Mid tudor crisis

Edward's accession to throne

1947
Edward 9
Seymour/Duke of Somerset seized reigns of gov
Regency council set up by Henry o govern didn't last long, delegating powers to Seymour = Lord Protector

Why was Edward's inheritance difficult

Country religiously divided
Crown finances ruined by French + Scottish wars
Coinage debased to pay for war = inflation + decline in real wages
Crown compromised LR security by selling monastic land

Features of Somerset's Protectorate

Rewarded supporters with promotions in peerage + crown land
Members of privy council increasingly resented him
Arrogant + dictatorial manner created enemies

Downfall of Somerset

August 1549: Warwick + Southampton decided to end his control
October 1549: standoff between conspirators in London and Somerset at Hampton Court who still had the control of the King
Somerset and Edward retreated to Windsor but in the end surrendered

Features of Northumberland - (Warwick) 'President of the privy council'

Anxious to prevent excessive concentration of power that brought down Somerset
Warwick led second coup against conservatives who helped remove Somerset
Operated effective gov through privy council easier through expulsion of Southampton
Somerset plotted to recover old position but caught + executed
He became less conciliar + removed enemies from council

Problems of succession after Edward - Devyse plan

Henry's will said Edward succeeded by Catholic Mary
Devyse plan produced to alter succession
Chose Lady Jane Grey as monarch (married to Northumberland's son)
June 1533 Mary + Elizabeth deemed illegitimate

Succession after Edward dies

Edward dies before Devyse plan ratified by Parliament
3 days later Northumberland proclaimed queen

Features of Somerset's foreign policy

Aimed to enforce marriage of Edward + Mary Queen of Scots
Aimed to defeat Scots in battle + build and garrison forts in South of Scotland forcing submission

Somerset's Scottish conflict

Defeated them - battle of pinnie 1547
but forts difficult + expensive to garrison
Failed to understand cooperation between France + Scotland
French relieved Edinburgh
French took control of Queen Mary + took her to France to marry heir to French throne

Impact of Somerset's Scottish conflict

Disastrous
Unaffordable at time of economic pressure
Failed to secure marriage between Edward + Mary

Northumberland, foreign policy

-Reduced Foreign Policy expenditure to help stabilise the crown's finances.
-Ended wars against Scotland + France
-Gave Boulogne back to France to end war, though this may be seen as a defeat it really helped improve crown finance

Features of religious change under Somerset

Considerable move towards Protestantism
Mostly cautious approach
Substantial attack on religious experience of ordinary people and enabled renewed plundering of church resources

Somersets religious changes

1547 - royal injunctions - attacked many features of Catholicism e.g. lights, images, possessions
1547 - dissolution of chantries + religious guilds - crown needed money for foreign policy
1549 - book of common prayer - more moderate reform -single form of services, in English

Aims of Northumberland's foreign policy

Continue Somerset's protestant reforms
Plunder more church wealth as crown in financial difficulties from protectorate

Northumberland's key religious changes

Removed remaining conservative ceremonies
Simpler services
Reformed communion
Restriction on church music
Ban on popish vestments

Impact of Edward's religious change

Decline in donations to church
Decline in attendance to church
Parishes sold or hid treasures to stop being taken by crown

Economic problems under Somerset

Inflation + agrarian issues (enclosure + harvest failure 1548) + taxation = discontent
inflation = reduced real wages
debasement for French war = inflation
Land sales + borrowing for Scottish war worsened crown finances

Somerset's economic reform

Enclosure turning arable land to pasture for wool for exports
Somerset introduced sheep tax
Pressured small land owners with little choice but to rely on sheep

Economic change under Northumberland

Achieved some financial stability
Ended French + Scottish war = Decreased expenditure + large French payment for return of Boulogne
Revenue from church from melting church plate

Western rebellion

1549 Devon + Cornwall - 'Prayer book rebellion'

Causes of Western rebellion

Reverse religious reform - destroyed religious experience
Book of common prayer problematic in Christian area
Ban on religious symbols + chantries
Sheep tax, inflation, wheat prices

