Edward VI- 1549 Rebellions

when was the Western Rebellion

June-August 1549

Who led the Western Rebels

a prominent local gentleman called Humphrey Arundell

Who took part in the western rebellion

a broad cross section of society which included priests, several JPs, two mayors, gentry and lots of farmers and labourers but NO NOBLES

How did the western rebellion begin

Government official William Body who was a disliked protestant and greedy man began to try and introduce religious reform and was mobbed and killed

What happened to the rebels who killed William Body

10 ringleaders were hung

What made rebels rise properly in cornwall

fear of the Act of Uniformity meant rebels raised in Bodmin and Arundell led them to Devon in June 1549

Unrest in Devon begins

Locals on Sampford Courtenay force priest to abandon the new prayer book and local gentry don’t intervene

Independent Devon and Cornwall forces unite

20th June 1549 at Crediton

How many gentlemen joined the western rebellion

only 6 of the more catholic local gentry due to hostility to landowners expressed by rebels

Other leaders of the western rebellion aside from Arundell

local clergy who drew up a series of demands/articles listing their demands to stop religious changes

United Western rebels set up camp where

Clyst St Mary

Who tried to negotiate with the western rebels peacefully

Sir Hugh Pollard and Sir Thomas Denys tried to persuade rebels to petition the government peacefully but this broke down

Violent action taken by the Western rebels

blockaded the town of Exeter with 6000 men

Who was initially sent to deal with western rebels and what happened

Lord Russel but he was hampered by a shortage of troops and lack of local gentry support

Why did it take so long to defeat the Western rebels

Sir Humphrey Arundell was an able commander and the government failed to realise the extent of the rebellion as they were unware the rebels from cornwall and devon had joined together for some time

why did Lord Russel not have many troops

england’s military was highly stretched with all of the unrest across England and war with France and Scotland

When were the western rebels finally defeated and why

In august as they had not marched on London

How many rebels died when Lord Russel caught up with them

3000

Why did the western rebellion fail (3 reasons)

• they failed to march on london which meant they had no real chance of being a threat

• failed to get any noble backing due to their anger at enclosures not getting them any sympathy

• Failed to persuade somerset to change his religious reforms due to the unrest and expense they caused

6 demands of the western rebels

• end the changes to baptism and conformation they claimed were happening

• restore the Act of 6 articles

• restore the latin mass and images

• restore old traditions like bread and water

• restore the concepts of transubstantiation and purgatory

• return cardinal pole from exile and give him a seat on the council

what do the demands of the western rebels suggest

that the rebels had ultra conservative views and wanted a return to Catholicism

what do historians actually think about the demands of the western rebels

the rebels actually showed little knowledge of either catholic or protestant doctrines but there was clearly a strong attachment to the familiar traditions of the old church

what is the western rebellion also known as

the prayer book rebellion

authors of the western rebels demands impact

local catholic clergy wrote the demands which means that they might not be representative of the views of the rebels who were also suffering due to economic and social issues

Tone of the western rebels demands

the way the demands were written provoked a negative reaction as in the past rebels had begun demands with phrases like ‘we humbly beseech your majesty’ but the western rebels’ demands started with ‘item we will have’

Cranmer’s reaction to the western rebels

believed they showed an utter lack of respect for the king

evidence the western rebellion was caused by religion

the rebels marched under a banner of the 5 wounds of christ

13/14 demands drawn up by the rebels at Exeter were about stopping the reformation

evidence the western rebellion had economic causes

they called for an end to the sheep tax which had been introduced by Somerset in 1549

evidence that class tension was a cause of the western rebellion

Rebels at Bodmin shouted ‘kill the gentlemen’

Cornish rebels attacked and stole from the gentry at St Michael’s mount

Authorities in exeter feared that during the siege, the poor would hand over the city to the rebels which shows class divide

Class tensions and religion link in western rebellion

it was the gentry who had benefitted from buying old crown lands and it was the gentry who enforced religious change locally

rumours in the western rebellion

rumour that babies might only be allowed to be baptised on Sundays which caused fear for their souls and rumours the sheep tax would be extended to pigs and other animals

Kett rebellion date

July-August 1549

2 key people involved in Kett Rebellion

Sir John Flowerdew

Robert Kett

Sir John Flowerdew

unsympathetic local landlord and lawyer who had bought up church property and was in a dispute with Robert Kett

