Edward VI

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Edward VI, Somerset and Northumberland

  • Edward was born in 1537, the child of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. 
  • Was made king at 9 years old, so he faced many problems: 
    • He didn’t have much preparation for kingship. 
    • He would be appointed a Protector who would influence his decisions. 
    • Inherited a country with religious divisions 
    • Crown finances had been ruined by expensive wars with France and Scotland 
  • Henry had set up a Regency Council to rule while Edward was young – it was balanced between Protestants, like Edward Seymour (who became Duke of Somerset) and Cranmer, and religious conservatives, like Thomas Wriothesley. This Council didn’t last long; it delegated its power to Hertford who would be Edward’s Protector. 
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Regency of Somerset, 1547-49

  • He counted on the support of Archbishop Cranmer, Viscount Lisle (later Duke of Northumberland) and Sir William Paget. 
  • He rewarded his supporters with promotions in the peerage and grants of Crown lands. 
  • He governed largely with members of his own household and controlled the Privy Chamber through appointing Sir Michael Stanhope as Chief Gentleman. 
  • There were factional rivalries – Somerset’s brother, Thomas Seymour, sought to turn Edward against Somerset and plotted against Somerset; Somerset had little choice but to bring treason charges against Thomas.
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Religious changes under Somerset

  • Edward’s reign saw a move in the direction of Protestantism. 
  • Somerset was a Protestant but he knew that he needed to adopt a cautious approach in making religious changes as it was a sensitive issue: 
    • Convinced Protestants were a small minority – Susan Bridgen has suggested that 20% of Londoners were Protestant by 1547 so many were not Protestant. 
    • In many places, there was no minority of Protestants at all – Catholicism was strong in the north and the Midlands. 
  • Although, Somerset was pressured to take a stronger approach by: 
    • The many exiled Protestants returning to England and settling in towns along the east coast – their radical ideas caused tensions with the local community. 
    • A strong reform faction in government who were keen to see reform get under way. 
    • Press censorship was relaxed – led to an increase in pamphlets against Catholicism. 
  • At first, the government adopted a cautious policy to stall time: 
    • A full-scale enquiry of the CofE was launched and commissioners were sent to each parish 
    • December 1547 – The Chantries Act dissolved the chantries (small religious houses which supported priests who sang for the souls of the deceased) – the logical step after the dissolution of the monasteries, more done to raise money for the Scottish war than for religious reasons. 
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Religious changes under Somerset

  • Once the Scottish war was over, the government felt secure enough to take stronger action on religious policy:
    • Introduced the 1549 Act of Uniformity – imposing a single standard of worship across England to end religious confusion; services would be done in English and congregations would be offered both bread and wine (before wine had been reserved for priests). 
    • Alongside this, Archbishop Cranmer introduced the Book of Common Prayer – it did not deny some Catholic practices but also imposed Protestant ideas; was quite vague. 
  • Somerset hoped that these moderate reforms would satisfy the reformers and wouldn’t antagonise religious conservatives and the laity would accept the reforms.
  • The social impact of these religious changes was significant – these were a sustained attack on the religious experiences of ordinary people. 
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Foreign policy under Somerset

  • Somerset inherited a potentially ruinous foreign policy from Henry VIII: reasserting the ancient claim of Edward I to the Scottish throne by enforcing the marriage between Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots. This wasn’t wanted in Scotland and he had to deal with both Scotland and France. 
  • Somerset’s strategy with Scotland was to defeat the Scots in battle, build and defend some forts on the border and in the south of Scotland to force the Scots into submission. 
  • September 1547 – Defeated the Scots at the Battle of Pinkie. 
  • But, the forts were difficult and expensive to defend and the English couldn’t capture the castles at Dunbar and Edinburgh. 
  • Somerset underestimated the level of cooperation between France and Scotland – Mary Queen of Scots was moved to France with the intention of her being married to the heir of the French throne. 
  • Somerset’s costly foreign policy (£600,000) had cemented links between France and Scotland with a prospect of a future marriage to unite the thrones of France and Scotland.
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Economic changes under Somerset

