1539 and the Act of Six Articles was passed which pleased the Conservative northern population, with Catholic doctrine being confirmed in the Bishops's Book (1537)
-Cromwell was punished falling in 1540, coinciding with the fall of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and the rise of the Seymour family with Henry's marriage to Jane Seymour
-Intial leniency towards the rebels does indicate (at least temporarily) that that they were a threat to the government, Norfolk promised them a pardon and listend to their demands, rebels having the upper hand were the ones who agreed to negotiate
-Scale of rising, 30,000 men marched on York and took Pontefract Castle so captured key bastions in the North, whereas Norfolk could only raise 4000 men to fight them, Bush supports this claiming it was the largest Tudor rebellion and could of defeated the royal forces if it wanted to, also had leadership in the form of individuals like Darcy, Hussey and Percy
-Unrest in North did not subside, Exeter Conspiracy of 1538 with Yorkist/Catholic claim to throne
The Pilgrimage of Grace 1536-1537 (15)
The Pilgrimage of Grace was not a serious threat:
-Dissolution of monasteries despite delay did continue and none existed by 1540, aand there was no later uprising against this suggesting that the King had asserted his authority in the aftemath and the Pilgrims were satisfied with their demands being met, Pontefract Articles targeted this
-Cromwell survived, did not fall from power until 1540 and this was the result of factional rivarly from the Conservative faction led by Norfolk rather than truly being punished for heresy
-No parliament met in the North, Henry promise to address grievances was simply to disperse them without needing to diminsh his own power/authority
-Reform continued well into Edward VI's reign where much more Protestant reforms were passed
-Never directly threatened the King, instead aimed as social/economic/recent religious change issues and was a "loyal rebellion", aimed more at individuals like Cromwell
-Rebellion failed, dispersed when they had the upper-hand allowing ringleaders to be executed, and this prevented further uprisings and cemented Henry's power for the rest of his reign
The Rebellions of 1549 (1)
The crises of 1549:
-Tudor monarchy was vunerable, child King of Edward VI represented by Somerset who was unpopular and could never excercise the same authority as an adult King
-Serious economic pressures had been building up with both enclosures and price inflation bearing heavily on the lower orders and this was compounded by the government's religious policies
-Most historians treat the two rebellions of 1549 as seperate and distinct events, with the Western Rebellion reflecting the religious tension of the period and Kett's Rebellion being attributed to almost entirely to economic problems
-However, recent research into the "low politics" of local communities has uncovered a much greater range of unrest, and it is suggested that the threat posed by the accumulation of protest, and the ability of leaders from the "middling sort" to establish links and organise action across a wide geogrpahical area made the situation more dangerous than it needed to be
The Rebellions of 1549 (2)
The Western Rebellion background:
-Signs of upheaval in 1547 with a riot in Penryn, sparked by the activities of William Body who MacCulloch describes as a "careerist" who had secured the post of Archdeacon of Cornwall by dubious means and exploited religious reform as a means of enriching himself
-In 1548 he was killed by a mob in Helston led by Martin Geffrey the priest of St. Keverne in the Lizard Peninsula, an area where Cornish was still widely spoken, cause of unrest there were religious policies but this was made worse by actions of the local gentry
-Principal families of the Helston area the Godolphins and Reskymers had bought Church lands, and had close links to Protestants in Devon like Sir Peter Carew (evangelical gentleman) who had done much to anglicise the eastern part of Cornwall
-Religious divisions in Cornwall also linked with cultural/economic changes, whcih undermined ancient traditions to the detriment of many inhabitants, and while in the 1548 case the mob was convinced to return home and the leaders hanged for murder, resentment contiuned to grow and it erupted a year later in a much more serious form
The Rebellions of 1549 (3)
Events of the Western Rebellion (1):
-Spring 1549, orders are given that the new Prayer Book must be used across Cornwall on Whit Sunday, and this controversial policy led to:
1. Humphrey Arundell gathered froces around Bodmin and drew up articles of grievances with the help of a small group of conservative clergy, early in June jed led his forces into Devon, where a seperate rising had broken out in Sampford-Courtenay
