Mid-Tudor Crisis

    Cards (274)

    • What was the economy under Somerset?

      He debased coinage, inflation rose, rising population, poor harvest in 1548, the price in food rose dramatically, value of wages rose by 50% between 1540 and 1550, Somerset appointed Commissioners to investigate enclosure, he introduced a tax upon sheep in 1548 in an attempt to curb enclosure
    • What is foreign policy under Somerset?
      isolate Scotland, sign a defensive agreement with France, Henry II sent 4,000 troops to Scotland so Somerset led an attack against Scotland which he won at the Battle of Pinkie, 1547. Somerset had to rely on garrisons to control Scotland which were often attacked by the Scots & he ignored pleas for help from the commanders. Relations between Scotland & France soured by 1549, Somerset was too broke to fight the war
    • What was religious reform under Somerset?

      denunciation of images 1547, the treason act of 1547 allowed religious issues to be discussed in the open, royal injunctions 1547, attacked the practices of Catholicism such as the use of candles, stained glass, the act of uniformity 1548, Catholicism remained in the North and South West
    • What was foreign policy under Northumberland?
      brought an end to wars with Scotland and France by agreeing to the Treaty of Boulogne, Dudley negotiated a marriage treaty with France - Edward VI would marry Elizabeth, marriage treaty angered Charles V (HRE), Dudley had success in Scotland in 1552
    • What was social policy under Northumberland?
      By 1551, Northumberland had taken actions to control stocks of grain to relieve the crisis caused by the harvest failures, Northumberland used Lord Lieutenants & retainers of trusted nobles to keep law and order, poor people was increasing and food prices increased by 10%, bad harvests in 1550 and 1551.
    • What was economy and trade under Northumberland?
      reduced crown expenditure & raised £133,333 following the sale of Boulogne, by 1553, royal debt had been reduced to £180,000, successfully passed legislation to increase tax, cloth trade in Antwerp collapsed as foreigners fled Charles V's Catholic Inquisition in the Netherlands
    • What was Northumberland's government?
      he utilised factions to help him get into power, he ruled collectively via a Privy Council, Northumberland used the dry stamp to let him rule alone, he became increasingly unpopular.
    • Edward V

      Edward VI
    • Mary I

      Mary I
    • Why was Edward's reign not secure?

      • Henry VIII ensured Edward's succession was law & set up a Regency Council
      • The council thought Henry's Regency Council was too ambitious & unusual to work
      • After Henry's death the council decided the Earl of Hertford, Edward Seymour should be regent
      • Seymour promoted himself to Duke of Somerset & became the Lord Protector
    • Humanism
      Emphasized the importance of an individual rather than an organisation or institution
    • Many of Edward's tutors were humanists like John Cheke
    • Thomas Cranmer invited reformers to England to give ideas on how to change the church & preach to others
    • Henry VIII's Religious Legacy

      • Henry severed his relationship with the Roman Catholic Church only in name and authority
      • He remained faithful to the teachings of Rome & had them embedded in the foundation of the Church of England
      • In the 'Six Articles', he kept the doctrine of 'Transubstantiation'
      • At the time of his death, England was Catholic in teaching but had changed it's name to the 'Church of England' & he was the head of the Church
      • He dissolved the monasteries & sold off their land which could not be recovered
    • Crisis of state in the mid sixteenth century

      • Coming between 2 strong rulers, Henry VIII & Elizabeth I, it is easy to exaggerate the weaknesses of the government that lay in-between
      • The idea of a mid-Tudor crisis is the traditional view of historians that, during Edward's and Mary's reigns, English government and society were on the verge of collapse
      • This was the result of weak rulers, economic pressure, rebellions & religious upheaval
      • Revisionist historians have turned around the idea of a mid-Tudor crisis by asking why was the Tudor state so strong during this period that it avoided disaster
    • An increase in population which put pressure on food supply, jobs, rents & inflation
    • A change in farming from open field crop production to enclosed sheep farming
    • Resentment at the growth of governmental interference in decisions such as faith
    • Over-ambitious foreign policy based on a jealous rivalry with France had resulted in debasement of the coinage & the sale of crown lands which threatened financial stability
    • The pace of religious debate was increasing & Protestant influences were taking root in some parts of England
    • Edward VI's strengths upon accession

      • Once he was crowned king, he could not be ignored or contradicted
      • He was healthy upon succession
      • He was highly intelligent, confident & opinionated
      • He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the nobility & gentry
      • He was described as 'old beyond his years'
      • His uncle was his Lord Protector
    • Why was Edward's reign not secure?