Robert Kett

local yeoman, tanner and landowner who had enclosed a lot of common land

Where did Kett rebellion happen

Norfolk in East Anglia

How did Kett rebellion begin

Sir John Flowerdew enclosed his land and demolished parts of a local church he had bought and tried to turn rioters on Kett who he had been in a dispute with but Kett retaliated by assuming leadership of the rebels

Significance of East Anglia

the most densely populated and highly industrialised part of the country and Norwich was the largest city outside of London and a major textile centre

Kett as a leader

had more organisational skill and decisive leadership than usual peasant revolts and quickly gathered an army of 16,000 men

how large was Kett’s rebellion

16,000 men

Where did Kett rebels set up camp

Mousehold heath for 6 weeks

When did the Kett rebels capture Norwich

22nd July 1549

Kett rebels own discipline

a governing council elected at Mousehold heath and law and order maintained

What happened to gentlemen captured by the kett rebels

they were tried in front of Kett’s council at the tree of reformation

When was the Kett rebellion finally crushed

27th August 1549

how did the government initially respond to the kett rebels

offered them a pardon which was refused

Second attempt of government to crush kett rebels

sent a small 1800 force under Marquis of Northampton in July to liberate Norwich but it was defeated and rebels took back Norwich within a day

final government attempt to crush Kett rebels

Earl of Warwick sent with 14,000 troops recalled from Scotland and a further 1400 foreign mercenaries making it a formidable army

Warwick fights Kett rebels

27th August 1549 at Dussindale where 4000 rebels and royal forces killed and Kett captured and hung

Military failure of the kett rebels

left their camp at mousehold for lower ground to prep for the battle which meant they left a perfect defensive position

Why did the Kett rebellion fail (3 reasons)

• rebel leaders excluded the gentry and clergy from the rebellion meaning that they didn’t have a wide support base

• no workable long term strategy and unclear aims at a variety of levels (local, regional, national)

• failed to march on London

how many articles did the Kett rebels draw up

29 covering a range of topics

5 examples of Kett rebels articles

• land used for growing saffron should not be enclosed

• go gentry/landowners/nobles should use common land

• rents and land prices reduced to levels of 1st year of Henry VIIs reign

• incompetent priests should be removed

• priests should live near their parishes

what do the demands of the kett rebels show

they were a good mix of social, economic and religious grievances underpinned by a lot of class tension but unlike the Western rebels, the religious demands were not about returning to old ways

religion and the kett rebels

accepted the protestant reforms and the rebels encouraged protestant ministers to preach to rebels and use the new prayer book on Mousehold heath

Enclosures as a cause of kett

historians previously believed this was the main cause but rebels actually had a wide variety of agricultural demands and relatively few enclosures had been made in Norfolk

kett rebels serfdom demand

seems to be going back to past struggles as there was no evidence that there were many unfree tenants on the duke of Norfolk’s estates

wider agricultural demands of kett rebels

rivers to be kept open for all for fishing and fishermen be allowed to keep more profits

evidence of kett rebels having conservative social demands

they allowed the gentry to keep the doves and rabbits that they caught but not anyone lower than

7 criteria for a threat

• causes

• objectives

• strategy and tactics

• nature

• leadership

• size

• government rection

how can the causes of a rebellion determine threat

different causes create different levels of support, economic causes excite lower classes but religion can unite all

objectives and threat

do they intend to replace the king?

nature and threat

duration, location

leadership and threat

nobles, experienced leader

government reaction and threat

if the government responded harshly that suggests they perceived it as a threat, was the government response successful, did it take a long time

3 ways ketts wasn’t a threat

• no noble support

• no objective to remove the monarch

• military mistake when rebels left mousehold

3 ways western rebellion wasn’t a threat

• no noble support

• far from london

• failed to hold Exeter for long

evidence ketts was a threat

• captured second largest city

• kett captured and executed showing government thought it serious

• troops needed elsewhere for other rebellions

• talk of french involvement

evidence western was a threat

• government slow to realise threat and reach rebels

• martial law had to be imposed in cornwall suggesting they knew it was a threat

• religious cause which united people

• no obvious candidates to put it down as strong nobles all in the east and north