2. Sampford Courtenay: local priest had been forced by the villagers to ignore the new prayer book and return to traditional mass, a JP who tried to quell the rising was murdered and this seems to have intimidated the local gentry, who then did nothing to interfere
-The two groups met a Crediton, and they were met by Sir Peter Carew, whose presence further inflames the situation
-The rebels move on to Clyst St Mary, where they meet with Sir Thomas Denys and Sir Hugh Pollard, who sympathised with their desire to prevent further religious reform until Edward came of age, they persuaded the rebels to petition the government in an orderly way, however the interference of Sir Peter Carew and the Sheriff of Devon Peter Courtenay prevent a truce
The Rebellions of 1549 (4)
Events of the Western Rebellion (2):
-The rebels move on to besiege Exeter on the 2nd July 1549
-When Lord John Russell was sent to restore order, Somerset seems to have believed that the rebellion was still confined to Sampford-Courtenay, and Russell was provided with a small and inadequate force, Russell tried to recruit men in Dorset and Somerset but failed, and on the 28th July Russell was able to attack and defeat parties of rebels around Fenny Bridges and along the River Otto
-Government resources were already stretched in dealing with riots in the South east and the Midlands, and an additional force under Lord Grey, which was sent to the west on the 12th July had to be diverted to deal with unrest in Oxfordshire, and when Grey and his forces arrive on the 3rd August at Exeter the government forces combined were able to lift the siege
-A determined march towards London by the rebels might have well have been successful at this point and possible even have gained support along the way, but no such attempt was made
The Rebellions of 1549 (5)
Events of the Western Rebellion (3):
-The 6000 rebels then appear to disperse in to the West Country and Russell was reluctant to follow
-Somerset was concerned that this would lead to the rebel capture of Plymouth, which would allow them to make contact with the French, who had declared war on the 8th August
-However, there is no evidence of contact made between the rebels and the French, and on the 16th August Russell caught the main rebel force at Sampford-Courtenay and defeated them
-In the chase that followed, it has been estimated that about 4000 West Country inhabitants died
The Rebellions of 1549 (6)
The Rebels demands (1):
First set of Articles drawn up by the Cornish rebels:
-Church to revert to the ceremonies/procedures used at the end of Henry VIII's reign
-No significant religious changes until Edward VI reaches his majority
-Removal of the proposed taxes on sheep and woollen cloth
-Complaints about food prices
-Request for a liturgy in the Cornish language
-Clear religious flavour/commoners trouble oriented, loyal subjects want grievances addressed
The Rebellions of 1549 (7)
The Rebel's demands (2):
Second set of articles drawn up by the Devon rebels:
-Church to revert to the ceremonies and procedures used at the end of Henry VIII's reign
-No significant religious changes until Edward VI reaches his majority
-Removal of the proposed taxes on sheep and woolen cloth
-Complaints about food prices
-Removed the issue of liturgy, cleary believed that this was too unrealistic to achieve
The Rebellions of 1549 (8)
The Rebel's demands (3):
Third set of articles, drawn up at the siege of Exeter:
-Chruch to revert to the ceremonies/procedures used at the end of Henry VIII's reign
-Demands the recall of the English Bible, limitations on lay communion and the restoration of abbey lands
-Demand for a return to Latin
-Lord Cardinal Pole should be pardoned for his opposition to Henry VIII and be brought back from Rome to take charge of the King's Council
-Drawn up by Robert Welsh (Vicar of St. Thomas in Exeter) so put what he wanted to change back to and ignored most issues for the commoners, also shows shift of power throughout articles as this was when the rebels were in their strongest position and therefore in the best place to make demands of the government
The Rebellions of 1549 (9)
Explanations of the Western Rebellion (1):
-Appears that religious conservativism had the power to unite communities in opposition to unpopular changes, Arundell the only gentleman of note to join the rebellion, had strong religious convictions
-Also likley his religious view coincided with his personal interest and the impact of factional rivalries among the elite, as the Arundells of Trerice and Lanheren were cousins of the Courtenay Earls of Devon, which had been the pre-eminent family in Cornwall holding offices both locally/at court until their Catholic sympathies led to a loss of influence, and Arundell's brother and cousins had been removed off the list as JP's in Cornwall shortly before the rebellion
