Joanne Forster-Martin
Was there a mid-Tudor crisis?
A crisis is a time of intense difficulty or danger.
For Against
Henry VIII
● The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 was a ● Alterations made to the succession;
serious threat and alarmed the king and declarations of illegitimacy for Mary and
ministers greatly but dealt with it poorly and Elizabeth but subsequent re-legitimisation.
late. The dissolution of the monasteries and Henry could determine succession with a will
injunctions against religious practices were or Letters Patent, which was done so in 1546.
contributing factors. There were economic ● Henry was able to consolidate his control and
grievances against taxes. further centralisation with the Act Resuming
● Debasement from 1544-46 led to an initial Liberties to the Crown and Laws in Wales Act
boom and subsequent inflation which coupled 1535 and 1542.
with the significant population growth after ● After the Pilgrimage of Grace, the Council of
1525 and rising agricultural costs (the cost of the North was established by Henry and dealt
food almost doubled over his reign) increased with border conflicts etc
living costs despite a decline in real wages. ● Rises in population had been an issue
○ Poverty; over half the population of throughout the Tudor period, including Henry
Coventry and a third of Yarmouth VII - this problem was not new.
had no personal wealth ● The break from Rome was serious but did not
○ The growth of population lead to a result in much of a change for church
surplus of cheap labour, insufficient services, however, there was an English Bible,
supply of food some holidays/feast days were removed. By
● There was a drop in demand for English cloth 1547, the 6 articles re-instated a lot of
that led to unemployment Catholic doctrine.
● The foreign policy Henry pursued was ○ Monasteries were dissolved which
aggressive, it was consistent in its objectives affected communities as they acted
for France but inconsistent with other like hospitals or places of refuge
alliances. The cost of pursuing this foreign ● In 1545, the threat of French invasion was
policy had necessitated debasement and lots serious, as Francis sent troops to Scotland and
of taxation. the Isle of Wight.
○ Never materialised; neither England
nor France could afford.
○ Though there were factions within
the court to influence Henry, there
were never any really serious
challenges or claims against him, like
his father had faced. He had a good
level of control and executed
enemies/threats.
Edward VI
● Edward came to the throne at 8 years old with ● The Duke of Northumberland led as Lord
a minority government, he was first President of the Council and put down Kett’s
dominated by his uncle, the Duke of Somerset rebellion effectively. He wanted to unite the
and then by the Duke of Northumberland Council and approached governance
● Somerset had divided the Regency Council set pragmatically leading to more economic and
up in Henry VIII’s will for his own political political stability
gain. He was arrogant and incompetent in ○ However, we should be wary of
terms of religion, politics and finance. He overstating his succession given
failed to deal with the 1549 rebellions. Somerset’s failures.
● There were serious economic problems ● A commission analysed the financial situation
worsened by the war with Scotland; continued and administrative shortcomings. These
debasement since 1544 had led to inflationary recommendations would later come in under
pressures. Enclosure continued and there were Mary.
harvest failures, all amid taxation. ○ This showed a greater effort to
, ○ Little was achieved by commissions stabilise the economy.
set up to counter enclosure and ● Somerset had attempted to gain a marriage
instead this antagonised land owners. alliance between Mary Queen of Scots and
● By 1549, when the Duke of Northumberland Edward VI through military force and the
had taken over, the religious changes were securing of border forts.
much more radical. ○ Initial victory with the Battle of
● The Western Rebellion of June - August 1549 Pinkie, September 1547
was poorly handled by Somerset’s ○ But, the forts became too expensive
government. The local gentry were unable to to garrison and they failed to capture
handle it and it was caused by: Edinburgh and Dunbar castles
○ Higher rents, higher prices but lower ○ The English failed to block the Firth
wages. of Forth and the French were able to
○ The New Common Prayer Book of get to Edinburgh
1549, amongst other religious ○ Mary, Queen of Scots, was married
changes that had altered the religious to the French Dauphin in 1558,
experience and the role of the church Francis II, who later died in 1560.
in local communities. ● However, Northumberland ended the war
○ In April 1548, Archdeacon William against Scotland and France, which resulted in
Body was murdered by a crowd in Boulogne being sold back to France for
Helston. He had helped to remove £133,333 and a reduction in expenditure as
iconography, which was important to keeping Boulogne had been expensive.
people. This showed just how angry ● Debasement was put to an end and more
the people were at the religious revenue was gained from the Church,
changes imposed on them. including melting down the gold plate for
○ The government imposed a sheep bullion.
tax, which showed the government
and local officials were ignorant and
uncaring.
○ The rebels managed to besiege
Exeter, after spreading from
Cornwall to Devon. Lord Russell had
been sent to reach a peaceful
settlement but this was not achieved.
○ The rebels were ultimately defeated,
however it led to a serious
weakening of Somerset’s position as
Lord Protector. Martial law was used
to deal with rebels, which suggests
the significance of the situation.
● Kett’s rebellion from July to August 1549 was
another key contributor to the downfall of the
Duke of Somerset. It was not against
Protestant religious changes, instead:
○ Enclosure
○ Poor local government; rebels
thought the JPs were corrupt and
mismanaged government policy
○ They wanted more religious reforms
● The rebels had taken Norwich and camped on
Mousehold Heath. The government did try to
negotiate with Kett but this failed and the
Marquis of Northampton brought an army.
Somerset brought 12,000 men and the 3,000
rebels were defeated.
● Somerset’s attempts at leniency to gain
popularity made him look weak at court.
● The succession crisis was serious; Edward
died of a chest infection leaving no heir.
Beforehand, he had signed the Devyse to