Causes of Kett's Rebellion 1549

Little evidence of leaders being conservatives
Caused by class antagonism + economic grievances

• hatred of local gov officials
• poor administration
• inflation, high food prices
• enclosure - started with tearing down hedges near Weymouth

Suppression of Western rebellion

Somerset appointed Lord Russel who defeated rebels near Exeter

Suppression of Kett's rebellion

Northampton first failed to crush rebellion
Somerset forced to send foreign mercenaries under Earl of Warwick to brutally suppress rebellion

Mary's succession

Popular support for Mary although Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen
Northumberland's Devyse failed:

• interfered with legal succession
• little support
• Mary quickly + decisively gained support

Mary's succession was greeted favourably but…

• inherited religiously divided kingdom
• Catholic in a Kingdom with large Protestant minority
• Not brought up to rule, supporters had no gov experience
• had to rely on Edward's people who supported religious reform
  Councillors mainly churchmen + conservatives but never at ease with them

Mary's Spanish marriage 1554

Anxious to Mary to produce Catholic heir
Chose Philip of Spain whose father had advised her
Public opinion hostile
Marriage treaty made limiting Philip's powers (no King power + no claim to throne)
Philip not interested so spent little time in England

Mary's plans for succession

Her overthrow of Devyse restored Henry's original will

• Would leave Protestant Elizabeth as Queen who she saw as illegitimate
  Attempts to change succession through Parliament failed
  Childless she had to accept Elizabeth as successor
  Nov 1558 formally named her successor

Main aims of Mary's foreign policy

1)Restore England to papal supremacy
2)Mary Philip, heir to Spanish throne
Both achieved

Mary and Franco-Spanish conflict

Major cause was anti-Spanish Pope
England dragged into war against France = Mary at war with Pope
England declares war on France 1557

Impact of Mary's franco-Spanish conflict

Started well
But turned with humiliating loss of Calais in Jan 1558
No attempt to recapture it and full scale attack on Port of Brest totally failed summer 1558
Failed in foreign policy - she + country humiliated

Problems facing Mary with religious reform

• although Protestants in minority, had support in London + South
• Protestant church protected in statute law
• political elites benefited financially from acquiring monastic land

Mary's attacks on Protestantism

First Parliament Oct 1553:

• Edward's religious laws repealed
• Henry VIII's order of service restored
• married clergy deprived of livings
• legal status of church of England upheld
  Jan 1555 - Act of Repeal revoking supremacy passed
  Mary forced to accept jurisdiction of statute law in matters involving religion

Mary's burning of heretics

289 Protestants burnt for heresy
Many low status = Protestantism important for people even if didn't financially benefit
Started attracting sympathy - council attempted to ban attendees
Failed to extinguish heresy - worsened Mary reputation

Mary's religious reform

Pole tried to ensure quality of pastoral provision

• Bishops reside in diocese + oversee life of parishes
  Pole keen to stress Papal supremacy which hadn't been very strong pre-reformation

Impact of Mary's religious reforms

Some parishes enthusiastically re-embraced Catholicism whereas some churches virtually in ruin
Bulk of country remained Catholic in sentiment
Designed at more Catholic level to assist reform at Parish level

Continued inflation during Mary's reign

LR = increases in population = increased demand
MR = debasement
1555+6 = harvest failure = severe food shortage + strain on real wages
1557-8 sweating sickness

Mary's economic reforms (made LR impact)

Implemented reforms to revenue administration suggested by Northumberland
Court of exchequer took over court of first fruits and tenths + court of augmentations
Plans for recoinage mad 1556-8 boosted LR finances - implemented by Elizabeth

Impact of Mary's economic reform

Preparation of Mary allowed efficient implementation By Elizabeth
Poor relief = enforcement of laws against grain hoarding + encouragement of turning pasture land to pillage

Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 - causes

• religion - many supporters from Protestant stronghold Maidenstone
• Xenophobia - dislike foreigners
• decline in local cloth industry = economic + social grievances
• gentry lost office in country
  Main grievance, especially among leaders was resentment of Spanish marriage