-With the disgrace of the Courtenay cousins in 1538, power in the south-west had passed from the conservative faction to Protestant newcomers like Sir Peter Carew, and the government's problems in Cornwall/Devon were compounded by the failure of the resident gentry to contain the rising, partly because they gave way to men like Carew
The Rebellions of 1549 (10)
Explanations of the Western Rebellion (2):
-MacCulloch describes the western gentry as "polarised" by a feud between "a clique of convinced evangelical gentry on the one hand and the remains of the Courtenay clan on the other", and clearly on both sides religious preferences/family status/personal interest helped to shape rival political objectives and inflistrated the rebellion
-Western Rebellion was an intially spontaneous outbreak of popular resentment, caused by a combination of economic pressures, a desire for social justice and hostility to religious changes
-This popular resentment was encouraged by the conservative clergy and channeled by the gentry leadership into a political attack on those held responsible-the King's advisers and chief administrators
-The removal of "evil counsellors" was a central plank of the rebel's demands, which avoided an overt attack on the monarch himself while forcing him to concede control of policy and decison making
The Rebellions of 1549 (11)
Background to Kett's Rebellion (1):
-Suppression of rebellion in the west made more difficult by outbreak of Kett's rebellion, this was already foreshadowed by riots in May 1548 when unpopular landlord Sir William Cavendish had his fences pulled down
-Cavendish had been about to enclose an extensive area of common land near the Middlesex/Essex borders, affecting villagers in 3 counties who celebrated their success by blowing up his rabbit warrens killing over 2000 rabbits
-Then set up camp on disputed ground and sent royal officials who had been overseeing the enclosure to leave, but not before promising to bring the protestors concerns to the attention of the government
-Some 95 protesters were indicted but never punished, Duke of Somerset set up John Hales (idealistic protestant reformer) to investigate illegal enclosures in the Midlands
The Rebellions of 1549 (12)
Background to Kett's Rebellion (2):
-May 1549 there were attacks on enclosures in Somerset and Wiltshire, on the 1st July the government summoned gentry from the south-east/Midlands to Windsor with the intention of raising forces to go west, and it was this absence of the gentry seems to have sparked action in a number of localities especially Essex and Oxfordshire and these demonstraters also pulled down fences demanded an end to enclosures and began to gather in camps to assemble petition to the Lord Protector
-By 7th July the movement had spread throughout the area from which the gentry had been summoned, the Thames valley, the home counties, north to the midlands and east to Suffolk and East Anglia, and given the upheavals that took place in the south-west, it coule be claimed the whole of southern England and a significant part of the Midlands were in a state of unrest
-On 8th July Somerset appointed a new enclosure commission under Hales, with greater power than had been given in 1548, and by coincidence this was the same day trouble broke out Wymondham and led to Kett's Rebellion
The Rebellions of 1549 (13)
Events of Kett's Rebellion (1):
-Trigger was enclosure fences and hedges (including those belonging to local lawyer John Flowerdew) were attacked between the 6th-8th July during a community feast in a Wymondham, Flowerdew encouraged crowds to attack the hedges of a local tanner and land-owner Robert Kett, but Kett welcomed their action and assumed leadership of the group
-By 10th July the rebels had reached Norwich (second biggest city in the country 16,000 people), and by 12th July were camped on Mousehead Heath, with a crowd that had swelled to 16,000 and Kett then produced their list of articles (demands) and sat in wait for the favourable government response he expected
-Size and speed paralysed authorities, sheriff was nearly arrested and the rest of the gentry were powerless against the large force, 21st July York Herald arrived and ordered rebels to disperse and his tone was conciliatory and promised some response to the rebels demand, many wanted to accept it but Kett rejected saying he had committed no crime, authorities came to arrest Kett but the crowds mood turned ugly and the Herald was forced to retreat back to London, the rebels then fetched canon from coastal defences and took the City of Norwich on the 22nd July
