Government, Politics and the State 1536-88 continued

Today I have looked at the section entitled 'The Lord President Northumberland 1550-3'


The Lord President Northumberland 1550-3

Rise to power 1549-51

Even before his arrest it was clear that Somerset was discredited and had lost control of the political situation:

• He had offended members of the Privy Council


• undermined the confidence of the aristocracy and the genry


• Ineptly handled the popular uprisings


• His religious reforms alienated even moderate among the Conservative faction

Power Struggle

A power struggle soon developed in which Northumberland was a leading contender:

1. Northumberland crushed the rebel army in Norfolk on 26th August 1549


2. Somerset was unable to order troops to return France and Scotland following the rebellions under the two proclamations that he issued


3. The Privy Council issued a proclamation blaming Somerset for the rebellions and after agreeing to negotiate Somerset was arrested on 11th October 1549

Northumberland the politician

He had risen to political prominence during the last years of Henry VIII's reign and had gained a good military reputation in the Scottish and French wars. Furthermore in Henry's will he had been named as one of the members of the Privy Council.

The events of 1549 gave him his opportunity to take advantage of Somerset's political isolation and showed his considerable ability as a politician. By pretending to be a Catholic sympathiser, he successfully conspired with the conservatives which gave him control of the council.

Northumberland the tactician

Northumberland plotted too with the reform party, particularly Archbishop Cranmer and with his help he gained contol over the administration of the Royal Household, which gave him immediate access to Edward VI and enabled him to win the confidence of the King. To secure his position he becamse Lord President of the Council and was mnade General Warden of the North which gave him military command. However he only achieved complete power in October 1551 when he had Somerset re-arrrested and assumed the title of Duke of Northumberland.

In marked contrast to Somerset he introduced a series of significant and lasting reforms and thus is described by historians as an ambitious but able politician.

Maintaining control

Northumberland had learned from Somerset's mistakes and saw that control of the council was the key to political power.

As Lord President he was able to appoint and dismiss councillors at will and had complete control over procedure. Able supporters of Somerset such as Paget and William Cecil who had been arrested, were released and returned to their posts. Under their guidance the Council and its procedures were restored to the pattern established in the period 1536-47.

Northumberland enlarged the membership of the council to 33 and chose whenever possible men of military experience so if any further rebellions came about then he could be sure of immediate armed support. To make the Council more efficient and stable Northumberland created a smaller, inner committee with a fixed routine to conduct business and to stop the bypassing of the Council, Northumberland restored it to the centre of the government. Also for similar reasons he made less use of proclamations, preferring to use parliament to conform legislation.

Northumberland and the problems of government

The political difficulties facing the new government were the same as those that Somerset had failed to resolve. Unfortunatel for Northumberland, they had become more acute and the most pressing problems were:

• the diplomatic position


• the short-fall in revenue

The diplomatic position

The war situation had deteriorated because the French, taking advantage of England's domestic position, had declared open warfare in August 1549 and thus placed Boulogne under serious threat. Northumberland realised that England was in an impossible military and financial position and therefore ended the war with France and withdrew many of the garrisons from Scotland.

While this eased the immediate difficulties, diplomatic relations with Charles V became strained as the Emperor mistrusted England's new position of neutrality towards France. Furthermore in order to gain further supreme power he allied himself with more extreme Protestat reformers such as Bishops Ridley and Hooper but Northumberland had to allow the Church of England to swing towards Calvinism. This further antagonised Charles V, who favoured moderation in the English Church and England became diplomatically isolated.

The short-fall in revenue

Revenue remained a serious problem. The government was bankrupt in 1549: Somerset had spent £1,356,000 on the war and sold crown lands to the value of £800,000. The government even had to borrow to raise the £50,000 a year needed to maintain the Royal Household.

Ending the war greatly reduced the expenditure but a number of other things had to be done to keep the government solvent:

• In May 1551, the coinage was debased for the last time but more money still needed to be loaned from Continental baks despite the government making a profit of £114,000.
• Cecil was restored as Secretary of State and put in charge of financial planning: he recommended the sale of chantry lands and Church goods to start paying off loans
• Gresham (from the government Treasury) was sent to the Netherlands to manipulate the stock market, restore the value of sterling against continental currencies and pay off loans.
• In March 1552 the coinage was called in and reissued with the silver content which helped to slow the rise of inflation and restore confidence in sterling.
• Strict economies were made in government spending and Northumberland paid off the remainder of his mercenary troops.

Thus most of the overseas debts were now paid off and an emergency fund had been established. By 1553 the financial situation had been stablished and Northumberland had shown considerable political skill in resolving a serious financial crisis.

