To what extent was 1549 a turning point? 1549 was undoubtedly a massive year for Tudor rebellion with almost every county in England taking part in some kind of uprising.
To what extent was 1549 a turning point?
1549 was undoubtedly a massive year for Tudor rebellion – with almost every county in England taking part in some kind of uprising. It is not therefore surprising that 1549, in the case of English rebellion, can be seen as a turning point, but this does not take the Irish rebellions into consideration. In this respect, 1549 is by no means a turning point, as there is no significant Irish rebellion between the years of 1534 and 1558.
The first aspect which would give an indication as to whether 1549 was a turning point or not is the frequency of size of the rebellion; the number of rebels which took part. In the period leading up to 1549 ie. 1486 onwards, of the nine rebellions which took place (including 1549), seven of these had a support size of 6000 or more rebels, which indicates the growing fury associated with the socio-economic problems which were particularly evident in the Ketts rebellion on top of the religious changes which Henry had introduced in his reign. However, after 1549, of the eleven rebellions that take place, just four of these reached a support of 6000 or more, which is indicative of the fact that many felt 1549 was their one chance to voice their grievances, and after that many decided against rebelling. Therefore, in this respect 1549 was most certainly a turning point. However, in Ireland the situation was very different, with four rebellions after 1549, of which Tyrone managed a record support of 6000 men. This highlights the growing Irish anger at English control and policy, and as these rising were much further away, it was difficult to send a royal army, meaning these risings often had substantial support (when you take into account a much smaller population than in England). Henceforth, with regard to Irish rebellions, 1549 was not a turning point.
