The impact of enclosure on Tudor society and why it led to discontent.
The role of the commonwealth.
The impact of the Duke of Somerset’s commission on enclosures.
What was the significance of the social and economic causes of Kett’s
rebellion?
The impact of enclosure on Tudor society and why it led to discontent
Enclosure was blamed by many contemporaries for the growth of poverty and vagrancy in Tudor
society. The practice of enclosure was at its most common in areas which could be used for
sheep farming in the south east and the midlands.
The common land was shared by all and was often used to graze animals.
The practice of enclosure aimed to create larger profits from the land.
Landlords saw the financial opportunities that rearing sheep for the cloth trade could bring.
They were also under pressure from rising prices, which meant that they needed to increase
their income.
Enclosure usually took place by building walls or hedges which ‘enclosed’ an area of land for the
landlord’s use.
Sometimes, enclosure was a practical response to depopulation
This type of enclosure could have a knock-on effect, because common grazing provided manure
for the village crops; without this, it became harder to grow enough food to survive.
Some landlords also used the practice of engrossing.
Other practices by landlords, such as rack-renting, also attracted criticism.
In 1517, Thomas Wolsey issued a commission of inquiry into illegal enclosures.
The 1533 Sheep and Farms Act tried to restrict the number of sheep kept per farmer to 2,400;
Enclosure and entry fines had already attracted popular criticism before the outbreak of the
1549 revolt.
Some rebels in the pilgrimage of grace complained about these practices, which were a constant
source of potential tension between landlords and tenants.
However, enclosure was not always practiced by powerful landlords to the cost of their tenants.
The impact of enclosure depended on the region’s rural economy.
East Anglia was dominated by sheep farming with some flocks of sheep numbering well over a
thousand, but local practices regarding enclosure were varied.
In these regions, the situation was made more complex by the existence of a medieval tradition
known as fold course.
When rebellion broke out in 1549, some of the rebels’ demands focused more on sheep farming
than enclosure because of these local conditions.
The role of the commonwealth
Enclosure was criticised by a group labelled as the ‘commonwealth-men’ by historians. The
members of this group often held prominent positions in Tudor society such as politicians,
clergymen and intellectuals.
The commonwealth men were also a group of strong reformer faith.
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