Impact of Wyatt's rebellion

• showed while Protestants in minority, couldn't be ignored
• demonstrated popular suspicion of Spanish marriage
• resulted in execution of Lady Jane Grey, innocent victim of father's support for rebellion
• Elizabeth imprisoned in tower for short period

Significance of Wyatt's rebellion

Wyatt raised 3,000 men + came close to success

• Raised + kept large following
• outmanoeuvred Norfolk
• came close to securing London

Elizabeth's short term aims

• Consolidate her position
• Settle religious issues
• Pursue a peaceful settlement with the French

Elizabeth's character

• better educated than Mary + better grasp of political process and better judge of character
• Determined to preserve prerogative powers of crown - insisted on making the important decisions

Mary's death

• 1558
  Although Mary's councillors Catholic didn't interfere with lawful succession

Causes of difficult succession of Elizabeth

• bad harvests - food scarce + expensive
• country suffered from flu epidemic
• religious + political situation - French war + Spanish marriage

Key features of Elizabeth's consolidation of power

• eased by acceptance by Mary's councillors
• Cecil appointed Principal Secretary - few other appointments
• Proceeded quickly to coronation within 2 months - Jan
• some international recognition

Elizabeth's religious settlement 1559

Act of Supremacy, Act of Uniformity, Royal Injunctions, book of common prayer

Act of Supremacy 1559

Restored in law supremacy of the crown

• Papal supremacy rejected
• reformation legislation of Henry VIII restored
• Mary's heresy law repealed
• royal visitation of church, power restored
• Queen = 'supreme governor' of church
• oath of supremacy to be taken by church officials + clergy
  Restored legal position of crown in relation to church

Act of Uniformity 1559

Re-established the use of the 1552 Single Book of Common Prayer

Royal Injunctions 1559

Instructions on church services and gov of church
attack on traditional catholic practices
Pilgrimages + candles banned
All churches must have English bible

Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 1559

Ended failing conflict with French (loss of Calais + weak crown finances)
France + Spain in bad economic situ so happy to stop

• France retains Calais for 8 years then give back if peace retained
• If France fails to return it gives large payment

Causes of Elizabeth's intervention in Scotland

• Francis II comes to throne in France 1559, married to Mary Queen of Scots (Main Catholic claimant to English throne) - brought Catholicism
• French Conflict with Protestant lords of congregation seeking power in Edinburgh
• Cecil supported intervention in Scotland sympathising with fellow Protestants + England would be safer

Elizabeth's intervention in Scotland

• Initially limited to money + armaments
• end of 1559 sent Navy
• March 1560, army sent
• failed but other circumstanced forced French withdrawal

Consequences of Elizabeth's intervention in Scotland

Cecil secured favourable terms - treaty of Edinburgh in July

• Lords of congregation = Provisional gov
• Francis died
• Mary returned to Scotland
  Cecil triumphed
• Scottish protestants protected
• Mary's influence reduced
  Success only due to luck (Francis dying) so more careful in future

Causes of Elizabeth's intervention in France

Conflict between Catholics + Protestants, March 1562
Dudley (Leicester) encouraged Elizabeth to pressure French return of Calais

Elizabeth's intervention in France

Elizabeth promised Huguenots (French protestants) 6,000 men + £30,000
Huguenots defeated + French catholic leader assassinated
French factions united to drive English out

Consequences of Elizabeth's intervention in France

Forced to accept unfavourable peace settlement - Treaty of Troyes 1564
Lost cateau- Cambresis + calais permenantley

• may be adv in LR (expensive + likely to be invaded), but bad for reputation
  Became more cautious

Problems with economy when Elizabeth came to throne

Bad harvests, high mortality rates, high taxation, significant cut in real wages
= considerable fear about social instability

Poor relief at start of Elizabeth's reign

Poverty + vagabondage (homeless + jobless) remained widespread bc:

• low real wages
• wages consistently lower than rise in prices
• harvest failure = food shortages
  Main responsibility for providing poor relief had been with church, reformation ended this
  Attempts to help mainly ineffective