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The Mid-Tudor Crisis is a traditional view of historians that during the reign of Edward VI and Mary I, the English government and society were on the verge of collapse. What made them believe this, and is there any truth to it? Let's find out.
Simply put, this describes a crisis in the mid-Tudor period. Although some early nineteenth-century historians place the Mid-Tudor Crisis from 1539 to 1563, the consensus among recent historians is that the Mid-Tudor Crisis was from 1547, with the death of Henry VIII, to 1558, with the death of Mary I. Some early nineteenth-century historians argued that weak rulers, economic pressures, and a series of rebellions were just some of the reasons that the English government and society were facing an imminent collapse.
Crisis
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a crisis is a time of great disagreement, confusion, or suffering. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that a crisis is a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention. Finally, the Oxford Languages dictionary states that a crisis is a time of intense difficulty or danger.
The big question is: was there a mid-Tudor crisis? This is a difficult question to answer. As mentioned above, early nineteenth-century historians have argued that several things led to a crisis severe enough that it could collapse the English government and society. However, more recent historians have actually discounted this theory.
The historian John Matusiak believes that both parties are over-simplifying their arguments.
Before going into details about who said the mid-Tudor crisis did and did not exist, let’s have a look at some people who are involved in this discussion.
Who said it did exist:
Who said it didn’t exist:
Let's look in more detail at both the for and against arguments, as well as what John Matusiak has to say about it.
While Pollard and Bindoff argued that there had been a period of crisis, it was Jones who first presented a systematic analysis of the state of both the government and society during those years.
Jones wrote The Mid-Tudor Crisis 1539-1563 (1973) in which he mentioned eight factors that, combined, created a crisis in mid-Tudor England.
| Factor | Explanation |
Weak rulers | Edward VI, who became king at just age nine, was a mere pawn of his Council Regents Edward Seymour (Duke of Somerset) and John Dudley (Duke of Northumberland). Somerset's policies were the primary cause of the 1549 rebellions whilst Northumberland was all about benefitting the rich at the expense of the poor. Mary I who reigned from 1553 to 1558 was intolerant and dogmatic. She demonstrated this by burning Protestants, as she made Catholicism the state religion once again. She also appeared to be a puppet who was controlled by her husband King Philip of Spain. Dogmatic Inclined to lay down principles as undeniable truth. |
Economic dislocation | Real wages fell by as much as 60% in this period. This is striking given that around 80% of the average worker’s wages were spent on food. The debasement of the coinage to pay for foreign wars and population growth were major causes of the economic problems. Debasement of the coinage Lowering the value of coins. |
Rebellions |
|
Faction fighting and unstable government | The fall of Thomas Cromwell led to a fight between the conservative camp, led by the Duke of Norfolk and Stephen Gardiner, and the radical camp, led by Somerset and Catherine Parr. This fighting enabled both the rise and fall of Somerset. |
Foreign policy | Somerset’s wars with Scotland and France were unsuccessful, so they were ended by Northumberland. It did, however, lead to the loss of Boulogne, which was now back in French hands. The war against Scotland also led to economic problems and social unrest, and Mary I’s war with France led to the loss of Calais. |
Local problems | Local problems grew as local politics was neglected. Both Kett’s Rebellion and Wyatt’s Rebellion clearly showed unsolved local issues that were growing into uprisings or rebellions. |
Religious change | This was a period with major religious changes during which England went from Catholic to Protestant due to Henry VIII’s break with Rome. It saw moderate Protestant reform from Somerset yet radical Protestant reform from Northumberland, then it went back to Catholicism under Mary I. These religious reforms were significant in both the Western Rebellion and Wyatt’s Rebellion. |
Succession crisis | Because Edward VI did not want the country to go back to Catholicism, he bypassed his father’s will that restored both Mary and Elizabeth to the throne and made Lady Jane Grey his successor. This decision did not sit well with the Catholic people. Mary was still popular and considered the rightful heir. She protested and was made queen after Lady Jane Grey had reigned for just nine days. |
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell was chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1535 until 1540 when he was beheaded. Cromwell had directed Henry's radical religious reforms and the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels articulated their anger towards him rather than the King. Despite this, he retained his position and Henry made him Earl of Sussex in 1540.
Shortly after, Cromwell's enemies convinced the King that Cromwell was a traitor so Henry had him executed. His removal left a power vacuum, which led to faction fighting.
In more recent decades, Loades and other historians have proposed a new interpretation, which is almost the complete opposite of the traditional mid-Tudor crisis thesis.