  • There were some interconnected economic factors which caused discontent in Somerset’s rule: 
  • Inflationary pressures: the rate of inflation had been increasing rapidly near the end of Henry’s reign, causing a reduction in real wages (wages in relation to the price of goods). He continued to debase the coin, like Henry had done, to finance the war against Scotland which heightened inflationary pressures. 
  • Agrarian issues, particularly enclosure and harvest failure: enclosure became a serious issue during Somerset’s protectorate; he was influenced by the writer John Hales who argued that enclosure was the cause of many social and economic problems. He set up a commission to investigate the issue and issued a proclamation against enclosure. Enclosure commissioners were appointed but little was achieved – it just raised the hopes of the poor. 
  • Taxation: money was raised to pay for the Scottish war from land sales and borrowing, adding to the long-term problems of Crown finance. The main perceived cause of enclosure was farmers changing land from arable to pasture to graze flocks of sheep, so Somerset introduced a sheep tax. This created huge financial pressure on small farmers who relied on sheep.
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Rebellion

  • 1549 was the worst year of the Tudor period – there were major rebellions as well as general disorder in the rest of the country. 
  • Somerset’s government found it difficult to cope with the rebellions – they have not many resources and these were overstretched (war with Scotland). 
  • Reasons for this disorder: 
    • Religious tension in some parts of the country 
    • In the Midlands and East Anglia, there were problems with agriculture (enclosure) 
    • Resentment against the raising of taxes 
  • Many risings died out quickly because they failed to find support or local nobility and gentry suppressed them. 
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The Western Rebellion, 1549

  • Took place in Devon and Cornwall. 
  • Triggered by religious grievances – there was unrest before 1549 because people wanted to reverse the religious reforms as the traditions of the Church services and the influence of the Church in communities had gone. When the government introduced the new Prayer Book in 1549, this prompted full-scale rebellion. 
  • Provoked by distrust between rural labourers and landowners. 
  • Caused by the raising of taxes e.g. the sheep tax. 
  • 6th June – Cornish rebel camp was formed near Bodmin. 
  • 11th June – Devon rebellion begins. 
  • 20th June – Cornish and Devon rebels converge on Crediton. 
  • 2nd July – rebels besiege Exeter. 
  • 17th August – rebels are finally defeated at Sampford Courtenay. 
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Kett's Rebellion, 1549

  • Took place in East Anglia. 
  • Compared with the Western Rebellion, the rebels in East Anglia had more social and economic grievances: 
    • They resented local officials 
    • They hated the landowners’ abuse of the Norfolk foldclosure system (foldclosure was being allowed to graze sheep on a piece of enclosed common land but landowners denied villager access to foldclosure in some places). 
  • May and June – rebels start to tear down hedges to break enclosures; Robert Kett as a landowner who the rebels had teared down the hedges of but he agreed to end enclosure on his estates and lead their rebellion. They continued to tear down hedges into July. 
  • 12th July – rebels set up camp on Mousehold Heath, near Norwich, and other places in East Anglia. 
  • 21st July – rebels start firing on Norwich. 
  • 22nd July – rebels take Norwick. 
  • 1st August – Earl of Northampton humiliatingly failed to suppress rebellion and take back Norwich. 
  • 27th August – rebels were finally defeated by forces led by the Earl of Warwick. 
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The Fall of Somerset

  • Somerset’s response to both rebellions was very slow – it gave those who were aggrieved with Somerset’s leadership an opportunity to strike. 
  • October 1549 – Somerset was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower.  
  • February 1550 – was released and allowed to rejoin the Privy Council. 
  • There were rumours that Somerset was plotting to take back power from the Privy Council and wanted to assassinate some of his rivals on the council – he was arrested again and tried for treason. 
  • January 1552 – he was executed. 
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Regency of Northumberland, 1549-53

  • Warwick led the plot against Somerset – he was first amongst equals. 
  • He wanted to avoid the excessive concentration of power that Somerset had held and had brought him down – there was no attempt to re-establish the protectorate. 
  • Warwick was Lord President of the Council – many of his supporters in the coup were conservative who hoped for a regency led by Princess Mary.  
  • Warwick’s second coup was directed at the conservatives (maybe because he feared losing support from the conservatives).  
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Religious changes under Northumberland