The Rebellions of 1549 (14)
Events of Kett's Rebellion (2):
-Somerset sent a small army of about 1,800 under the command of William Parr (Marquis of Northampton) to Norwich in order to negotiate and cut off the rebels' supply lines and Northampton arrived on 30th july and occupied Norwich, and offered a full pardon to any who dispersed but only 20 did; this was the first time th rebels had faced a senior member of nobility, but Northampton crucially did not wield his authority and Kett was left with no option but to attack and his army succedded in recapturing Norwich
-Northampton retreated in disgrace to London; commissions were issued for the miltias to be raised in all the counties around Norfolk, troops were taken from the garrisons on the border with Scotland and mercenaries were employed, and Earl of Warwick with this force of 12,000 men arrived outside Norwich on 23rd August
-The rebels cried out "God Save King Edward" but Warwick's offer of a pardon was refused; over the next three days Warwick's professional army fought against the rebels, on the 26th August Kett made the fatal decision to abandon their fortified position on the top of Mousehold Heath; Warwick's army was bolstered by another 1000 foreign mercenaries and by 27th August it had turned to carnage
The Rebellions of 1549 (15)
Events of Kett's rebellions (3):
-3000 rebels were slaughtered and Kett was arrested, tried for treason and hanged on the 26th November
-Warwick resisted the bloodthirsty impulses of the Norfolk gentry and ensured that the rebels were dealt with strictly in accordance with the law, and dealth leniently with the rebels
-MacCulloch supports this view by finding clear evidence of only 49 executions
The Rebellions of 1549 (16)
Causes of Kett's Rebellion (1):
-The articles relating to religion are throughtful calls for more competent and involved clergy, rather than controversial doctrinal statements, and these were clearly concerned with the poor quality of priests and their failure to fulfil their duties
-Their inclination was towards Protestantism, as the demands for congregations to choose their own clergy and by their use of the New prayer Book at Mousehold Heath, the Norfolk Articles started with "we pray" and focused on many griveances of the people/certain religious issues
-A collapse in the textile industry had thrown large numbers of cloth workers out of work, and many independent small farmers were badly affected by the enclosure of wooded pastoral areas by gentry and yeoman farmers, this was a period of rapid inflation which worsened the economic situation for ordinary people
-The trigger was when some enclosure fences/hedges including those of Flowerdew were attacked because he was in dispute with the local people over an abbey he had bought and was now pulling down, even though they believed they had bought it for their parish and this angered them greatly
The Rebellions of 1549 (17)
Causes of Kett's Rebellion (2):
-Leaders of the rebellion were yeoman farmers, local tanner and landowned Robert Kett, absence of clergy/nobility/gentry, the first article of the Norfolk Articles opposed any future enclosures, the list of demands contains complaints on a whole range of farming issues and they also complained strongly about the increase in rents, particuarly "rack-ranting" which was seen as a way unscrupulous landlords passed on the increased costs to the peasantry
-Some historians have argued that Somerset's reputation as the "Good Duke" suggested he was sympathetic to the rebels and as such encouraged the common people to riot, expectant of the Protector's support
-The rebels picked out the gentry and the JP's in their country for the most vehement attack both in their articles and in their actions
-To prove the quality of the governance of the country was one of their major concenrs, rebels ran Mousehold Heath camp fairly and efficiently, setting up their own court and sending out searches for food with commissions in the King's name
-No gentry involved in the rebellion, led by those outside governing class, may have been ambitious for themselves
The Rebellions of 1549 (18)
The Rebellions of 1549 were a threat (1):
-Western/Kett's Rebellion largest of the risings in 1549, but disturbances in the year were widespread, unrest affected at least 25 counties from the south to the north of England
-Western Rebellion had a challenging religious agenda that openly rejected the government's changes, articles were written more assertively and they did not display any kind of deference that was expected in the 16th century
-Many historians agree that coup that removed Somerset was made directly possible by his poor handling of both rebellions