Revisionist interpretation | Explanation |
The crisis is an exaggeration | Revisionists say that England was not in a state of true crisis at all. There were some notable events but none of them threatened to collapse both the government and society. They say that the so-called essential machinery of the state survived intact. |
Strength of the state | Even though there were coups against both Somerset and Northumberland, these were short-term and unsuccessful. They did not damage the state and the monarchy.
Faction fighting did occur. However, it stayed within the Council rather than destabilising the wider government or society. |
| Continuity in government | The central government was strengthened by continuity in key and experienced figures. These include Thomas Gresham, William Paget, William Herbert, and William Cecil, who all remained in office throughout the period. |
Comparison with other periods | There is no doubt that the mid-Tudor period had moments of unrest and rebellion. However, they are considered less serious than moments that happened outside of the mid-Tudor period. The cloth crisis of 1551–52 was considered nothing compared to the agrarian crisis of 1596–98. The Pilgrimage of Grace of 1536, during Henry VIII's reign, was far more serious than all three Mid-Tudor rebellions combined. Also, the threat of the Spanish Armada during Elizabeth I's reign was far greater than the French and Scottish wars of this period. |
The three rebellions were exaggerated as a threat | Many of the rebels were more concerned about local issues and most of the rebels still remained loyal to the monarchs. An example of this took place during Kett’s Rebellion, where a lot of rebels still shouted: ‘God Save the King.’ All three rebellions were marred by mistakes, disorganisation, chaos, and blunder. This meant that the rebellions were easily crushed, and they were no threat to national security or the Throne. Other rebellions outside the mid-Tudor period proved to be a far greater threat, and still, the government and society were not hurt. Under Northumberland’s time as regent, there were no more rebellions. This showed an improvement in social stability. |
The economic problems have been exaggerated | The mid-Tudor crisis thesis used price indexes, which only focused on the fortunes of agriculture, even though this period was notable as the beginning of industrialisation in England. They also ignored the decline in the number of holidays as a result of the introduction of Protestantism. The mid-Tudor crisis thesis focused on pay, missing the point that many workers were paid in kind (i.e. they were given food and accommodation). Statistically speaking, the economy appeared to be struggling. However, the lives of ordinary English citizens were not as affected as they might seem when you consider all the facts and figures. |
| Strengths and achievements of the rulers | Somerset and Northumberland, Edward VI’s regents, were more effective than they are given credit for. Northumberland inherited many problems and dealt with them efficiently. Mary I had achievements in military and economic policies. Her failures were due to bad luck and a lack of time, not due to being a weak monarch. Edward VI was considered a relatively weak monarch, but we cannot forget that he became King at the age of nine and died at the age of 15. He never ruled himself as King of England and Ireland. However, his biggest achievement was laying the foundations of the modern Church of England with the help of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. There were no civil wars during this period and Parliament survived. England remained independent, and the important reforms in finance and administration which laid the foundations for the late Tudor state, suggest that the rulers of this period provided a relatively effective rule. |
As mentioned earlier, John Matusiak, who is a specialist in the mid-Tudor period, offers another perspective. He claims that both parties have over-simplified their arguments and that neither of them paints an accurate picture of the mid-Tudor period. Matusiak himself calls it ‘Years of trauma and survival’. He lists four aspects of his reasoning.
There was no crisis
In this, he actually agrees with the revisionists. While there were times of trouble, they did not warrant the term ‘crisis.’
Reassessment of the scale of failure
The traditionalists called the rulers in question weak, and the revisionists portrayed them as rather exceptional given their achievements. While Matusiak states he does not consider these rulers weak, he argues that the state survived but through no particular and exceptional efforts of these rulers.
The revisionists downplayed the problems faced during this period
The economy was facing severe issues. Wages were 60% less in 1559 than they were 50 years earlier. The consecutive harvest failures in 1556–57 had a big impact on the economy, as well as the outbreaks of sweating sickness in 1551–52, and the epidemics of 1556 and 1558. The latter reduced the population by 200,000 (6%).
This period saw constant changes between Catholicism and Protestantism in the space of two decades.
The loss of both Boulogne and Calais damaged English nationalism and was a stark contrast with the relatively successful ventures of Henry VIII. Furthermore, Parliament had to be dissolved in 1549, 1550, 1552, and 1553, which demonstrated its instability.
Matusiak said that even though the problems listed above are not unique to the Tudor period, they all happened in a 25-year timeframe. This period was thus particularly eventful.
