Edward R

• Enclosure was the parcelling out of common land into individual privately owned plots this was an affront to common rights. This was often viewed as a rural issue and many of the uprisings of 1548-9 were rural in focus. 
• agrarian and social grievances were the most significant cause for the Kett rebellion
• In somerset, in 1549, rebels tore down hedges and fences, which were erected to enclose pasture land
• Rober Kett was a landowner who had agreed to end enclosure on his land, and he agreed to lead the rebels with the aim of securing their rights. 
• Kett's rebellion originated in east anglia
• Kett's rebellion involved over 16,000 men
• During the late 1540s, the population had risen to as high as 3 million, which meant agricultural productivity was unable to keep up, alongside bad harvests.
• Edward's government had continued Henry VIII financial policy ofo debasing the coinage, which significantly increased inflation
• The depression in the cloth trade added to the number of unemployed and those living in poverty
• To fund his war with Scotland, Somerset continued to debase the coinage
• Enclosure was a process in which wealthy landowners fenced off common lands, primarily for the purpose of sheep farming.
• The Kett rebellion began in East Anglia in 1549
• Appalled at the unrest, Somerset hastily issued another proclamation, forbidding any unauthorised tearing down of enclosures, but then another proclamation pardoned any rioters who were repentant. Unsurprisingly, in the face of such ineffective governing, the rioting continued.
• to ensure compliance with the enclosure legislation, Somerset introduced an Act in March 1549 to tax sheep and home-produced cloth with the intention being to make enclosure unprofitable. Due to the incompetence of the local gentry, this was ineffective.
• Ineffectiveness of the Local government was a key issue. The rebels attacked the gentry and Justices of the Peace , accusing them of corruption and mismanaging government policy.
•  Rebellion was used as a form of negotiation in the Tudor period. This was because most commoners did not have a formal way to express their grievances.
• The western rebellion primarily had religious motives, however there were elements of social and agrarian grievances
• The Western rebellion lasted 4 months in 1549, from May to August
• The western rebellion was primarily fuelled by a concern at the rapid rate which the country was leaning towards Protestantism, by May 1549, the common prayer book had been released, and catholic festivals and pilgrimages had been banned
• However, enclosure was spreading in the west country, and the 1548 enclosure commission was incredibly ineffective
• 5,000 people were involved in the Western Rebellion
• The branding of the Western Rebellion as the Prayer book rebellion is perhaps inaccurate. It may reflect the disproportionate influence of the clergy who played a leading role in the rebellion rather than accurately representing the grievances of all the rebels.
• Robert Welsh, vicar of St Thomas.


  Leader of the Western Rebellion and the most high-profile rebel to be hanged in Exeter. He was charged with preaching against the reformed religion and continuing to use the Romish rites and ornaments in his services.
• William Body


  Hatred of the government’s greedy and careerist main agent in the area, William body, was a factor for the rebellion. He would destroy catholic ornaments and took no stand against rapidly increasing enclosure
• The Western Rebellion


  Two decades of unpopular government policies were followed by two years of rampant inflation, in which wheat prices had quadrupled. Along with the rapid enclosure of common lands, the attack on the Church, which was felt to be central to the rural community, led to an explosion of anger. The people in Cornwall and Devon and reached their limit
• The economic and social change that affected England in the 16th century have often been seen as the underlying cause of unrest in the mid Tudor period
• What was the population by 1551

  3 million
• Agricultural productivity was unable to keep pace with the rise in population, and the subsequent rise in prices. This meant that when there were bad harvests, Grain prices would rise dramatically.
• The Government of Somserset attempted to tackle to enclosure problem by establishing the enclosures commissions in both 1548 and 1549, but attempts at legislation were blocked by the gentry in parliament
• What policy did Somerset adapt to finance the wars against France and Scotland

  Debasement of the Coinage
• Debasing the coinage meant that there was more money in circulation, but not more food, therefore prices rose further
• The Poor suffered significantly more than they would have 2 decades ago because of the dissolution of the monasteries, the monasteries were once able to care for the unfortunates in society
• Causes for unemployment 


  • depression in the cloth trade
  • Enclosure reduced the need for large workforce
• The 1547 Vagrancy Act condemned Vagrants to slavery
• Most rebellions were put down by local gentry, but the Western and Kett rebellion required the use of government troops
• Most of the unrest had long term economic and social factors at the root of the problem
• The Western rebels wanted to restore traditional doctrine and asserted a belief in transubstantiation and purgatory
• Other factors for the Western rebellion included dislike for the local gentry and the attack on the sheep and cloth tax
• Cause of Kett Rebellion

  The rioters were angry that a local lawyer, John Flowerdew, had brought the local abbey church and begun to enclose the land
• The Kett rebels were offered a pardon but this failed to disperse them