While the people of the North were faced with high prices and heavy taxes, the main reason for the rebellion was opposition to the Henrician Reformation in general and Dissolution of the Monasteries in particular.
Primary reasons given in the Pontefract and York Articles was:
the Dissolution
confiscation of property from secular churches
the activities of the evil advisers around the king – Cromwell, Cranmer, Rich
In many areas, rebellion started and led by clergymen.
