LOCALITIES Flashcards
(94 cards)
the marcher regions during the Middle Ages and noble control
-during the Middle Ages, the marcher regions developed their own laws and customs
-nobility who ruled these areas gained lots of power and were quasi- kings in their dominance of the marcher regions
-had their own language and culture which meant they were more inclined to follow local leaders
wales law during henry vii and Henry VIII, AND why was control of wales important
crown controlled the principality of wales but…..
-wales had their own legal system (depended on the marcher lord’s power and control)
-in wales and its marcher regions it was possible to commit a crime in one lordship and escape justice by fleeing to another one
-welsh law allowed the continuation of blood fueds (meant area had a tendancy for lawlessness)
control of wales and marcher regions was vital for monarchs as it was still possible for powerful members of the nobility to use these militarised regions to build up their own power bases to challenge the monarchy
how did henry vii and Henry VIII attempt to secure conntrol of wales and its marcher regions pre 1530
-both attempted to secure control of wales through it’s marcher regions by using the council of wales and the marches
-the council was based at ludlow council and headed by royal family and most trusted nobility
-henry vii reinforced royal control in 1501 when his son prince arthur was sent to wales (was sent to create a more permenant presence of royalty in wales , but arthur died in 15020
-Henry VIII tried a similar tactic in 1525 with Mary
-it wasnt until cromwell rose in 1530s that a lasting solution to exxtending royal authority into wales and its marches was found (through the law in wales act)
the north from 1485-1537
-under threat of invasion from scotland (threat increased as north was remote with poor communication)
-council of the north governed 6 northern counties
UNDER HENRY VII
-as Henry VII was a usurper he had issues controlling the north as he was vunerable in attempts of invasion from rivals (and regions like york were loyal to Richard III)
-north had economic hardship
UNDER HENRY VIII
-key noble families in the north (like the Darces, cliffords and percey’s) had fueds with eachother, so were unreliable to keep peace
-attempted to revive the council of the north in 1525 when henry Fitzroy was made president of the council (was an illegitimate son of henry) but he died
-wasn’t until pog that royal intervention in the north began
what was the law in wales act 1535
cromwell transformed the structure of welsh government, and ended the traditional power of the marcher lords which meant for rest of tudor period wales remained under control of the crown:
-principality of wales and the marcher lordships were replaced with 12 english style counties
-emglish style sytem of local government introduced in each county (sheriffs, coroners, JP’s)
-banned the use of welsh in courts (interpreters had to be used in more remote regions of wales where mostly welsh was spoken, gentry already spoke English)
-each welsh county was allocated 2 MPS that participated in english parliament (for the first time)
what was the law in wales act of 1542
(cromwell had fallen from power and been executed by then)
built on 1535 act…
-introduced the system of english law into wales (ended traditional welsh sytem, including blood feuds)
-council of wales became a more formal body (president and vice president appointed by the monarch) and its powers included right to hear legal cases
-because of extension of royal control onto the marcher coun, there was little trouble during the tudor period, from what had previously been a provlematic area
how had the marcher council adapted by elizabeth’s reign
marcher council had adapted to include lord lieutenants
impact of law in wales acts on wales overall
-because of extension of royal control onto the marcher coun, there was little trouble during the tudor period, from what had previously been a provlematic area (reforms successfully extended power of the tudor monarchs)
why did thomas cromwell decided to remodel the council of the north
-henry viii’s inability to control the north became clear in 1536 when rebellion broke out in lincolnshire and spread northwards
-cromwell decided to remodel the council in 1537 to strengthen it’s power
how did cromwell remodel the council in 1537 and increase its authority
was the voice of the government in London, in the north….
-responsible for enforcing royal proclamations made to sheriffs and JP’s
-oversaw food supplies, regulated trade, organised local musters for military campaigns, oversaw private cases between individuals
-extended authority of council (so not only did it govern yorkshire but also durham, northumberland , cumberland and Westmorland), the permenant headquaters were in york
AUTHORITY INCREASED
-authority enhanced because the president was a bishop or member of nobility that came from the south of the midlands (they were impartial which was a bonus)
-councillers were given further power of their region as they were appointed as JP’S
-As a result of increased control the council of the north could overssee administration of the north, control border raids and hearcourt cases to maintain local order
how did the remodelling of the northern council in 1537 reduced the pwer of the traditional northern lords
reduced the power of the traditional northern lords as the position of northern nobility was undermined as royal power was extended
how did elizabeth try to change the northern council
tried to put more southerners in the council (caused resentment among northern nobility and contributed to the outbreak of rebellion in 1569), shows council didnt have complete control of the north the whole tudor period after reformation of council
how did boroughs increase throughout elizabeths reign
-191 boroughs by the end of elizabeths reign with the right to send 2 MPS to parliament,
why was the house of commons expanding whilst the house of lords decreased (and how many members did each have in 1547)
-Henry VIII cut the number of lords in half after the dissolution of the monasteries (had 57 members in 1547)
-the increase in the house of commons was due to the increasing population leading to an increase in borough constituencies being created (had 342 members by 1547)
why did the number of MP’S rise in 1547
number of MP’S rose rapidly in 1547
(e.g during Edward the number of borough constituencies was 20 but by elizabeth the number of borough constituencies was 60)
imact of more lawyers and merchants being elected to parliament from 1547
due to an increasing number of MP’S not owing their seats to royal or noble patronage which enabled them to act independently in the House of Commons
-a radical group of MP’S emerged as a result (e.g Peter Wentworth and Thomas Norton)
(lawyers were skilled and confident enough to challenge the existing system and suggested areas for improvemet and reform)
why did borough representation grow in the tudor period
-number of borugh Mp’s grew due to pressure from the towns themselves (townsmen could ensure the interests of their community were promoted through petitions), growth of borough representation corresponded with growth of commons.
-before Mp’s werent actually townsmen, they were landed gentrys who didnt live in the towns they represent (this broke the lawcreated in the 15th century that stipulated that mp’s shuld live in the regionn they represent- but this was ignored by boroghs, gentry, nobilty to suit own interests)
-borugh Mp’s claimed a wage of 2 shillings a day for the time they sat in parliament (and claim back the costs of travelling), smaller / poorer boroughs looked to walthy gentry or novility to cover these costs to allow them to sit as Mp of choose their own candidate)
who were local gentry who were MP’s controlled by
many local gentry who became Mp’s were controlled by either a member of nobility of monarch as a part of a widespread sytem of patronage through which the crown extended its control over the localities
how would tudor monarchs use patronage
tudor monarchs would use the system of patronage to ensure that the MP’s and the commons did what they were told
gentry and nobility were keen to find opportunities to extend their power and the crown was happy to encourage this (patronage also became a reason why the number of boroughs increased)
patronage role in increasing borough representation and its challenges
on one hand tudor monarchs encouraged and allowed the creation of new borough seats becuase it kept the nobility/ gemtry happy which allowed increased manipulation of elections
on the other hand, As the number of MP’s rose so did parliamentry confidence, making it harder for the tudor monarchs to control debates (forced them to gain new methods of gaining control)
what factors contibuted to rising literacy rates in tudor england
-growth of humanist ideas promoting education
-etablishment of grammer schools for boys
-expansion of oxford and cambridge universities
how were boys and girls educated during the tudor period
boys attended grammar schools (free for all classes)
girls were educated at home (only wealthy families)
what were literacy rates in 1550 and 1600
1550: 80% of men and 98% of women were illiterate
1600: 72% of men and 92% of women were illiterate
how did literacy vary by region
North england: higher illiteracy among yeoman
midlands, east south: higher rates of literacy in yeomen