At the same time there was a concerted effort to improve the efficiency of the financial machinery. The most pressing need was to streamline the collection of revenue and to find ways of increasing government income. In 1552 a commission began to investigate the five revenue courts that carried out the work of the Exchequer and recommended that to avoid corruption and inefficiency that the number of courts be reduced to two- the Exchequer and the Office of Crown Lands.

Economic and social problems

The government was faced by equally pressing economic and social problems:

1. Population and inflation was still rising which meant that the living standards of the masses continued to decline and that work was more difficult to find.
2. NBy 1550 the growing instability of the Antwerp cloth market was causing widespread unemployment among textile workers in W.Country and E.Anglia.
3. The debasement of the coinage in 1551 raised inflation still further.
4. Grain prices rose rapidly; a situation worsened by poor harvests.
5. In 1550 the country was still simmering after the recent popular uprisings and was further unsettled by the political power struggle among the privy councillors.

Thus the administration had to act carefully to avoid further unrest, for instance:

• The unpopular 1547 Vagancy Act and the sheep tax of 1548 were repealed in 1550 which helped to dispel unrest.
• In the same year a new Treason Act was passed, which restored censorship and gave the authorities more power to enforce law and order.

Initially these measures helped to prevent the widespread popular discontent from turning into actual revolt.

At the same time the administration introduced further measures in 1552:

• It tried to improve the economic situation and relieve poverty and distress.
• The existing anti-enclosure legislation was rigorously enforced and the unpopular enclosure commissions were withdrawn.
• The revaluation of the coinage halted inflation and reduced prices.
• Acts were passed to protect arable farming and to stop the charging of excessive interest on debts.
• A new poor law was passed which made it easier for the parish and town authorities to support the aged, infirm and crippled.

It seems from this research that Northumberland was a lot more successful than Somerset at ruling under the reign of Edward VI.

Thus if I was to ask children to look at this two topics in more detail I would explain to them the main problems of Somerset's rule and the successes of Northumberland rule either by using a powerpoint presentation aksing them questions as they went along to check they had concentrated on what I was telling them or by displaying around the classroom problems and successes of their reigns and asking them to match them with the rulers before I revealed the correct answers.

Once they had completed this task I would ask them to answer the following questions in groups and to make an essay plan of their answers which could be used to write an essay for assessment purposes:

How and why did Somerset fall from power?

How and why was Northumberland able to deal with the problems he faced much better than Somerset did?

Once they had answered these questions and we had discussed their answers with the rest of the class to check they had got all of the points they needed for their essay, I would ask them to complete a comparison of the reigns of Somerset and Northumberland reminding them to look at why one seemed to succeed and the other failed.

Next time I will look at the section entitled 'Mary Tudor 1553-8' to try to understand the political problems that she faced during her reign and how she dealt with them.

Government, Politics and the State 1536-88

The next chapter of the Access to History book focuses on the political problems that faced the Tudor monarchs during their reigns. These included the succession, foreign relations, government finances, changes in religion and the political effects of problems in public order and the economy. By examining the means by which the Tudor regimes dealt with these problems it is hoped that one should be able to come to a firm decision about whether there was a crisis in politics and the state.

Today I have managed to look at the first three sections of this chapter: The political situation in Mid-Tudor England 1536-88, Henry VIII and the succession 1544-7 and The Protector Somerset 1547-9.

The political situation in Mid-Tudor England 1536-88
Historians generally accepted that the mid-sixteenth century was a time of political conflict and confrontation in England- a period of failure and lack of progress, set between the great achievements of the 1530s and the recovery of the national economy under Elizabeth I. This period of conflict and confrontation was seen to stem from weak political leadership. The result was a contest between Crown and parliament, and bitter stife between Catholics and Protestants. The five major political figures listed below have been blamed for this failure for various reasons:

• Henry VIII: in his final years Henry was seen as an increasingly weak ruler unable to control the factional disputes that came to dominate the court.


• Duke of Somerset: Somerset was seen as a moderate reformer, who fell from power because of his tolerant and fair-minded policies.


• Duke of Northumberland: considered ruthless and greedy, creating a constitutional crisis by trying to change the succession.


• Queen Mary: condemned for being politically inept, for her obession with Philip II of Spain and for her devotion to Catholicism.


• Elizabeth I: has been criticised for her almost instinctive reluctance to take decisive and creative action. She has been portrayed as a 'do-nothing queen'.

