OCR Specification focus:
‘Social and economic developments, including inflation, poverty, price rise and enclosure and their link to unrest.’
The reigns of Edward VI and Mary I witnessed profound socio-economic pressures that shook the stability of Tudor England. Population growth, inflation, enclosure, and rising poverty combined to fuel unrest and rebellion.
Inflation and Price Rise
Causes of Inflation
One of the most pressing socio-economic problems was inflation. Prices rose rapidly throughout the mid-Tudor period, straining the population and undermining economic stability. Key causes included:
Population growth: England’s population rose from around 2.3 million in 1520 to nearly 3 million by 1550, intensifying demand for food and goods.
Debasement of the coinage: Henry VIII and Edward VI’s governments reduced the silver content in coins to raise revenue, eroding confidence and driving prices higher.
Harvest failures: Poor harvests, particularly in the 1540s and 1550s, created scarcity, increasing food costs.
Increased demand for land: With more mouths to feed, competition for farmland intensified, pushing rents upwards.
Inflation: A sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services, reducing the purchasing power of money.
Impact of Price Rise
The effects of inflation were most damaging for:
Labourers and wage-earners, whose wages failed to keep pace with soaring food prices.
Urban poor, who depended heavily on purchased food.
Small farmers, who struggled to afford rising rents and seed costs.
By contrast, landowners often benefited, as rents and profits from agricultural products increased.
Poverty and Social Distress
Growth of Poverty
The combined pressures of inflation and demographic change led to a sharp rise in poverty. Many factors contributed:
Wage stagnation: Despite economic changes, wages did not rise in proportion to living costs.
Unemployment: Periodic economic downturns, combined with structural changes in agriculture, reduced job availability.
Vagabondage: Displaced rural workers and the unemployed were forced to wander in search of work.
Poverty: The state in which individuals lack sufficient resources to meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing.
Government Concerns
The Tudor state feared that poverty bred vagrancy, which was associated with crime, disorder, and threats to social stability. This led to:
Harsh Vagrancy Acts, such as the Act of 1547, which prescribed slavery for repeat offenders.
Local authorities taking responsibility for poor relief, setting the stage for later Elizabethan legislation.
Enclosure and Rural Unrest
Nature of Enclosure
Enclosure referred to the conversion of open arable fields into enclosed pastures, usually for sheep farming. This trend, which accelerated in the 16th century, had several causes:
Rising demand for wool exports, which provided lucrative profits for landowners.
Attempts by landowners to maximise returns in response to inflation.
Agricultural entrepreneurs seeking more efficient land use.
Enclosure: The practice of consolidating scattered strips of land into larger, fenced-off fields, often for pasture rather than arable farming.
In much of lowland England, arable farming operated through an open-field system of scattered strips and shared commons.
Plan of an English manor illustrating the open-field system: intermingled strips, common meadows and shared pasture. This layout clarifies the structure that mid-Tudor enclosure sought to change, though the drawing represents an earlier medieval arrangement. Source
From the 1540s, enclosure accelerated as landlords consolidated strips into larger, hedged fields, curtailing customary rights.
Panoramic view of English fields divided by hedgerows, the classic signature of enclosure. The patchwork of small, irregular fields helps students picture how landscapes changed as strips were consolidated. Source
Social Consequences
Enclosure was deeply controversial because:
Many tenant farmers lost access to common land vital for grazing animals.
Displacement forced rural labourers off the land, contributing to urban poverty.
It was seen as a breach of traditional customs, undermining communal farming rights.
Government Response
The government attempted to limit enclosure through commissions of enquiry, particularly under Protector Somerset in the late 1540s.
Laws against enclosure were difficult to enforce, reflecting the political power of landowners.
Links to Unrest and Rebellion
Socio-Economic Roots of Rebellion
Socio-economic grievances often underpinned the major disturbances of the mid-Tudor period:
Kett’s Rebellion (1549) drew heavily on resentment against enclosure and economic hardship, with rebels demanding the restoration of traditional rights.
Local riots frequently broke out over food shortages and rising prices, particularly during bad harvest years.
Social tension increased under Mary I as harvest failures in 1555–56 brought widespread hunger and distress.
Socio-economic strain and enclosure grievances helped to spark protest, most dramatically in Kett’s Rebellion (1549).