-Most risings were usually dealt with by local gentry/nobility, but in both cases local authority was either absent or could not contain the situation, which gave the rebels the oppurtunity to increase their numbers/resources
-Rebels were able to besiege/take major cities and strongholds (Exeter in the Western and Norwich in Kett's) and they were numericlally strong 6000 in Western and 16,000 in Kett's, and in Kett's rebellion they were also highly disciplined as clearly shown by their ability to muster cannon to siege the city
The Rebellions of 1549 (19)
The Rebellions of 1549 were a threat (2):
-Government was not always aware of the seriousness of the rebellions, particuarly in Western where Devon rebels joined with the Cornish rebels before government was even aware of the situation, and were also faced with other simultaneous uprisings as well as threat of invasion from France, which explains why they favoured negotiation but this once again gave a clear advanatage to the rebel groups
-Loades notes that in 1549 government forces were stretched so thin they had to use foreign mercanaries fighting in Scotland, and seriousness of the threat also shown in that London was garrisoned by artillery in case of a siege attempt
-Military demands of the suppressing the uprisings helped to produce a turning point in England's foreign policy strategy, and they scaled down garrison size in order to acquire more men, and France took advanatged of this by capturing the garrison of Boulogne in 1549
-Situation more difficult to contain because of a minor on the throne and the rule of a weak government compared with the strong rule of Henry VIII
The Rebellions of 1549 (19)
The Rebellions of 1549 were a threat (2):
-Government was not always aware of the seriousness of the rebellions, particuarly in Western where Devon rebels joined with the Cornish rebels before government was even aware of the situation, and were also faced with other simultaneous uprisings as well as threat of invasion from France, which explains why they favoured negotiation but this once again gave a clear advanatage to the rebel groups
-Loades notes that in 1549 government forces were stretched so thin they had to use foreign mercanaries fighting in Scotland, and seriousness of the threat also shown in that London was garrisoned by artillery in case of a siege attempt
-Military demands of the suppressing the uprisings helped to produce a turning point in England's foreign policy strategy, and they scaled down garrison size in order to acquire more men, and France took advanatged of this by capturing the garrison of Boulogne in 1549
-Situation more difficult to contain because of a minor on the throne and the rule of a weak government compared with the strong rule of Henry VIII
The Rebellions of 1549 (20)
The Rebellions of 1549 were not a threat:
-Bush argues rebellions "embarrased" government by seeking to implement rather than resist policy, clearly shown in Kett's Rebellion wher they liked Somerset's enclosure policies, so in that sense can be seen as supporting the government rather than rebelling against it
-Bush also argues that the government at no point fought for it's life, as neither rebellion marched on London (extra garrisons were traditional precuations), it did not have an overly political agenda or seek to overthrow them and in both rebellions there was a serious lack of gentry/nobility leadership that was substantially more dangerous than commons leadership
-Although there were numerous uprisings in 1549 (of which Western and Kett's was the largest) they were uncoordinated (West Country and East Anglia) with no cross regional cooperation
-Also had a number of diverse causes and mixed aims (e.g Western motivated by religious reform, Kett by enclosures and important local issues)
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (1)
Causes of the rebellion (1):
-Some rebels took part for religious reasons; did not wish to see Catholic restoration, identified as the main cause of the rebellion in the contemporary book The Historie of Wyates Rebellion (1554) by John Proctor
-Supported by historian Fletcher, who identifies the leaders of each of the four regions that planned to rise as having Protestant sympathies, including the Duke of Suffolk, and Kent (only place it revolted) itself was the only radical religious area, and significantly no leader was Catholic, and attacked the property of Stephen Gardiner who replaced a protestant as Bishop of Winchester
-Kent, where the rebellion started, had been suffering a decline in the cloth industry over a long period, with rising unemployment since 1551 and economic hardships tend to make people tolerant of change and more likely to air their grievances
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (2)