The idea of a Mid-Tudor political crisis is no longer popular however. Although there were disruptions in the day-to-day running of the country, the machinery of government continued to operate normally. Thus the period 1536-88 is now seen in terms of co-operation rather than conflict- as a time of definite political and administrative development. In part this change results from revised opinions about the political leaders:

• Although Henry VIII's final years were marked by the king's failing health and power he managed to maintain the authority of the Crown and preserve the unity of the realm.


• The Duke of Somerset is now seen as a Tudor soldier and statesman who was more interested in war than social reform.


• The Duke of Northumberland is still regarded as ruthless and self-seeking, but he is becoming recognized as an able and reforming administrator.


• Although few would claim that Mary was a great queen, her reign is being seen as a time of significant political and administrative progress.


• Some historians have revised their opinion by suggesting that Elizabeth's 'do-nothing' approach was sometimes the wisest course of action: to put off until tomorrow what need not be done today.

Henry VIII and the succession 1544-7
Henry's major concern in his last years was the succession: he was obessed with the need to safeguard the dynasty by leaving a male heir to succeed him. In order to avoid any possible disputes Henry made a final settlement of the succession in his will of 1546. Edward was to take over the authority of England upon his death and in the event of Edward dying without heairs, the succession was then to pass onto Mary before passing onto Elizabeth if Mary had no heirs. If all of his children diead without heirs then the throne would be passed on to his neice Frances Grey following the death of Elizabeth to prevent Mary Queen of Scots taking over from Elizabeth as Henry wanted to preserve the Royal Supremacy and hence keep England as a protestant country.

Henry's main concern in his will was to secure the peaceful succession of his son and safeguard the Royal Supremacy. By 1546 it had become clear that the surest way to achieve this and so prevent a power struggle, was to give authority to Seymour and the reform faction. Thus a Regency Council was nominated consisting of Seymour and 15 of his most trusted allies. members of the councils were to have equal powers and were to govern the country until Edward reached 18 years of age.


The Protector Somerset, 1547-9

In January 1547 (on the death of Henry VIII), Edward Seymour (the brother of Jane Seymour, Henry's 3rd wife) became protector of the realm and Duke of Somerset. His friend and ally, Sir William Paget, described him as a quick-tempered man who was prone to taking the wrong decisions when put under pressure. He was a better soldier than he was a politician and within two years of taking power he had completely lost control of the situation.

• Rise to power of Somerset:

The reason why he gained power so quickly is not altogether clear, although his being the new king's uncle certainly helped. Clearly, the reformers among the clergy hoped for the introduction of religious reform, and it is likely that many moderates regarded Seymour as the best means of preserving stability and the Royal Supremacy.

Henry's death and the terms of the will were made known to an assembly of nobles and higher clergy at the Tower of London on 1 February 1547 and Somerset was announced as the leader of the council. By the end of February, Somerset had secured the firm support of the majority of councillors and was made Lord Protector, with the right to appoint and dismiss members of the Privy Council. These powers made Somerset the undisputed ruler of the country and thus he was handed the title of Duke of Somerset.

Somerset's Character:

• In the past he has been regarded as a genuine reformer, sympathetic to the plight of the poor.


• More recently, oubts have been expressed about whether he had any interest in social reform and it has been claimed that he was an arrogant self-seeker who refused to accept advice, and who enriched himself with confiscated church property.


• Using the same evidence, historians currently see him as a Tudor soldier and statesman, whose main interest was the war against Scotland and France.

System of government

Parliament

Somerset took over a form of administration that had been developed by Henry VII and Henry VIII. Due to changes introduced by Cromwell in the 1530s, Tudor government had come to rest on the principle that the power of the monarch was based in parliament. Both Houses of Parliament had to approve proposals for taxation and confirm any new lawas before they became permanent statutes. On the other hand, the monarch could call parliament to meet as often or as infrequently as he chose.


When parliament was not in session the Crown could make new laws through proclamations or could suspend existing laws, but these actions had to be confirmed when parliament met again. Certain things such as diplomacy and the making of war or peace were part of the royal prerogative over which the monarch had complete control.



Privy Council

The day-to-day administration was carried out by the Privy Council. Members of the council were chosen by the monarch and were selected for their loyalty and their administrative or military skills and could be dismissed at will. The work of the Privy Council was supported by a staff of permanent civil servants. The Privy Council was also responsible for the running of the local government and Wales and Scottish border (two parts of the country which it was thought were most open to rebellion or invasion) were administered by the Councils of Wales and the North [sub-committees of the Privy Council].


Local Government
Local government in the remainder of England was administered by the nobles and higher clergy in each county. They were expected to maintain order, administer justice, collect taxes, raise troops and carry out instructions from the Privy Council. These duties had to be organised through their own households and frequently at their own expense. They were supported by gentry who acted as Justices of the Peace and commissioners for collecting taxes and assisting the lord Lieutenants in mustering the county militia.