Illustration of Robert Kett and followers under the Oak of Reformation on Mousehold Heath during the 1549 rising. It anchors the link between enclosure grievances and popular protest, though the engraving is a later nineteenth-century interpretation of the Tudor event. Source
Tudor Government’s Dilemma
The monarchy faced a delicate balance:
Suppressing unrest through force to maintain stability.
Attempting reforms to address grievances, such as limited action against enclosure and poor relief measures.
Despite these efforts, socio-economic issues persisted throughout the period, undermining confidence in the crown’s ability to manage change.
Wider Context of Economic Developments
Structural Economic Shifts
The socio-economic problems of mid-Tudor England were part of wider transitions:
The shift from subsistence agriculture to a more commercialised economy created winners and losers.
Expansion of the cloth trade increased reliance on volatile international markets.
Demographic pressures meant that even modest fluctuations in harvests or prices could provoke crisis.
Significance for Tudor Stability
The instability caused by inflation, enclosure, and poverty highlighted the fragility of Tudor rule:
Economic distress fed into factional politics, as figures like Somerset gained reputations for siding with the common people.
Persistent social tension weakened trust in authority, fuelling rebellions that combined religious, political, and socio-economic causes.
In sum, the social and economic developments of inflation, poverty, price rise, and enclosure profoundly shaped unrest under the Tudors. They revealed the interconnectedness of economic policy, population pressures, and political stability in mid-16th-century England.
FAQ
Debasement reduced the silver content of coins, meaning more coins were in circulation but each had less intrinsic value.
Merchants and farmers quickly lost confidence in the currency, so they raised prices to protect themselves. This not only fuelled inflation but also disrupted trade, as foreign merchants were reluctant to accept English coins.
By the mid-1550s, the government had to begin reforms to restore trust in the currency.
Wool was England’s most valuable export, and European demand grew during the sixteenth century.
Landowners converted arable land into sheep pasture because:
Pasture required fewer labourers.
Wool brought higher profits than grain.
Enclosed fields allowed better management of flocks.
This shift displaced tenants and labourers, intensifying rural hardship and resentment.
Harvest failures created immediate food shortages. Grain prices could double or even triple after a single bad year, leaving poorer families unable to buy bread.
Since diets were heavily reliant on grain, poor harvests quickly caused malnutrition and hunger. Combined with stagnant wages, these crises deepened existing poverty and fuelled unrest, particularly in towns reliant on market supplies.
Communities often resisted enclosure in smaller, less violent ways before open rebellion.
Common strategies included:
Legal petitions to local courts or to the monarch.
Pulling down enclosure hedges and fences at night.
Local demonstrations and riots aimed at intimidating landlords.
These actions reflected both desperation and a belief in defending traditional rights.
Though commissions of enquiry were set up, many commissioners were themselves landowners or connected to them, limiting enforcement.
Parliament was dominated by the gentry, who often profited from enclosure. This meant laws lacked real commitment.
Even when action was taken, local officials frequently sided with landowners rather than tenants, leaving ordinary people with little protection.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify two socio-economic problems that contributed to unrest in mid-Tudor England.
Mark Scheme
Question 1 (2 marks)
Award 1 mark for each correct socio-economic problem identified.
Inflation / rising prices (1)
Poverty (1)
Enclosure (1)
Unemployment or vagabondage (1)
Harvest failure / food shortages (1)
Maximum 2 marks.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how enclosure contributed to social and economic unrest during the reign of Edward VI.
Mark Scheme
Question 2 (6 marks)
Level 1 (1–2 marks):
Simple statements about enclosure or unrest with little or no explanation.
Example: “Enclosure made people angry.”
Level 2 (3–4 marks):
Some explanation of how enclosure created social and/or economic problems. May be uneven in detail or lack development.
Examples:“Enclosure displaced tenant farmers and labourers, which led to unemployment.” (3)
“People lost access to common land, which created resentment.” (3–4)
Level 3 (5–6 marks):
Clear and developed explanation of the link between enclosure and unrest, showing understanding of consequences.
May include reference to specific examples such as Kett’s Rebellion.
Examples:“Enclosure deprived peasants of access to common land for grazing animals, leading to hardship and rising poverty. This contributed directly to protests such as Kett’s Rebellion in 1549, where demands focused on ending enclosure.” (6)