Causes of the rebellion (2):
-The rebellion followed the announcement of Mary's marriage treaty to Philip in January 1554, and the rebels led by Sir Thomas Wyatt did not want Mary to marry a foreigner, Wyatt probably led the government would be taken over to a foreigner and English interests would become subsurvient to Spanish interests
-Some of the younger gentry may have been concerned with Philip's presence at court might adversely affect their career oppurtunities, as if Wyatt had rise on religious reasons this would limit his support from the Catholics, whereas the English people were united by xenophobia
-Evidence of widespread xenophobia was in a contemporary chronicle; The Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, which noted that when the Spanish negotiators arrived in England to discuss the terms of the marriage treaty, people hung their heads down and were sad
-This did not occur when Aragon was to marry Prince Arthur, but the concern may have been heightened by the fact that the monarch was a women, as there was no precedent for this, and it was anticipated that that her husband would be King, and hence the queen's interests would be subordinate to him
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (3)
Causes of the rebellion (3):
-John Proctor's book The Historie of Wyates Rebellion (1554) was commissioned by the government, which thought that if religious grivances were the mainstay of the trouble, it would divert attention from opposition to the marriage, Protestants could be portrayed as traitors and therefore punished
-It may have been a continuation of the factional disputes that marked the end of Edward VI's reign and the beginning of Mary's reign, with former members of the coup that put Lady Jane Grey on the throne being linked with the rebellion; they may have been hoping to regain their political influence
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (4)
Events of the rebellion (1):
-Autumn 1553, some gentry at court (generally MP's not councillors) began to discuss a Protestant succession which could involve deposing Mary, and marrying Edward Courtenay (Earl of Devon) to Princess Elizabeth who would become Queen, in December plans were made for coordinated risings in Kent and Herefordshire, Devon and Lecistershire for 18th March 1554, also in this month the Emperor's negotiators arrived to begin negotiations for the marriage treaty
-In January 1554 the terms of marriage treaty were announced by proclamation and the rebels decided to bring the uprising foward, Simon Renard admitted he had heard the plot and Courtenay confessed all he knew, 3/4 of the locations did not raise supporters but in Kent Wyatt raised 2,500 armed men,
-Norfolk was sent to stop the rising but had to return to court when his troops were persuaded to join Wyatt's forces (around another 1000), 3rd Feb 1554 Wyatt reached the Thames at Southwark but his delay allowed Mary vital time to prepare and after the intital mistake of sending Norfolk to confront the rebels she acted decisively, fortifying the city rather than leaving it open to attack, and made speeches to Londoners so they railled around her in a diplay of loyalty
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (5)
Events of the rebellion (2):
-On 12th Feb Wyatt led his troops to Ludgate, where he was stopped 1/2 a kilometre from the Queen at the Tower, Mary offered to consider their grievances and a pardon for those who wnet home, again delaying Wyatt as he considered the offer and allowing Mary further time to prepare, and divind the rebel force so that Wyatt was trapped with 300 of his men, and around 40 died in battle before he was forced to surrender and ask for mercy
-90 rebels were executed, including Wyatt, though this was hardly a punitve campaign, and unlike her predecessors, she did not send their body parts to various parts of the country as a warning for traitors and rebels
-Lady Jane Grey and her husband Guildford Dudley were executed despite being innocent, and Princess Elizabeth's life was spared because she had not been involved in Wyatt's plans, and perhaps also because Mary recognised that this was likely to encourage further unrest
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (6)
Wyatt's Rebellion was a serious threat:
-Rebellion came close to overthrowing the monarchy, as Wyatt reached the city gates and this was the only rebellion of this period to directly threaten the capital and seize the seat of government
-This came just a year after Mary had herself rode into London to seize the throne frm Lady Jane Grey, who had retreated to the Tower of London, her an attempted coup in the name of Princess Elizabeth was marching against Queen Mary in the Tower
