rebellion and unrest - Edward VI

What were the social and economic problems that effected England?

• Population rise

• Inflation and rising prices

• Enclosure

• Decline in living standards

• Poverty and vagrancy

• Rising rents

• Poor harvests

• Influenza and epidemics

Population rise 1525 - 1551

Rose from around 2.3 million to around 3 million

Why was population rise so problematic?

Agricultural productivity was unable to keep up with the rise, therefore the price of food rose - causing a serious problem especially during bad harvests

Why was increasing agriculture difficult?

A lot of land was not being farmed and the land was usually not fertile enough, also more insentive to turn arable land into sheep farming (demand for cloth grew - created further food insecurity and promoted enclosure

What was enclosure?

Placing a fence on land that previously had been open

Why did enclosure cause problems?

When common land was enclosed led to villagers destroying the fences, unpopular as it was believed to be the cause of unemployment

Why did England debase the coin?

To fund wars against France and Scotland?

What was debasement?

Remove the metal from the coin and add a cheaper metal into the coin therefore lowering the actual value of money (like printing more money nowadays)

What was the result of falling wages and increasing prices?

Fall in the standard of living

Effect of the dissolution of monasteries?

Removed the institution that helped the poor

Why were vagrants a problem?

Many turned to crime and others became beggars, also the large number of them became a threat to law and order

When was the vagrancy act?

1547

What was the vagrancy act?

Condemned vagrants to slavery for two years for a first offence and life for the second

Why did inflation rise so much under Somerset?

Continued the policy of debasement

Why did Somerset establish commissions?

Look into the issue of inclosure

When were somersets commissions?

1548 and 1549

Were Somersets commissions successful?

Limited due to landowners blocking any attempt to legislate the issue

What did landowners Force Somerset to do?

Issue proclamations, these forced landowners to reverse there policy’s.

What did the proclamations lead to?

Loss of support for Somerset form landowners who believed he was too sympathetic to the lower class

Encouraged lower class to see Somerset as their champion, when legislation failed many took it as a there chance to control the law and many threw down illegal enclosures

Unrest was where, march 1549?

Lincolnshire

Unrest was where, may 1549?

Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Sussex, Essex, Staffordshire

Unrest was where, June 1549?

Devon, Cornwall

Unrest was where, July 1549?

Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Warwickshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk

Unrest was where, august 1549?

Leicestershire, Rutland

Where required government troops?

Devon and Cornwall, east anglia

Long term effects of unrest?

Economic and social factors which then caused more unrest?

Unrest in Devon and Cornwall known as?

The prayer book rebellion

What happened in 1547?

William body (a local archdeacon and Protestant sympathiser) had been attacked

What happen 1548?

William body returned to supervise the detruction of images (Protestants believed to be superstitious) he was murdered in Helston

What happened 1549?

A large amount of peasants gathered in the county town of Cornwall (Bodmin) to protest around the imposition of the act of uniformity

A much larger disturbance in Devon (on whit Monday) where the local objected to the new prayer book, the villagers insisted that the priest said mass according to the old custom

When did the prayer book rebellion start?

20th June 1549, rebels from Devon and Cornwall joined forces at crediton

What did the prayer book rebels want?

• Restoration of traditional doctoring

• Asserted a belief in both transubstantiation and purgatory

• Initially mentioned sheep and cloth tax

Evidence the Cornish rebels considered the gentry there enemies?

• Cornish attacked and robbed the gentry at St Michaels Mount and shouted ‘kill the gentleman’

• Devon rebels killed William Hellyons, attacked and plundered Trenaton Castle

How did Exeter remain safe?

Mayor forced the more wealthy to organise a continual guard, provide poor relief, sell firewood cheaply and distribute food at a low cost

Why were social and economic tensions linked to religious tensions?

The gentry gained from the dissolution of the monasteries and chantries, and now it was them who were implementing the unpopular religious policy’s

As well as the exploitation of the peasantry by the nobility who raised taxes excessively and abandoned the concept of ‘good lordship’

What is the rebellion in East Anglia know as?

Ketts rebellion

How did Ketts rebellion start?

As a enclosure riot, rioters were annoyed by a specific landowners who had bought the local abbey and started to enclose the land and destroying the abbey

How many men did Ketts rise?

16,000 men who marched towards Norwich and set up camp on the outside of Mousehold Heath

What happened to Norwich?

Local forces were unable to disperse the rebels, offered them pardons but this also failed

This led to the rebels seizing Norwich ( England’s 2nd largest cities)

What did the government do to combat the seizing of Norwich?

Sent a force of 14,000 men under the marquis of Northampton, his force was defeated

The Earl of Warwick was then sent which led to the massacre of the rebels at Dussindale

How many demands did the rebels have?

29

Agricultural demands?

• Saffron was to only be grown in the area around Saffron Walden

• Complaints around the gentry’s exploitation of the foldcourse system (where gentry grazed their sheep on the peasants fallow and unsown land)

• Annoyed at the gentry putting sheep onto common land, fourceing many peasants off

• Wanting rivers to be open for all, Also made demands around costal fishing rights

Economic grievances

• Concerned over rising rents as landowners attempted to put them up to offset inflation

Religious grievances

Made demands over Protestantism ( more radial )

Social grievances

• The social structure and breakdown of local government

• Criticised the running of local government as officals could use their positions to make gains in the land market

• Allowed gentry to keep doves and rabbits but anyone under them shouldn’t

• Ending of serfdom

Signs of social division

In Norwich, 6% of population owned 60% of the goods

Western rebellions killed Hellyons and Ketts rebellion killed Lord Sheffield

Was other unrest dealt with?

Yes, Somerset was able to easily put down, mainly don by the local gentry

How was the prayer book rebellion serious?

• A number of battles to defeat the rebels

• The context ( Edward a minor, other rebellions)

• Aggressive demands

• Over 3000 killed, Government reaction afterwards

• Invasion from france

• Troops had to be brought back from Scotland

How wasn’t the prayer book rebellion serious?

• Didn’t aim to remove Edward, just wanted religious change

• Rebels didn’t advance to London

• Rebels failed to take regional capital Exeter

• Lacked support from nobles or gentry

• Fail to co-operate with other risings

How was Ketts rebellion serious?

• Context ( government reassures were all ready stretched )

• Defeated Northampton and took Norwich

• Large number of rebels (16,000)

• Over 3000 were killed

• Invasion from France

• Troops brought back from Scotland

How was Ketts rebellion not serious?

• Didn’t aim to remove the monarch

• Rebels didn’t reach London

• Rebels established camps, largely run in a orderly fashion

• Lack of support from nobility or gentry

• Kett moved from Mousehold to Dussindale