Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

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Rebellion Under Henry VII

Raising taxes for war was met with severe discontentment. In 1489 and 1497, this manifested itself as rebellion.

Impact of taxation

Taxation fuelled sporadic and erratic violence in localities during the 15th and 16th centuries.
- E.g. Between 1548 and 1647 there were 11 attacks (which were recorded) on tax collectors.

The Yorkshire Rebellion, 1489

Cause: Henry VII raised taxes to fund a campaign in Brittany.
Course:
- The tax was met with popular hostility (of the intended £100,000, only £29,000 was raised).
- Rebels in Yorkshire murdered the Earl of Northumberland (who conveyed Henry VII’s message that he would not end the tax).
- The rebellion was quashed by forces led by the Earl of Surrey.
Consequence: Henry visited Yorkshire and pardoned many rebels. The Earl of Surrey became a Lieutenant of Yorkshire, as the new Earl of Northumberland was too young to govern the area.

The Cornish Rebellion, 1497

Cause:
- Henry VII raised a tax to wage a campaign against King James IV of Scotland and Perkin Warbeck.
Course: The rebels (reaching 15,000) marched towards London, led by Lord Audley, Joseph and Flanmank.
Consequence:
- Henry ruthlessly put an end to the rebellion.
- He made an example out of all rebels. Audley was executed, and Flanmank and Joseph were hanged, drawn and quartered.

Rebellion Under Henry VIII

The primary rebellion in response to tax was seen in 1525. The public opposed the Amicable Grant. This was the start of Wolsey’s downfall.

Cause of the Amicable Grant

The Amicable Grant was designed to fund Henry VIII’s war in France.

Course of the Amicable Grant

The Grant was met with hostility.
Across East Anglia people refused to pay and some rebelled.
Up to ten thousand marched on Lavenham, Suffolk.

Consequences of the Amicable Grant

The Grant was abandoned.
This was a shock to Henry VIII. It showed him that he was not infallible and did depend upon his relationship with tax payers.
Henry VIII made peace with France instead, giving up his claim to the French throne. Wolsey was blamed. He raised no further taxation.

Significance of Rebellion in Tudor England

Historians stress that popular rebellion was used as part of a negotiation between the people and the state.

Conciliatory politics

Historians argue that rebellion was conciliatory in nature.
It was a protective and defensive measure used to restore society to its equilibrium.

A form of negotiation

Bush (1991): “The essential purpose of a rising of the commons was to denote that the body politic was out of joint"...It released the commons "from their duty of obedience not permanently but as a temporary emergency measure, in order to put things to right".
MacCulloch: "The insurgent leaders were seeking good government, not rejecting all government…it is a moot point whether one should consider the affair a rebellion at all".

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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