-Mary had alienated important sections of the nation by pursuing the Spanish marriage, so that support for her as Queen had severly waned since her acession in 1553
Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 (7)
Wyatt's rebellion was not a serious threat:
-Wyatt was only the member of the gentry class, and was unable to win over influential support, perhaps if all 4 areas had risen the rebellion could be serious but in the end only Kent rose up and Wyatt was only able to muster 2500 men, a paltry amount compared to the serious 30,000 of the Pilgrimage of Grace
-Given the xenophobia, Wyatt might had had some success had he launched a quick attack on London, but he hesitated and delayed, giving Mary vital time to act decisively
-She sent out letters and made speeches to Londoners and refused to leave the capital, and she personally was the major cause of the defeat of the rebellion, something her father and siblings could not claim
Northern Rebellion 1569 (1)
Causes of the rebellion:
-Proclmation of the Earls 1569 contained complaints from nobility that Elizabeth's ministers had set and maintained a new found religion and heresy referring to the Religious Settlement of 1559, and on the 17th November 1569 the Earl of Sussex wrote to William Cecil that the Earls were seeking to reform religion
-Catholic convictions also came out in the fact that mass was restored by them in a number of churches, and the rebellion started after the earls held a mass at Durham Cathedral
-According to the Proclamation of Earls they felt aggrieved that "new set up nobles" were being used in government rather than the "ancient nobility of this realm", this view is supported by Fletcher who points to theis being the motivation for the Earl of Northumberland who had suffered from Elizabeth weaking the hold of the magnate families of the marches, as she had deprived him of his Wardship of the Middle March (putting her cousin Lord Hudson in his place), allowing him no custody of Mary Stuart and refused to give him compensation over the rights to a copper mine discovered on the estates 1568 so that he decline in wealth and status
-Examination of Northumberland in 1572 referred to the "preservation of the person of the Queen of Scots, as next heir failing issue of Her Majesty" implying succession as motivation
Northern Rebellion 1569 (2)
Events of the rebellion (1):
-In 1568 Mary QOS arrived in England, and the origin of the rebellion lay in a plan to marry her to the Duke of Norfolk, but they were not necessarily based on disloyalty to the Queen, as Elizabeth had already suggested a safe Protestant marriage between her and Elizabeth's favourite the Earl of Lecister, and Lecister was among those privy to Norfolk's plan
-Elizabeth was furious that such plans had been discussed however, and after Lecister confessed to his part in it Norfolk fled to his estate at in Norfolk and considered his options, and these included joint actions with his brother-in-law Charles Neville (Earl of Westmorland) and other Northern magnates, including Thomas Percy (Earl of Northumberland) and brother of Lady Westmorland, who were already furious with Elizabeth for destroying their local power
-When Norfolk found out this he own gentry and tentants were recultant to join this joint-action with him, he sent a message to Westmorland wanring him against rising and returned to court to throw himself at the mercy of Elizabeth who threw him in the Tower of London
-At the Council of York the Earls denied any rumours of action so Elizabeth ordered them to appear at court which they failed to do, and it was only after Lady Westmorland accused her husband and brother of cowardice did the rebellion begin
Northern Rebellion 1569 (3)
Events of the rebellion (2):
-In November 1569 Northumberland joined Westmorland and his forces at the latter's castle at Brancepath, acting on behalf of the Queen and as President of the Council of the North, Sussex sent out commissioners to raise 1500 foot soldiers, however many men were torn between local loyalty to the Earls and national loyalty to the Queen; few dared to join Sussex
-On 14th November the Earls marched on Durham Cathedral tore down any Protesatnt images and celebrated Mass, they then marched south and enlisted support from Richmondshire and the Earl of Westmorland's tenants at Kirby Moorside, and Sussex wrote to the Privy Council and told them of the difficulties he was having raising an army
-On 22nd November, the Earls reached Braham Moor, their army was made up of around 3800 foot soldiers and 1600 horseman, and all the territory east of the Pennines was under this control
