A2 FP1 : Edward VI, Western + Kett Rebellion Flashcards
(6 cards)
Conceptual Awareness
What was the atmosphere of 1549 like?
The year 1549 was perhaps the worst year of the whole Tudor period. There were major rebellions in East Anglia, and the South-West, as well as considerable levels of disorder throughout the whole country.
Somerset’s government struggled to cope, the thin resources of the tudor estate were outstretched due to the war with Scotland and the potential French invasion.
Conceptual Awareness?
What were the reasons for rebellion and disorder in 1549?
- Religious Change
- Midlands and East Anglia, agrarian + social grievances with reports of riots and the uprooting of enclosed land.
- Resentment of taxation.
What were the reasons for the Western Rebellion?
The Western Rebellion of 1549 was prompted by resistance to religious change, grievances about Gentry and nobility gaining monastic land for their personal use.
A commissioner, William Body, was killed by an angry mob. The ill-focused riots occuring in the area reflected a sense of desperation among the poorer classes.
- Wanted to reverse the religious reforms that were destroying the way of like for many catholics.
- Distrust between rural workers and landowners.
- Sheep tax was seen as an imposition by an uncaring and ignorant government.
How did the Western Rebellion play out?
The Western Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall was prompted particularly by religious grievances. The rebellion was described as the “Prayer Book Rebellion” due to the rebels referring to the prayer book as so like a “Christmas Game.”
By mid-June there was a full-scale rebellion.
Somerset underestimated the seriousness of the situation at first.
What were the reasons for the Kett Rebellion?
The Kett Rebellion, 1549, was caused by a sense of class antagonism, widespread social and economic grievances arising from poor harvests and rapid price rises.
Coupled with the belief that the government were profiting from the absence of a strong king.
- Hatred of local officials,
- Resentment of Enclosure
- Maladministration of the Howards.
Reached 15,000 in number, occured in East Anglia
How were the rebellions suppressed?
- Western Rebellion was suppressed in August of 1549
- Initial attempt to suppress the Kett’s rebellion resulted in humiliating defeat resulting in the Earl of Warwick brutally supressing the rebellion with 49 rebels, including Robert Kett, being hanged.
