Kett's Rebellion

Causes: population increase, socio-economic issues such as enclosure and sheep grazing, unemployment from cloth industry, (Vagrancy Act 1547)

Historian John Guy - ‘closest thing Tudor England saw to a class war’

Economic problems

  • 1545 and 49 saw poor harvests.

  • Debasement of coinage to meet cost of war with france and scotland

  • rack renting - tennants who couldn’t pay were evicted

Social problems

  • population: 1521-51: grew approx. from 2.3 million to 3 million = greater demand for food, rapid prove rises, more crops needed

Enclosure

  • aimed to create larger profits, natural response to depopulation

  • some lands enclosed common land although enclosure was encouraged from landlords using common land for sheep grazing

  • East Anglia dominated by sheep farming

  • Most vulnerable - copyhold tennants and the landless

Somerset’s rule

  • known as Good Duke, wanted a christian commonwealth

  • when failed to stop illegal enclosures, 1548, somerset forcibly ploughed illegal enclosure estates of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick - ordered to investigate not destroy

  • he was alienated from the gentry and lower classes believed that to show his support

Rebel demands:

  • landowners stop enclosing land

  • reduce rents to when Henry VII was king

  • corrupt officials removed and incompetent priests removed from churches

EVENTS:

  • raised army of 16 000 set up campus on Mousehold heath in July 1549 and able to capture Norwich

  • established ‘tree of reformation’

  • Somerset initially sent 1800 army under Marquis of Northampton , offering full pardon, Kett left no option to attack and recaptured Norwich

  • Northampton sent to london after failure, replaced with Northumberland sent with 12 000 and arrived 23 aug, with 1000 foreign mercenaries

  • kett hanged 26 november

Somerset: offered public sympathy, offered pardons,

IMPACT: Somerset fell from power replaced with Dudley, killing of 2000 at Dussindale

Was serious threat from scale, wasn’t from lack of effectual leadership, was/ wasn’t of tactic of rebels - Kett able to seize Norwich, rebels had guerrilla tactics