Edward VI- Rule of Somerset (excluding rebellions)

When did Hertford join Henry’s council

1537 after rising to prominence for his service in the second French war

how large was the regency council meant to be

16, 8 conservatives and 8 progressives

short term problems faced by Somerset

• should the wars against France and Scotland be continued

• Should religious reform continue

• More revenue needed urgently

5 long term problems faced by Somerset

• rapid population increase

• inflation outpaced wages and decreased living standards

• unemployment

• rising popular discontent due to the above

• religious reform needed to keep protestants onside but risks catholic rebellion

what title did Seymour give himself when he became protector

Duke of Somerset

parliament since 1530s

power of the monarch rested in Parliament as both houses had to approve proposals for new laws or taxes before they became law

Proclamations

a way for the monarch to make new laws when Parliament was not in session

where did Somerset’s power come from

Letters of patent which is a letter issued by a monarch granting privileges to an individual

when did Somerset get his letters of patent

March 1547, gave him quasi royal power

Criticism from privy councillors towards Somerset

he ruled in an authoritarian manner, bypassing the council and only using his own servants for consultation

how often was parliament in session during Edward’s reign

nearly every year

How many proclamations did Somerset issue

over 70 in the three years that he led the government

Somerset and the dry stamp

dry stamp initially supervised by four men but he took control of it and even ensured anything signed by Edward was counter signed by him to ensure he had control over everything

Somerset’s trial

1552, was accused of ‘evil government’

what did Somerset’s method of ruling lead to

alienated other nobles and allowed him to be personally blamed for all of the failures of his tenure

when was the treason act passed

1547

1457 Treason Act

repealed the old heresy, treason and censorship rules which allowed people to discuss religion freely, publish books and pamphlets on religion and permitted the importation of Lutheran and Calvinist literature from the continent

When did Somerset first call Parliament

November 1547 once he had established himself

Impact of the treason act

encouraged debate over religion particularly in London where public meetings frequently ended in disorder and riots and attacks on churches but the repealing of the act meant government had less power to deal with it

consequence of the treason act

the government had actually encouraged religious violence rather than their aim of reducing it

Repeal of the Proclamation Act

1539

what did the proclamation act do

stated that royal proclamations had to be obeyed as if they were acts of parliament as long as they didn’t infringe on existing laws

what did the repealing of the proclamation act do

didn’t mean they couldn’t be used, it meant that the limitations of the act were removed so Somerset may have been intending to increase his power

Henry VIII average use of proclamations

6 a year

Chantries Act date

1547

what did the chantries act do

closed the chantries, could be seen as an act of religious reform but was actually a device to raise money for the wars

what are chantries

little chapels in churches or cathedrals established and endowed by wealthy patrons with a priest to sing masses for the souls of the dead

commissioners sent to the chantries

early 1548 to close them and confiscate their property

Somerset’s debasement of the coinage

1548, mint ordered to reissue the coinage and reduce the silver content

debasement continues until

1551

silver content of coins in 1551

reduced to 25%

issue caused by debasement

more coins of less value in circulation which causes inflation and discontent amongst the poor

What was Somerset’s foreign policy influenced by

the legacy left by Henry VIII

Why was Scottish foreign policy so important

because Henry VIII had wanted to see Edward married to Mary Queen of Scots

How had Henry VIII tried to get the scots to agree to a marriage between edward and mary

He set aside the english claim to the scottish throne

Somerset’s strategy towards Scotland

try and isolate them by negotiating with France for a defensive alliance but this failed when Francis I died and the more aggressive Henry II took over

Somerset and defences

strengthened defences at Calais, Boulogne and Newhaven and a fleet sent to the channel

Henry II of France and Scotland

renewed the franco scottish alliance and sent a fleet of warships with over 4000 troops to scotland in June 1547

Somerset invades Scotland

September 1547 under the pretext of trying to arrange the marriage of Edward and Mary

Battle of Pinkie

1547, Scots defeated and Somerset able to occupy all of the main border strongholds

limitation of Somerset’s Scottish victory

English army not strong enough to occupy the rest of Scotland

What did the defeat at Pinkie do for the scots

United the council who decided to ask the french for help which resulted in the French putting an army in scotland and Mary being taken to France for her education

how long did the scottish french alliance last

not that long as the french got tired of the expense of garrisoning scotland and scottish nobles came to resent french presence

What happened to Somerset after the win at Pinkie

he was soon forced to withdraw troops from the border holds and recall the force protecting the channel as he was facing crippling costs

what were the french doing as England was withdrawing

they withdrew from Scotland and redeployed their forces to threaten English controlled Boulogne and Calais and tightened their siege on Boulogne

How much did Somerset's Scottish campaign cost England?

over £600,000

How did France respond to England’s aggression in Scotland?

France declared war on England in 1549 and besieged Boulogne.

What impact did French aggression have on Somerset’s position?

It weakened his authority at home, especially during internal rebellions in 1549.

How did Somerset’s leadership style contribute to his fall?

His autocratic rule and disregard for collective decision-making alienated allies.