The major problem with this system was that f the leading local families did not support or like the government/legislation, thy often failed to carry out the instructions from London and thus the central administration had to be careful to maintain the confidence and support of the majority of landed elites.


Government under Somerset

The administration during the first two years of Edward VI's reign were relatively the same as during Henry VIII's reign. The real differences were the lack of effective leadership and the fact that existing problems had grown worse. Economic and financial expedients and a half-hearted religious reform policy created confusion and uncertainty among both the landed elites and the general public.



It has however been suggested that Somerset was neither more nor less to blame for these problems than his aristocratic colleagues. He failed to show the leadership necessary to compensate for the absence of an adult monarch. Whether this was because of his preoccupation with war or because of his stubbornness amd inability to adjust to new conditions is difficult to judge.


Somerset and the problems of government


Short-term problems

The new regime inherited three pressing short-term problems from the previous reign. Decisions had to be made about:

• Whether or not to continue the wars against Scotland and France
• The question of religious reform
• How to find way of raising more revenue

War:

Any move to end the war would have lost Somerset support among the landed elites. In any case, the Council was bound by Henry VIII's last wishes to arrange a marriage between Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots to secure the succession. This meant continuing a war based on the ill-founded belief that a military victory would force the scots to agree to the marriage.

Religious Reform:
In 1539 Henry VIII had tried to prevent any further religious cahnges by passing the Act of Six Articles (intended to protect and promote Catholic religious ideas and prevent the further spread of Protestantism in England and Wales). Since then pressure had been mounting among the Protestant clergy and laity for the introduction of reform along the lines of Lutheranism and Calvinism as practised on the continent. For this reason the administration therefore had to make some gesture towards introducing religious reform. If it did not then it would risk losing the support of the Protestant activists and encourage a Catholic revival, which might well have resulted in the administration losing power.

Revenue:

Revenue was the most pressing problem. In 1547, the government was virtually bankrupt. The crippling costs of war was the main reason for this. By 1547, the annual revenue from crown lands had fallen to £200,000 which was insufficient to run the country and pay off government borrowing, let alone finance the war.

There was an urgent need to reform the taxation and customs systems and to bring the way that finances were administered up to date. Somerset and the council did none of these things because of their preoccupation with the war and the concern that if they raised taxes this would be unpopular with the elites and the other taxpayers. Instead, they fell back on the old expedients of seizing more church property and debasing the coinage.

Long-term problems

As well as these immediate political and administrative difficulties, the government faced a number of serious long-term economic and social problems:

• Population continued to increase and this presented a major threat to the government which created problems of inflation and poverty (due to the number of people needing to find employment)


• Poor harvests which made the situation worse and the level of discontent rose and continuing high levels of taxation and debasement of the coinage only made this worse.

The government administration was well aware that there was rising popular discontent over the worsening economic conditions but it was unsure how to tackle this problem. Thus rather than try to solve these issues it appears the government's main objective was to continue the wars whilst introducing religious reforms which it hoped would help to dampen the popular discontent.

Laws and Proclaimations 1547-8

One of the first actions of the new parliament was to pass a new Treasons Act. This repealed the old heresy, treason and censorship laws and the Act of Six Articles, which had maintained doctrinal orthodoxy since 1539.

The removal of heresy allowed people to discuss religion freely without fear of arrest, while the ending of censorship on printing and publishing enabled the circulation of books and pamphlets on religion and the importation of Luteran and Calvinist literature.

The Treason Act

The new treason Act immediately created problems for itself:

• The removal of restrictive laws encouraged widespread debate over religion.


• Public meetings frequently ended in disorder and riots, with attacks on churches to break up statues of saints and other Catholic images.


• The repeal of old laws also left the county and urban authorities with much less power to deal with such situations

Thus the government had helped to promote the very disorder that it was trying to avoid and left authorities powerless to enforce order has it had been able to do before.

The new Treason Act also repealed the Proclamation Act of 1539 that stated that royal proclamations should be obeyed as if they were acts of parliaments, providing that they did not infringe existing laws. It has been suggested that Somerset was trying to give himself more freedom to rule by proclamation by ignoring parliament and this seems to be the case as he issued approximately 37 proclamations during his reign and he also lacked the backing of the Privy Council so needed the means to deal with any severe difficulties he faced.