Matusiak concludes his theory by saying:
While there was no apocalypse in Mid-Tudor England, there were many who sensed keenly enough the passing of the four horsemen. 1
We can say that there was no actual crisis. However, there was still trauma and the state was more focused on survival rather than achievement.
As you can see, there are three groups with clear ideas and theories. All theories have some merit. We know that there were severe issues that arose between 1547 and 1558. These were not the results of crises, but rather due to long-term problems, mainly those left over by Henry VIII’s reign.
Some examples are the huge debts that Henry left the government and his unstable foreign policy. This had put Edward VI and his regents in a difficult position from the start. That being said, the financial problems that were started by Henry VIII were exacerbated by Somerset with massive inflation rates due to his wars and policies against Scotland.
The two rebellions that followed this economic crisis led to 1549 being called ‘the worst year in the Tudor period’. These rebellions, however, were crushed easily with no threat to national security and the throne. Additionally, as we discussed earlier, there were rebellions all throughout the Tudor period. Indeed in comparison, those during the mid-Tudor period seemed to have a lesser impact than those outside the mid-Tudor period.
Due to poor harvests in the early 1550s, food became more expensive, and there were trading issues with the Netherlands in 1551 due to problems in Antwerp. Although the economic crisis continued, Northumberland and Mary I attempted to tackle these problems, which eventually improved the economy.
Although she had some success regarding economics, Mary I’s foreign policies were criticised, in particular her marriage to Philip. However, Mary put the following rules in place to protect England from foreign influence:
This shows that while the move of marrying a foreigner was not welcomed, she put measures in place to make sure that no foreigner would actually rule over England.
What can we conclude from all this information? We can conclude that indeed, there were issues during the mid-Tudor period. There were economic issues, rebellions, and foreign policy issues, but no more than during other Tudor periods, or during other historical periods in general. The issues were certainly not severe enough to destabilise the English government and society. If we consider this, then the word crisis in ‘Mid-Tudor Crisis’ is an exaggeration.
Just remember that all the people involved in this ‘Mid-Tudor Crisis’ idea have their own views and opinions and as people, we are prone to bias. We will, subconsciously, use our bias when forming opinions. Considering everything you just learned, try to form your own opinion and see what you think about the mid-Tudor crisis.
Below are some primary sources that historians have used to think about the mid-Tudor crisis. What do you think? Which sources would you use to argue in favour or against this theory?
After the rebellions were crushed, many of the lords and councillors secretly plotted to overthrow the Lord Protector. Each lord and councillor went through London armed, and had their servants likewise armed. They published a proclamation against him containing the following charges. First, that through his malicious and evil government, the Lord Protector had caused all the recent unrest in the country. Second, he was ambitious and sought his own glory, as appeared by his lavish buildings. Third, that he ignored the advice of the councillors. Fourth, that he told untruths about the council to the King.
- An excerpt about the rebellions of 1549 by Richard Grafton, a well-informed Londoner (1568). Taken from OCR A Level History AS: Mid Tudor Crisis, 1539-69.
And the said Northumberland wrought so much with the King and the nobles that they were not ashamed to declare publicly that her Highness was illegitimate: and that, both on this account and for her being (as they called it) a Papist, which name they have given to the Catholics, and designing to marry a foreign prince, she might be rightfully disinherited.
- An excerpt from The Accession of Queen Mary: Being the Contemporary Narrative of Antonio De Guaras, a Spanish merchant resident in London (1892) about how the Duke of Northumberland got Mary I disinherited.
Amongst all and singular histories touched in this book before, as there be many pitiful, divers lamentable, some horrible and tragical; so is there none almost either in cruelty to be compared, or so far off from all compassion and sense of humanity, as this merciless fact of the papists, done in the isle of Guernsey, upon three women and an infant, whose names be these as follow:- Katharine Cawches, the mother; Guillemine Gilbert, the daughter; Perotine Massey, the other daughter; an infant, the son of Perotine...
- An excerpt from John Foxe, Book of Martyrs (1563) about Mary I's burning of Protestants.
Sources
1. John Matusiak, 'Mid-Tudor England: Years of Trauma and Survival', History Review, 52, 2005.
Considering the word crisis is an exaggeration, the general consensus is that there was no Mid-Tudor Crisis.
A traditional view of historians that, during the reign of Edward VI and Mary I, the English government and society were on the verge of a collapse.
The main cause was the religious reforms during both Edward VI’s and Mary I’s reign.
The Pilgrimage of Grace of 1536, which did not happen during the Mid-Tudor period.
118 years.
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