Overview of Somerset’s foreign policy attempts

Given the franco-scottish alliance and chronic lack of funds, he had done his best but the current levels of military spending could not be sustained in the longterm

Crown’s total revenue in 1547

£200,000 a year, barely enough to fund the royal household let alone a war

Somerset’s worst policy area according to historians

Finance as he had no long term plan and just kept spending to fund his foreign policy despite government being virtually bankrupt in 1547

What should somerset have done to restore finances

introduce new taxation and customs reforms

what did somerset do to try and raise revenue

seize more church property to sell, keep debasing the coinage and keep borrowing from abroad despite high interest rates

what had Henry VIII begun doing in 1546

taking loans from continental banks with high interest rates

general economic situation in 1547

inflation bad and further debasements made this worse, poor harvest and Antwerp market poor so prices rising but wages staying the same

Somerset’s position on enclosures

they were to blame for a lot of the hardship faced by poor people so he wanted to decrease the amount of land being enclosed

Somerset becomes head of the enclosure commission

1548

contemporary view of somerset’s reforms to enclosures

‘Good Duke’ who cared a lot about the welfare of the commons

Actual impact of Somerset’s enclosure reforms

minuscule effect on people’s lives except for gentry farmers who felt that Somerset was obstructing the improvement of their estates

Who preached in favour of social reform

Latimer and Ridley who wanted more workhouses and hospitals for the poor

Vagrancy Act date

1547

Vagrancy Act

unpopular act which showed little concern for the poor, vagrants sentenced to 2 years slavery if caught and life if caught again

Poor harvest

1548

Somerset religious position

moderate protestant who was devout but had no interest in theology

Religious views of the bishops under Somerset

9 progressives led by Cranmer

10 Conservatives led by Gardiner

8 undecided

What was Somerset’s general strategy with religious change

cautious with reform as there was such a range of views and most of the lower clergy were against change

How many chantries closed down under 1547 act

2,400

impact of the chantries being closed

a very visible attack on the catholic idea of Purgatory as chantries were often based in the centre of towns

economic impact of the chantries being closed

the new coins that were issued from money raised by the dissolution caused inflation as they had low silver content

Proclamation issued to try and calm disorder caused by treason act

January 1548 but there was confusion in enforcing them as permission was given to remove catholic images from churches but no comment on transubstantiation

All public preaching banned to try and restore order

September 1548

Book of Homilies date

1547

what did the new book of homilies contain

model protestant sermons for the clergy to use and a summary of the new testament that was to be placed in every church and used every Sunday by decree of Edward himself

who wrote the new book of homilies

Some of the sermons were written by Cranmer himself including one on justification by faith alone, a radical protestant idea

Impact of the New book of homilies

Furthers the feeling of a Protestant church as it was in english

Policy of iconoclasm

1547-49

what was policy of Iconoclasm

the Privy Council ordered the removal of all images that remained in churches including stained glass windows, statues and wall paintings

Impact of the policy of iconoclasm

churches now appear and feel very protestant which would have been a very big change for the common people who were not aware of nuanced doctrinal changes

First Act of Uniformity date

1549

What was the first act of uniformity for

basically explained how the clergy should use the new first book of common prayer

Content of the first act of uniformity

officially ordered all of the clergy to adopt these protestant practices into their worship?

• Mass, matins and evensong in English

• Sacraments are just communion, baptism, conformation, marriage and burial

• New prayers added to old communion so clergy and laity have bread and wine

• Clergy could legally marry

• Worship of saints discouraged but not banned

• Removal of images and statues encouraged

• Singing of masses for the souls of the dead no longer approved

Catholic practices that still remained after the first act of uniformity

fast days and holy days, belief in Purgatory neither condemned nor upheld and worshipping saints only discouraged not banned

What angered reformists about the first act of uniformity

no change on the doctrine of transubstantiation

Privy council’s intention with the first act of uniformity

changes would be enough to satisfy moderate reformists but not outrage conservatives

First Act of uniformity visitations

Bishops instructed to carry out visitations to encourage the adoption of new policy and test religious observance

what was being tested in the visitations

whether parishioners could recite the 10 commandments and lord’s prayer in English

Opposition to the first act of uniformity

small pockets of opposition in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Yorkshire but most of England appeared to take the lead of the aristocracy and gentry and accepted the moderate swing towards Protestantism

First book of Common Prayer date

March 1549

Content of the first prayer book

it was a mixture of Lutheran and Catholic beliefs:

• fast days still enforced

• no change to the amount of holy days

• new communion service followed the order of old latin mass

• officiating clergy expected to continue wearing vestments and traditional robes

• no change to catholic doctrine on transubstantiation

Responses to the first prayer book

the Western Rebellion but it is accepted by the Lord and Gardiner approved with penalties for not using mild

policy of education and visitations

throughout Somerset’s tenure, aim was to educate the laity on the new religion

Bishop Hooper’s visitation results

Hooper found that in his own diocese of Gloucester that 10 of 311 clergy couldn’t recite the lord’s prayer and 171 didn’t know 10 commandments

Population change from 1525-1551

Rose from 2.3 million to 3 million

Population structure change

Due to the rapid increase, population was very young and dependent, they consumed food but didn’t contribute to its production

Food price which rose the most

grain which was the staple diet of the poor so the impact was huge

Prices in 1520 vs 1508

37% higher

Prices in 1530 vs 1508

69% higher

how did debasement cause inflation

more money in circulation but of less value so prices rose

Why were enclosures increasing

for sheep to graze as demand for cloth grew