The Chantries Act

The Chantries Act of 1547 can be regarded as another measure of religious reform to close the chantries (small religious houses endowed with lands to support one or two priests whose duty it was to sing masses for specific purposes). Yet in reality, this act was to a device to raise money to pay for the wars.

In early 1548, commissioners were sent out to visit the chantries, confiscate their land and property and collect all the gold and silver plate attached to them which were then melted down to make coins.

Simultaneously the royal mints were ordered to reissue the coinage and reduce the silver content by adding copper. Although these measures provided much needed revenue, they created futher problems. By increasing the number of coins in circulation the government was adding to the inflation and hence prices particularly for grain, rose rapidly which fuelled further discontent among the poor.

The Vagrancy Act and public order

The 1547 Vagrancy Act showed little concern for the poor and needy. In fact it was a savage attack on vagrants looking for work, who were seen by the government as a cause of riots and sedition.

Under the new law, any able-bodied person out of work for more than three days was to be branded with a V and sold into slavery for two years. The children of vagrants could be taken from their parents and set to work as apprentices in useful occupations.

The new law was widely unpopular and many of the county and urban authorities refused to enforce it. In fact it is clear that the level of popular discontent had risen by the middle of 1548 because the Privy Council was forced to take measures to appease public agitation.

Enclosure
The government blamed all the economic problems on enclosure. it was felt that the fencing-off common land for sheep pasture and the consequent eviction of husbandmen and cottagers from their homes were the major cause of inflation and unemployment. Proclamations were issued against enclosures and commissioners were sent out to investigate abuses.

The main effect of these measures was to increase unrest. Government took no decisive action against it. Further measures were introduced to limit the size of leaseholds and tax were placed on wool, only make the situation worse. Thus many of the elites evaded the legislation, which consequently fell most heavily on the poorer sections of society it was supposed to protect.

Law and order

The government was more concerned with avoiding riot and rebellion than with helping the poor and solving economic problems. In 1548 three proclamations were issued to maintain law and order:

1. A ban on violent sports was rigourously enforced on the grounds that they might end in riots and disorders.


2. It became an offence to spread rumours, as they were likely to create unrest.


3. All unlawful assemblies were forbidden.

Anyone found guilty of these offences was to be sent for varying period to the galleys. These seem like emergeny measures passed by a government which realised that the economic position was getting out of hand and which feared the consequences.

Fall from power

It appears that these attempts to control the situation were ineffective because in 1549 the country drifted into what was potentially a major crisis. Somerset seemed unable or unwilling to take decisive action to suppress well-supported popular uprisings in the West Country and East Anglia. It assumed this is because he showed sympathy for the rebels. However it seems the delay in action was because the local ruling elites were reluctant to intervene without government support. Lack of money made it difficult to raise a new mercenary army and Somerset was unwilling to provide troops from his garrisons in Scotland and France. It was only when the Privy Council provided additional troops that the rebellions were stopped.

As a consequence of the rebellions, Somerset was arrested and although he was allowed to re-join the Privy Council, he was soon executed for supposedly plotting against the government.

Next time I will look at the remainer of chapter two.

Teaching the 'Mid-Tudor Crisis'

As the textbook, 'Access to History: The Change and Protest 1536-88: Mid-Tudor Crises' by R.Turvey and N. Heard is meant specifically to teach this period to A level students then it is far more detailed than it needs to be to teach this subject to year 8 pupils, therefore the information I gave in the last blog page would need to be simplified before I taught this topic to them.


I would therefore try to explain to the children the main problems each ruler faced during their reign e.g. Mary faced unpopularity on two counts (on returning England to Roman Catholicism and on marrying Philip II of Spain). and then I would ask them to answer for each ruler how successful they were at dealing with the problems they faced. For instance Mary persecuted and executed Protestants which in fact proved to not successfully deal with her problems since it made her more unpopular with the people of England.


Once the children had determined whether or not each ruler (Edward VI under the rule of Somerset and Northumberland and Mary I) had successful solved the problems which faced them, I would ask the pupils to try to conclude whether or not there was a 'Mid-Tudor Crisis' during the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I or whether or not it was actually a period of success using the information they had been given on the problems each ruler faced during their reign. In order for them to answer this question I would explain to them briefly the ideas of historians. For instance I would tell them that the 'Mid-Tudor Crisis' was deemed to have happened during the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I since the English government and society were it is argued in imminent danger of collapse in face of a combination of weak rulers, economic pressures, a series of rebellions and religious upheaval, among other factors. However there are also other historians who disagree with these views and argue that there were no damaging crises for each ruler and that while each ruler did face problems, these problems had no real effect on the way they ruled or caused a collapse in the English government and society.