      • 1547 was not the first time that England had been ruled by a minor
      • Henry VIII's will provided instructions that England should be ruled via a council of sixteen men
      • At the time of Henry VIII's death, England was struggling with poverty, rising prices & population
      • To be secure, Edward needed to have a good Lord Protector as regent looking out for his best interests as well as staying alive so he could rule as an adult
      • Sadly, neither of these happened & Edward died at the age of 15 from septicemia having made the church more Protestant but without solving any of the issues from his father's reign
    • Edward VI's weaknesses upon accession

      • He was only 9 when he became king
      • England was suffering from a wide variety of problems at this time like increasing poverty & hardship as well as religious upheaval
      • His father, Henry VIII had depleted the coffers by spending £2m on war with France
      • There was growing popular discontent over issues such as enclosure & the break down of traditional village communities
    • Edward's Background

      • Henry VIII was a traditional parent & rarely saw Edward instead receiving reports on his education
      • As a child, Edward was hardly ever alone, He was never allowed to play contact sports such as jousting & his rooms were washed 3 times a day
      • He was intelligent, could write Greek, loved studying how military campaigns were funded & playing sport such as archery & horse riding
      • He was a serious child & self-disciplined
      • There are examples of Edward's coldness towards others; his entry on his uncles death is terse & without emotion
      • Edward was in good health before he was King, he had measles & smallpox when he 14 & a chest infection in 1555 which turned into a fatal septicaemia
    • Somerset debased the coinage & earned £537,000
    • Inflation rose as a result
    • Rising population outstripped resources
    • Poor harvest in 1548
    • The price of food rose dramatically
    • The value of wages fell by 50% between 1540 and 1550
    • Somerset appointed Commissioners to investigate enclosure
    • He introduced a tax upon sheep in 1548 in an attempt to curb enclosure
    • Edward Somerset, Duke of Somerset background

      • Somerset was brother of Edward VI's mother Jane
      • He had risen through the ranks under Henry VIII through his military skill
      • He was a Protestant reformer & encouraged his nephew to make sweeping changes to the English church
    • Problems facing Somerset in 1547

      • Henry VIII had run up huge debts
      • Henry VII had sold off Crown land
      • Increasing population
      • Unemployment
      • Increase in vagrancy
      • Avoid public disorder
      • Decide whether or not to go to war with France
    • Religious reform under Somerset

      1. Denunciation of Images 1547
      2. The Treason Act of 1547 allowed religious issues to be discussed in the open & it removed censorship
      3. Royal Injunctions, 1547, attacked the practices of Catholicism such as the use of candles, images, stained glass, processions & rituals linked celebrations like Palm Sunday
      4. Dissolution of the Chantries 1547
      5. The Act of Uniformity 1548
      6. Influx of religious radicals from Europe to spread their ideas via pamphlets
      7. The South & South East became more protestant & Catholicism remained in rural areas in the North & South West
      8. Between 1547 -1548, parish churches were allowed to function as they pleased, leading to massive differences across the country
      9. Somerset introduced the Book of Common Prayer in May 1549 which sparked off the Western rebellion both in protestant East Anglia & catholic Devon & Cornwall
    • Foreign Policy under Somerset
      1. Somerset decided to isolate Scotland & sign a defensive agreement with France
      2. New, French King Henri II saw any form of a 'defensive alliance' with England as a sign of national weakness
      3. Henry II sent 4,000 troops to Scotland so Somerset led an attack against Scotland which he won at the Battle of Pinkie, 1547
      4. Somerset had to rely on garrisons to control Scotland which were often attacked by the Scots & he ignored pleas for help from the commanders
      5. Mary, Queen of Scots was married to Henri's son & Henri said France & Scotland were 1 nation
      6. Relations between Scotland & France soured by 1549, Somerset was too broke to fight so the foreign situation remained in limbo
    • Western Rebellion, 1549
      1. The rebellion was caused by the new prayer book & the impact of the sheep tax on farmers
      2. The rebels wanted to keep Latin in the Prayer book & church services
      3. The rebels met on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall with their leaders mayor Henry Bray & 2 strict Catholic landowners
      4. The rebels moved to Exeter & held the city under siege for 6 weeks
      5. Somerset sent some of his men & the rebellion was put down with the leaders hung, drawn & quartered
    • Somerset's Fall

      • Somerset was arrogant which made him enemies at court
      • He was inept & lost support
      • John Dudley had shown more decisive leadership
      • Factions at court conspired against him
      • Faced with a choice of civil war, Somerset agreed to hand himself in & was arrested 1549
      • He was executed in 1552
    • Somerset's policies on enclosure had no effect except to make farmers poorer
    • He ignored warnings that debasement would ruin the economy & economic issues led to widespread rebellion which created more problems at a time when England already had many
    See similar decks