Society and Economy

• 4 groups of Society from Thomas Smith’s book in 1583:
• Gentlemen = Nobility

  • Nobilitas major (parliamentary peerage, land elites, sit in HOL etc…)
  • Nobilitas minor (knights, esquired, gentlemen)
• Citizens + Burgesses = Gentry

  • People of the cities and towns, middle of Genty’s political world
  • Some were more superior (London), some less (countryside)
• Yeomen = Yeomen

  • Middle sort of the countryside
• ‘Fourth sort of men’ = Ordinary people

  • No voice or authority
  • To be ruled over, never to rule
  • Not to be neglected, however
• • Henry executed nobles like Buckingham, Courtenay, Countess of Salisbury, and Thomas More
• Elites:

  • Society saw growth in professionals and merchants but nobility still held considerable power
  • Peerage slightly increased through natural changes and attainders
  • New peers rewarded for royal service or relation to the king
  • King granted land to exert authority, e.g., John Baron Russell in Devon
  • Nobles expected to host their affinity but not too extravagantly
  • Noble households crucial for local influence and raising royal armies
  • Monarch exerted more control over nobility, holding them accountable for crimes
• Gentry:

  • About 5000 gentrified families by 1540
  • Knighthoods granted based on royal favour and income
  • Esquires bore coats of arms with minimum assets and income requirements
  • Increase in gentry and Justices of Peace
  • Gentry sought legal careers for social advancement
  • Laymen increasingly filled local administrative roles post-Break from Rome
• Commoners:

  • Little dramatic change for commoners
  • Inflation raised living costs, leading to discontent over the Amicable Grant
  • Few possessions and limited employment opportunities
  • Government feared rebellion and disorder among commoners
• Service Nobility:

  • Thomas Percy: member of the powerful Percy family, beheaded in 1537 for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace
  • Henry Courtenay: The Marquis of Exeter, arrested and executed for his role in a rebellion in 1538
  • John Russell: 1st Earl of Bedford, played a big role in suppressing the major rebellion in the South-west in 1549
  • Charles Brandon: Duke of Suffolk, raised at the royal court and served H8 in the war with France
• Control of the Regions:

  • Tudor Society divided regionally and by class
  • Henry set about changing loyalty to local magnates to loyalty to the king
• Role of the Justice of the Peace:

  • Specific duties include suppressing rebellions, maintaining law and order, and assisting the crown
  • Resident JPs required with £20 annual freehold land
  • Legally trained JPs designated as quorum members
  • Attend quarterly sessions for judicial and administrative tasks
  • Ensure legality in business arrangements
• Rebellions:

  1. The Amicable Grant Fiasco:

  • Attempted to fund French expedition with taxes, causing financial strain
  • Wolsey demanded £800K from Parliament for war with France
  • Compromise led to staggered collections totalling £151K
  • Resistance in Stanstead and Lavenham
  • Ringleaders bought to London, blamed on Wolsey
• 2. Pilgrimage of Grace:

  • Largest uprisings in Tudor England
  • Started in Lincolnshire, spread to Yorkshire
  • Anger at religious reforms and dissolutions of the Monasteries
  • Economic issues and imposition of Magnates
• Economy:

  • Relatively little change in trade and economy compared to his father’s rule
  • England could feed itself despite turndowns, taxes, and regional crises
• Trade:

  • Volume of English trade increased under Henry VIII
  • Cloth trade remained strong, while wool trade declined
  • Exports of animal hides and tin surged
  • Wealth disparity evident, e.g., William Stumpe purchasing Malmsbury
• Exploration:

  • Henry VIII showed no interest in exploration
  • Bristol merchants interested in Iceland and Newfoundland, lacked royal support
  • Henry focused on conflicts with France
• Economic Booms:

  • England experienced unprecedented economic health
  • Population increase and agricultural prices rose
• Economic Busts:

  • Bad harvests doubled food prices
  • Real wages decreased due to debasement
  • Widespread poverty and rural unemployment increased
• Enclosure:

  • Enclosure of common grazing land worsened under Henry VIII
  • Poor forced out of homes due to loss of grazing rights
  • Wolsey addressed illegal enclosure through Chancery court
• Populations:

  • Population growth posed challenges for Henry
  • Society became more polarized, with rich getting richer and poor poorer
  • Stern measures against vagrants and beggars implemented