Hopefully after this lesson they would understand the different views of historians on this period and briefly understand the different problems Edward VI and Mary I faced during their reigns.

A crisis in Mid-Tudor England?

Today I have looked at the first chapter of the access history book to try to understand what historians mean by the term 'mid-Tudor crisis' and to determine how the reigns of Edward Vi and Mary Tudor fitted into this supposed crisis.


Mid-Tudor crisis?

The period 1536-1588 (the Mid-Tudor Period) witnessed changes in government, politics and religion but the intensity and influence of those changes has been a subject for debate.

Some historians argue that these changes were so radical and wide-ranging that they contributed to what has been termed a 'mid-Tudor crisis'. Others disagree with these comments and state that these changes occurred naturally and are changes which one would expect to have happened over a period spanning over 50 years.

However there is no doubt that if one compares England in 1588 to that in 1536 there are some stark differences:

• For the first time, the kingdom was governed by a female rather than male monarch
• The state religion had been transformed into Protestant as opposed to Roman Catholic
• The monastic system which had been in place for over 800 years no longer existed
• Spain had turned from an ally of England into its mortal enemy
• Rise of the bureaucrat e.g Thomas Cromwell and William Cecil
• Emergence of parliament as a more significant institution of government

Edward VI: the Somerset years 1547-1549

When Edward took over from his father Henry VIII, he was only 9 years old and therefore far too young to rule the country on his own, so Edward Seymour (Edward's uncle) took over control of the country until 1549. During this time the political situation deteriorated steadily. However historians often debate whether this was caused by Somerset's lack of ability or by the numberous difficulties which he had to overcome.

Three major problems were inherited from the policies of Henry VIII:

1. Religious Policy: Faced with the problem of whether the Church of England should remain essentially Roman Catholic or become more Protestant: Somerset inherited a divided church that lacked decisive leadership and a clear direction. Somerset and most members of the Regency Council were moderate reformers whereas Edward favoured more radical changes. However powerful politicians such as the Duke of Norfolk and Bishop Gardiner were opposed to change and therefore such differences only increased the in-fighting among political factions.

2. Foreign Policy: Faced with the problem of whether the war started with France and Scotland by Henry VIII in 1542 should be continued or stopped. Henry had hoped this war would secure the marriage of Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots. Although the government was already bankrupt, Somerset continued the war and therefore further crippled the country's finances. Somerset also continued policy of keeping on good terms with Charles V (the ruler of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire) for fear of provoking him into war.

3.Economic Policy: Faced with the problem of whether the economy which had been neglected by Henry VIII be reformed or left to repair itself. Somerset inheirted an English economy that was in a very weak condition. Population levels had been increasing rapidly since the 1530s, causing prices to rise and making it difficult for young people to find work. The problem was made worse by fall in demand for English textiles abroad which in turn lead to unemployment among cloth workers. By 1549 there was widespread discontent among the mass of the population, leading to large-scale uprisings in Norfolk and the West Country. Even though the rebeillons were easily suppressed, Somerset's enemies on the council seized the opportunity to overthrow him and take power.

Edward VI: the Nortumberland years 1550-3

John Dudley, the Earl of Warwick took power from Somerset in 1550 and was quickly made Duke of Northumberland and Lord President of the Council. While Northumberland seems to have adopted more practical policies than Somerset there is some debate over whether or not he was any more successful in overcoming the problems that faced the country.

Although the popular discontent had subdued, Northumberland still faced the same problems as his predecessor:

1. Foreign Policy: Somerset's fall from power caused a temporary breakdown in military leadership. This enabled the French to gain initiative in the war and they went on the offensive. This combined with the lack of money, forced Northumberland to make peace with France and Scotland which annoyed many of the ruling elite who thought it was a humiliating climb-down.

2. Religious Policy: Northumberland allowed increasingly radical reforms to be introduced into the Church of England (probably to secure the support of Edward VI). This move however angered Catholics at home as well as Emperor Charles V (England's major continental ally) who was an active supporter of the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Economic Policy: Northumberland had learnt from Somerset's mistakes and therefore introduced measures to try to restore stability. The Privy Counil and government was reorganised, finances were reformed and debts created by the war began to be paid off. Although the economic situations continued to worsen, poor laws were introduced to help the poorest sections of society.