-By 24th November the rebels began to turn back, intially towards Knaresborough and then to Richmond, and one contingent captured Hartlepool on the 30th November, hoping a Spanish army might land there to support them, while the main body besieged Barnard Castle , which surrendered to the Earls by the 14th December
Northern Rebellion 1569 (4)
Events of the Rebellion (3):
-2 days later the royal army moving up from the south reached the River Tees; the Earls flee to Hexham, and on the 19th December a skirmish took place between the scouts of the royal army and then the scots of the rebel army, and the Earls flee across the border to Scotland
-Between December to January 1570 Elizabeth orders the execution of 700 rebels, but because of bad weather and reluctance on the part of officials the real figure is probably more around 450
-The Earl of Westmorland escaped abroad to Flanders payed by Spain, and Northumberland was betrayed by a Scottish clain and was given back to England, and subsuquently executed in York in 1572
Northern Rebellion 1569 (5)
Rebellion was a serious threat:
-According to Haigh the rebellion was a major threat to Elizabeth's regime, and if the government had made a few errors (like delaying moving Mary Stuart) then it could have been a disaster, and Elizabeth was lucky because of this
-Fletcher notes that the strength of the rebel army lay in the 1600 horseman, as this was not a rabble of peasants but experienced well equipped soldiers and their tenants, Haigh argues in support of this that 9/10s of the army were not even tentants of the earls and therefore the rising was more popular than first believed, and the earls were able to exploit the Catholic euthsiasm of their follower, and in addition he points to the fact the rebellion was planned and had a coherent strategy rather than being a sudden uprising
-Response of Elizabeth to execute 450 people and confiscate land from the leading families to such a degree destroyed the traditional feudal structures of the north
-No doubt that this was intended to be a serious attack against the Queen and her government; Northern Earls were linked with Norfolk who conspired to marry Mary Stuart to secure the succession to the English throne, a direct threat to Elizabeth's position
Northern Rebellion 1569 (6)
Rebellion was not a significant threat (1):
-Pope did not issue Excommunication until after the rebellion had been quashed, when it was too late to call on Roman Catholics throughout England to support the rebellion and depose their Queen, and there was not popular euthusiasm to replace Elizabeth with a foreigner or restore the authority of the Pope
-Any suggestion of Spanish support was certainly false, Philip did not show any euthusiasm for putting Mary on the throne, largely because of her connection with France, and despite taking Hartlepool the Earls had failed to maintain regular contact with any foreign power
-Government officials (Lord Scrope) contained the rebellion and held the key towns of Pontefract, Berwick and York so that Elizabeth's policy in the north had begun to work
-Haigh points out that despite weeks of planning the earls still fell into an "unplanned uprising" after the discovery of the conspiracy to marry Mary to Norfolk by Elizabeth
-Furthermore, Earls turned back when they heard rumours of a massive force being summoned against the, advancing no further south than Braham Moor and then turning back northwards to home territory
Northern Rebellion 1569 (7)
Rebellion was not a significant threat (2):
-Rebellion was poorly planned and lacked a coherent programme, it's support was limited geographically and Northumberland did not have enough time to mobilise all his tenants
-Appeals by earls to the Catholic nobility failed, in particular support from Lancashire and Cheshire were not forthcoming, and Bowes reported to Cecil on the 17th November that the commoners had been forced to join with the earls fearing for their lives/goods, and were acting as feudal tenants not because they supported the cause
-Outside of the north the earls had little support, which limited the potential size of any force they could muster, and Mary Stuart was being held in Tutbury, so in order to reach her they would have to march through both Lancashire and Cheshire
-Fletcher argues given Elizabeth’s policies towards Northern Earls, she ‘precipitated a crisis in northern society’, so that the rebellion did not take her unawares, and she was able to deal with it effectively, implementing plans that had already been made to move Mary Stuart, forcing rebels away from their base of support and into a region where the crown had even more support
-Although the army was slow in moving north the government had been able to raise a force of 10,000, far outnumbering the rebel force of 6,000
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