Rebellion and unrest 1547 - 1558 Flashcards
What socio-economic issues plagued England during the mid 1500s (7)?
- Population rise
- Inflation and rising prices
- Enclosure
- Poverty and vagrancy
- Rising rents
- Poor harvests
- Influenza and epidemics
“See how rich men, especially sheep owners, oppress the King’s subjects by enclosing the common pastures…Yet when wool so expensive, or mutton so great a price?…Other men buy up houses, even whole villages, and then allow them to fall into ruin and decay”
What issues is the clergy man, Thomas Becon, addressing here?
The issues of enclosure and uncaring landlords. He takes a moralistic tone.
Why was sheep farming more appealing than growing crops and what issues did this cause?
There was an increase in the demand for cloth and sheep farming required less labourers.
This caused unemployment and enclosure, in addition to contributing to rising grain prices.
True or false: Contemporaries were unaware of inflation as an issue.
False. They were aware of inflation but not of population growth as its cause.
By what percentage did prices increase under Edward?
69 percent
How many years in Edward’s reign saw poor harvests, with not enough food to feed the population?
6
What were the repercussions of the Dissolution of the Monasteries for the poor?
Previously, monasteries had helped and fed the poor.
Which trade experienced a depression during this period?
The cloth trade
By how much is it estimated that the population rose between 1525 and 1551?
What impact did this have on food resources?
- From 2.3 million to 3million.
- The young population grew a alot..
- Agriculture could not keep up with it because of bad harvests- inflation
What did the Vagrancy Act of 1547 do?
It condemned vagrants to slavery for 2 years for a first offence and life for a second
What policy did Somerset continue in order to finance the war in Scotland and what issues did this cause?
He continued debasement, resulting in inflation rising even faster
Why is the summer of 1548 significant?
- Rural riots occurred in England
- the Privy Council voiced opposition to Somerset’s policies and Hale’s commission
Many contemporaries believed that it was the greed of landowners and enclosure that was causing food shortages and poverty. What was Somerset’s response and how did this turn out?
- Somerset established commissions in 1548 and 1549
- landowners blocked any attempt to legislate
- forcing Somerset to issue proclamations to force landowners to reverse their policy.
- This lost him the support of landowners but caused the poor to view him as their champion.
- When legislation failed, they took the law into their own hands and rebelled, believing Somerset would support them.
Why was Somerset’s policies more susceptible to opposition than that of royals?
- He lacked royal authoritiy.
- There had been fears about unrest early on and the clergy was instructed to preach obedience.
What percentage of people earned 60% of the goods in Norwich? What does this show?
6%
Huge inequality
What year was the western rebellion?
1549.
Who led the Western Rebellion?
-Sir Humphrey
What were the causes of the western rebellion?
- economy- population up 15% since 1520 +prices doubled
- poll tax on sheep- threat to poor Cornish farmers
- 1548 first poor harvest for years.
- Religion- opposing act of uniformity from prayer book.
What happened during the Western Rebellion?
H, A, LR
- William body sent to destroy images and was murdered.
- Humphrey started a petition to reinstate old forms of worship
- Took Somerset 7 weeks to respond
- Aundrel went to Bodmin with 2,000 men then decided to law sieges to Exeter-6 weeks,
- Lord Russel gathered 8,000 and massacred them,.