Whether Northumberland would have succeeded in establishing firmly in power is a matter of speculation because Edward died in 1553. This also left England with an immediate constitutional crisis. Mary (the daughter of Henry VIII's first wife Catherine of Aragon) was to succeed Edward if died childless, however she was a devout Roman Catholic and it was therefore feared that she would restore the authority of the pope and so end the Royal Supremacy over the Church of England. Thus in order to avoid these changes, Northumberland made sure that Mary and Elizabeth were disinherited so that Lady Jane Grey (Protestant Granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary) could become queen and hence prevent a change of religion in England. However the reign of Lady Jane Grey only lasted 9 days due to the unpopularity of her rule and quite quickly Mary I became queen.

Mary Tudor 1553-8

Until quite recently historians dismissed Mary as lacking political experience and leadership qualities. In addition she was accused of being over-zealous in her support of Roman Catholicism and Spain. (Two things which made her widely unpopular by the end of her reign).

However most historians now suggest that her reign was not altogether disastrous and that, but for her early death, her policies might have succeeded.

Her two main objectives during her reign were:

1) to return England to Roman Catholicism

2) to create closer links with the Habsburgs (her mother's family) headed by the Roman Holy Emperor Charles V.

Creating Closer links with Habsburgs

Before Mary could achieve her primary objective of returning England to Roman Catholicism, she first had to secure an alliance with the most influential ruling Catholic family in Europe: the Habsburgs. She believed by doing this, that she would strengthen her religious position at home and abroad. Therefore to do this she proposed to marry Charles V's son, Phillip II of Spain. Although the parliament and council reluctantly agreed to the marriage, there was increasing opposition to the proposal especially from the ruling elites who feared England would be dominated by Spain and drawn into the Habsburgs wars against France.

Returning England to Roman Catholicism

With the Habsburgs alliance secured, Mary began the task of restoring the Church of England to Roman Catholicism.

In the first year of her reign, parliament agreed to repeal and therefore ignore all Protestant legislation passed under Edward. Many of the ruling elites disliked this: some didn't like the fact that the royal supremacy over church would be ended, while others feared that they might have to return church lands which had been sold off to ruling elites during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.

In the end, Mary had to compromise and although papal authority was restored, no attempt was made to reclaim any church lands that had been sold. At the same time, the Marian government (Mary I's government) began another round of financial reform to reduce costs and increase revenues and initiated a thorough review of navy.

Before any benefits could be gained from these reforms the reign was overtaken by events. The persecution and execution of Protestants made Mary increasingly unpopular with all levels of society. Popular discontent was made worse by steadily worsening economic situations and rising unemployment. Anti-Spanish feelings rose due to Phillip invading England because of his war with France which went back on promises he had previously made. As a result, Calais (England's last continental possession) was lost to the French.

Mary died in 1558 and was replaced by her younger sister Elizabeth I, who was to become the last Tudor monarch.

Next topic to look at

I have now finished my work on the medieval times and have been asked by Ruth Lee to look at the reigns of both Mary Tudor and Edward VI and to determine if there was a mid-Tudor crisis by reading the following books: The Tudors by John Guy and Access to History: Change and protest 1536-88: Mid-Tudor Crises? by Roger Turvey and Nigel Heard.

Before I look at these two historical figures and their reigns in detail. I am going to give a brief description of each of them which I found on http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/

Edward VI

Edward became king after his father Henry VIII died in 1547 and although Mary (his sister) was the oldest of Henry's children, Edward became king first because he was a boy. He ruled in England from 1547 to 1553. He was however only 9 years old when he came to power and therefore had to have an advisor to rule the country for him. During his power of rule he had two advisors. His first advisor was his uncle, Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset who became the Lord Protector and advised and guided the king for the first two and half years of his reign. Following the defeat and arrest of the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of Northumberland (John Dudley) became his second advisor in 1549. As a result of the advice of his two advisors, Seymour and Dudley and Edward's religious beliefs, Edward's reign is mainly remembered for the major changes he made to religion while he was king (changes which had been started off by Henry Viii during his reign when he changed the church of England from catholicism to protestantism during the reformation.)

Main changes of Edward:

• Laws passed to make churches more plain: stained glass windows and pictures were removed from churches and the furniture within churches became much more plain and basic
• The actual church services were a lot more simpler than before and services were held in English so that everyone could understand what was going on
• A prayer book in english was introduced
• Priests did not have to dress in bright coloured clothes like they did in catholic churches and they were allowed to marry
• The King remained the head of the church

As a result of these changes, England made a break with the catholic church in Rome and hence became a protestant country.

Edward had never been a healthy boy throughout his life and on 6th July 1553 aged only 15 years old, he died from tuberculosis and after nine days of interruptions when Lady Jane Grey came to power (to stop a threat coming from Mary Tudor who it was believed would change the main religion of England to catcholicism) Mary Tudor [his half sister] came to the throne.