  • Northumberland’s strategy towards the Church: 
       1. Wanted to continue the Protestant reforms initiated by Somerset. 
       2. Wanted to take more of its wealth 
  • Northumberland was cautious in religious matters but a more radical approach was taken towards Protestantism due to the wider political context: the cautious Cranmer was moving in a more radical direction – this was reflected in the introduction of the revised Book of Common Prayer in 1552 e.g. it removed the remaining ‘conservative’ ceremonies, the use of church music was restricted (protestants thought church music hindered religious understanding). Radical clergymen, e.g. the Bishop of London and John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, were becoming more influential. Edward VI was becoming more influential in the policy-making process – he took his role as head of the Church very seriously. 
  • January 1552 – parliament assembled and passed some religious reforms: 
    • Treason Act – it was illegal to question Royal Supremacy or any beliefs of the English Church. 
    • Second Act of Uniformity – it was illegal for both clergy and laity not to attend CofE services. 
    • 1552 Revised Book of Common Prayer – removed all traces of Catholicism; the significance of the Eucharist was reduced, it became more of a commemorative ceremony. 
  • June 1553 – The Forty-Two Articles of Religious were issued by Cranmer and defined the essentials of the faith of the CofE. Although, these were issued a few weeks before Edward’s death so were never implemented.
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Foreign policy under Northumberland

  • He changed direction in foreign policy almost completely – he ended the wars against France and Scotland. 
  • 1550 – the Treaty of Boulogne was signed with France in which Boulogne would be returned to the French. This improved the Crown’s financial position as the occupation of Boulogne had been a drain on resources. Caused the future marriage of Edward VI and Henry II’s daughter, Elizabeth. Northumberland saw that an alliance with France would be valuable if the main enemy was Spain and the HRE, both ruled by Charles V, a strict Catholic who promoted the Counter-Reformation. 
  • English garrisons were removed from Scotland – a financial benefit.
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Economic changes under Northumberland

  • He achieved a measure of stability in the national finances. 
  • Brought an end to the wars with Scotland and France – reduced Crown expenditure but also France paid England £133,333 for the return of Boulogne. 
  • Crown income improved but this could be due to taking wealth from the Church by unscrupulous methods. 
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Succession crisis, 1553

  • In the 1544 Succession Act, it laid out that if Edward died without any heirs he should be succeeded by Mary. 
  • January 1553 – Edward began to suffer from a serious illness in his chest and it became clear that he was dying. 
  • If Mary succeeded, Catholicism would be restored – Northumberland wanted to protect himself and Protestantism so he tried to alter the succession. He created a plan (‘the Devyse’) which was based on: 
    • Mary’s illegitimacy after Henry divorced Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth’s illegitimacy after Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn collapsed. 
    • Henry’s will had considered the claims of his younger sister’s family. 
  • He wanted Lay Jane Grey to succeed – she was married to his son. 
  • June 1553 – Mary and Elizabeth were declared illegitimate and parliament was soon to be called to confirm the change of succession. 
  • Edward died before Parliament met so the Devyse was illegal as it didn’t have parliamentary consent. 
  • Three days after Edward’s death, Northumberland proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen.
  • After reigning nine days, Lady Jane Grey was arrested and Northumberland and other ring-leaders were executed; Mary was crowned queen. 
  • The provinces backed Mary to succeed – showed that most wanted God’s rightful monarch (Mary) to take the throne rather than a usurper. But, Christopher Haigh argues that Mary’s popularity was due to many people’s devotion to Catholicism. 
  • Showed that the Tudor dynasty was quite secure – the only coup against the Tudors lasted 9 days.
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How well-governed was England in Edward's reign?

  • Many of the problems that Edward faced were inherited from Henry’s reign. 
  • Somerset failed to act decisively on many issues, allowing discontent to grow. 
  • Northumberland seemed to be in control with support from the Privy Council and stability was being restored. 
  • But, Northumberland’s position became weak due to the deterioration of Edward’s health.
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