Also¸ it can be argued that a lack of foreign support in the latter Tudor years was a reason for the decline in rebellion frequency as numerous rebellions had counted upon foreign backing. Nearly all challenges to Henry VII had an element of foreign support, for example Simnel had 2000 troops from Ireland. Later however, backers such as Margret of Burgundy were not prepared to supply large amounts of troops and funds, suggesting that there was awareness that the enterprise was doomed to failure, foreign powers were not prepared for loss. Instead they settled for nuisance value and prevented Henry VII from feeling fully secure. After a while however, foreign support failed to materialise at all, for example in the Northern Earls rebellion they relied on Spanish troops but failed to keep regular contact and the foreign rulers realised the pointlessness of the cause. Therefore, without the threat of a foreign invasion, rebellions failed and eventually began to peter out.
There were many economic and social problems including taxation, enclosures and hyperinflation that were a cause of rebellion between 1485 and 1603 but these really peaked in the 1540s under Somerset’s administration which was notably flawed. 1 in every 4 harvests failed in Tudor England and at least one third of the population lived bellow starvation level, JP’s were very important in maintaining order by forcing farmers to sell at a fair price and searching houses for grain hoards, as a result, in the last 20 year of Elizabeth’s reign, there was very little disorder.
After Somerset had been removed, the government policies became much less invasive and confrontational. The maintenance of political stability had improved greatly since the beginning of the Tudor period, governments stressed the relationship between subject and master, the need to keep ones place in society and respect the authority of one’s superior. The later Tudor monarchs recognised that rebellions demonstrated that not all subjects understood or accepted this philosophy and so they set about enhancing the respect for the Tudor monarchy. This was achieved in a number of ways, for example, over 900 proclamations from the crown were publically issued in London alone.
Propaganda was also used to ensure respect for the monarchy; Elizabeth for instance idealised herself as a symbol of eternal stability and made her painters focus on her wisdom, beauty, justice and good governance. This was helped by her making friendship ties with many, keeping her friends close but her enemies closer to try and prevent rebellions.
Lords lieutenant kept a close eye on local tensions and endeavoured to overcome political difficulties before they got out of hand Government officials after 1550, especially in the counties, led by JPs and lords lieutenant, kept a tighter grip on sources of local tension and people became more responsive to resolving grievances. This is shown in 1568 with the arrival of Mary Queen of Scots and the excommunication of 1570 when there was much potential for Catholic conspiracies and disturbances, the government effectively countered it. Unemployment was a prominent cause of rebellion; the poor were much more likely to rebel than the nobles and the gentry because they were getting a really bad deal. Mary and Elizabeth realised this and therefore the poor and unemployed were helped rather than punished. The genuine poor were assisted by a combination of state, municipal and private charitable relief and this greater grip on social power meant that the worry of vagrants and poor people was almost eliminated and reduced the need for rebellion.
Furthermore, the fate of other rebels was also used as a warning to anyone who dared begin a revolt, if heresy was practiced for instance, a first offence resulted in them having to recant and do penance; but those found guilty of a second offence were traditionally sentenced by the church courts to be handed over to the secular arm for burning by the sheriff. Before the Reformation, this penalty was mainly in parts of south-eastern England where supporters of the Lollard heresy were active; but with the onset of the Reformation, death by burning was the ultimate penalty exacted by the authorities for opposing the successive religious settlements as by law established, whether Catholic or Protestant. Not surprisingly, the Reformation crisis meant that more people were burned for heresy during the 16th century than any other. Much the largest number of burnings occurred under the Catholic regime of Mary who, between February 1555 and November 1558, executed almost three hundred people for heresy alone. By contrast, the previous Protestant regime of Edward VI burned just two people in six years. This and other threats including excommunication obviously deterred many people from rebelling and the crown had much potential to reward loyal and competent subjects with honours such as peerages and Knighthoods.
Protestant changes that had been introduced by Henry VIII and Edward VI were one of the most common causes of rebellion as it sparked off a whole variety of religiously based grievances, for example, the Pilgrimage of Grace was a direct consequence of the break with Rome.
The Elizabethan church settlement of 1559 was a major turning point, largely due to the moderate enforcements that Elizabeth introduced, religion ceased to be a major cause of rebellion as it satisfied most religious groups. Elizabeth’s principal desire was to achieve outward conformity and to establish a religious settlement that was acceptable to the large majority of the nation. In the end, only a small number of Catholic priests were unwilling to subscribe to the oaths of uniformity and supremacy and many Catholics remained loyal to their queen.
The government and the church wisely held back from strictly enforcing its terms with the idea that if no offence was given, none would be taken, this was certainly effective as after 1549, religion ceased to be a major issue worthy of a rebellion.
In conclusion, I believe the most important factor in the decline of the frequency of Tudor rebellions is the improved maintenance of political stability because without the JP’s commissions and the sheriffs, the law wouldn’t have been upheld and there would probably have been many more rebellions without them. The Tudors systematically excluded the separate factors that caused the rebellions beginning with Henry VII removal of alternative claimants and ending with Elizabeth’s church settlement. However, throughout the course of the Tudor period, political stability played a major part in the prevention and termination of Tudor revolts and its improvement towards the end of the era is essentially what caused the decline of Tudor rebellions.