Mary I

Mary I is also often referred to as Mary tudor or 'Bloody' Mary and reigned from 1553 to 1558. When she initially became queen she was very popular with the people of England, however this popularity was quickly taken away from her because of of her religious changes and her marriage. Mary was a devout catholic and therefore was horrified with the changes her half-brother, Edward had made. Thus she quickly restored England as a catholic country: restoring the catholic mass and banning holy communion, all priests had to be catholic, the basic furniture of protestant churches was replaced with colourful furniture and paintings of the catholic church, services were held in latin and the English prayer book was banned and the pope became the head of the church once again. The majority of people accepted these changes, however others were reluctant to do so and were therefore burnt at the stake for heresy (nearly 300 people died in this way) and this is hence why she earnt the nickname 'Bloody Mary'.

Furthermore English people at this time, feared the power of Spain and thus in order to bring the two countries closer togehter Mary decided to accept the marriage proposal of Philip II (the king of Spain). He was also a strong catholic. As a result of this marriage, the people of England feared that Philip would take control of England and thus as a consequence Mary became very unpopular with the English people. The marriage turned out however to be a huge failure for Mary as Philip spent most of his time in Spain and therefore neither of them saw very much of each other and also had no children.

Mary died in 1558 as a very unhappy person due to her failed marriage and the resentment from English people towards her and Elizabeth I (her half-sister) became the next queen following her death.

Next time I will use the two books I have brought on this topic to give more detailed notes on the reigns of Edward and Mary before looking at some ways in which I would teach these topics.

Peasants' revolt: A powerpoint presentation

Here is another resource I have found for the peasants' revolt of 1381 (It's a powerpoint presentation from the TES website which I thought I could use to give the children explanations of what happened and why there was a revolt in the first place and I could adaptt it to add my own activities to it:

Medieval Towns: Part Two: How to teach

Following from the previous lesson on medieval towns I would now look at the different trades, the role of guilds, perhaps medieval punishments (using the information I found from the presentation from TES) and then rounded off the topic of medieval towns with a task concluding the topic of medieval towns.

Some activities which could be used in this lesson:

1. I would explain to them there was a number of different trades introduced in the medieval period, some of which no longer existed and when I explained the different trades to the students I would ask them to guess what some of the trades were e.g. a cordwainer, a thatcher,a combere or a skinner. Furthermore following on from the last lesson where I asked them to chose where they would place their towns if they were building one, I could ask them to look at some of the different trades (using a worksheet like this: http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/life/groups.pdf) and then discuss between them where they would place each trade in their town and also for them to consider if some of these trades would not fit into their town and why this would be.

2. I would explain to them what guilds were, why they were introduced and why it was so important as a craftsmen to be part of one as well as looking at the different levels of craftsmen: apprentice, journeymen and master. (I could do this by using some of the information off this worksheet from TES: http://www.tes.co.uk/download.aspx?storycode=6042297&type=X&id=6050407storycode=6042297&type=X&id=60504076050407) Once I had finished this explanation of guilds I would ask the students to come up with reasons for why it would be good and bad to become part of a guild and ask them to consider the following points: How easy it would be to change trades and how independent they would be if they joined a guild etc. Once they had finished this task I would ask them to create their own trademark for their guild using some of the pictures below as an example.

3. I could then look at medieval punishments and explain to the children using the powerpoint already added to this blog how people were punished in the middle ages and why, I could then ask them to decide using these cards: http://www.tes.co.uk/download.aspx?storycode=6011150&type=X&id=6009646 which punishments people would receive for each crime.

4. Finally I could ask the children to work in groups of between 2 and 4 and to create their own role play of a medieval town and ask them to remember to include all the aspects we had looked at in our lesson on medieval towns e.g. charters, guilds, medieval punishments, trading in towns etc. Once this had been completed I would ask them to act them out to the rest of the class and for each group to tell the other groups what was good about their presentations and what they thought could have been improved.

5. As an end to this lesson on medieval towns, I would ask them to discuss amongst themselves what was good and what was bad about medieval towns and what they would change if they were to live in a medieval town and why this would be.

Medieval Towns: Powerpoint Presentation on law and order

Here is another presentation that I found on TES which is a presentation that looks at medieval law and order and would again be a good presentation to use to help me teach this topic to children and I could add into it my own activities for the lesson.

Medieval Towns: Presentation Powerpoints

Here is a presentation powerpoint that I found online at TES Online in the teaching resources area which maybe useful for me to use or adapt for my own teaching of medieval towns: (For anyone that is interested you can quite easily join and register to use the TES website at http://www.tes.co.uk/ and any of the resources are free to access).