Unit 3: How did Tudor governments deal with rebellions?
Strategy Used and successful examples Not used / unsuccessful examples Summary/Judgement
Consult advisers ● However, Henry VII did consult a very close, small ● Henry VII did not use this ● Henry VII - not used often but
group of reliable advisors - especially his uncle strategy much as he had was effective when he did
Jasper usurped the throne and ● Henry VIII - didn’t consult but
● Henry VIII left devising strategy to his advisors but therefore was unable to rely on just relied on them which both
insisted on being kept informed (Amicable Grant - members of the court caused and solved problems
Wolsey, Norfolk, Suffolk; Pilgrimage of Grace - ● Henry VIII left devising strategy ● Edward VI - not used
Norfolk, Suffolk - government forces were to his advisors but insisted on ● Mary I - mixed results
outnumbered so they advised opening negotiations being kept informed - his ● Elizabeth I - effective but also
and calling the leaders to London) reliance on advisors of low-birth caused factions in her Privy
● Mary I did often consult her advisors (Cromwell, Cranmer, Audley and Council
● Elizabeth I definitely relied on her advisors - initially Rich) caused the Aragonese
William Cecil (Revolt of the Northern Earls) then faction to join the Pilgrimage of ● Overall - used inconsistently
Robert Cecil (Essex), as well as her spymaster, Grace rebellion with mixed results - not wholly
Walsingham (Throckmorton and Babbington) ● As Edward was too young to reliable and often caused
rule, Somerset took charge yet problems
did not consult the Privy Council
- as a result of this and his
failure to handle the Year of
Commotion, Somerset was
forced out and replaced by
Northumberland
● The advice Mary I received was
conflicting as she had a mix
English, Protestant advisors and
Spanish, Catholic ones (Wyatt -
when the rebels were
approaching the council gave
different advice - the Catholics
said to leave the Protestant
London and the Protestants said
to stay, Renard said they were
“quarrelling, taking sides and
blaming one another”)
● Elizabeth’s reliance on the Cecils
caused factions to emerge and
, led to rebellions (Northern
Earls, Essex)
Strategy Used and successful examples Not used / unsuccessful examples Summary
Gather information ● Henry VII had a network of spies in different courts ● Henry VII - very consistent,
across Europe, including in England. He used this ● Henry VIII failed to gather highly successful, one of his key
network to keep informed about the whereabouts accurate/reliable information strategies
of the pretenders (Simnel - knew he was at the during the Pilgrimage of Grace ● Henry VIII - ineffective and
court of Burgundy, that he had gone to Ireland, (ordered the Earl of Derby to unsuccessful - allowed the
when he landed in England - therefore Henry was arrest the leaders at Sawley Pilgrimage of Grace
able to divert his troops when he was on royal Abbey but Derby was too far ● Edward VI - ineffective
progress; Warbeck - knew when he sailed to away, ordered Norfolk to ● Mary I - effective
England so sent troops to deal with him at Deal and engage the rebels in battle even ● Elizabeth I - very effective
thwarted his attempts to land). Also uses his spies though he was outnumbered)
to learn about Stanley’s plot against him ● Edward/Somerset - during the ● Overall - Henry VII and
● Mary I gathered information (by arresting and Year of Commotion there were Elizabeth I were particularly
interrogating Courtenay) about the four pronged over twenty uprisings so effective as both had clear
attack planned for the Wyatt rebellion, leaving government forces were enemies that their spy
Wyatt as the only prong, greatly reducing the stretched and information was networks could respond to
threat of the rebellion out of date (Western - advised while Henry VIII and Edward VI
● Elizabeth relied heavily on Walsingham (and his JPs to liaise with the gentry but faced fast-growing, high politics
fifty-ish agents) to deal with plots concerning Mary, they had already attempted rebellions that were more
Queen of Scots. Able to successfully identify the this) difficult to gather information
traitors, gather evidence and put them on trial about
during the Ridolfi, Throckmorton and Babbington
plots. This also eventually led to the permanent
removal of MQS, a major threat. Successful
gathering of information enabled a preemptive
strike on the Oxfordshire rebels (even if there were
only four of them)
Strategy Used and successful examples Not used / unsuccessful examples Summary/Judgement
Consult advisers ● However, Henry VII did consult a very close, small ● Henry VII did not use this ● Henry VII - not used often but
group of reliable advisors - especially his uncle strategy much as he had was effective when he did
Jasper usurped the throne and ● Henry VIII - didn’t consult but
● Henry VIII left devising strategy to his advisors but therefore was unable to rely on just relied on them which both
insisted on being kept informed (Amicable Grant - members of the court caused and solved problems
Wolsey, Norfolk, Suffolk; Pilgrimage of Grace - ● Henry VIII left devising strategy ● Edward VI - not used
Norfolk, Suffolk - government forces were to his advisors but insisted on ● Mary I - mixed results
outnumbered so they advised opening negotiations being kept informed - his ● Elizabeth I - effective but also
and calling the leaders to London) reliance on advisors of low-birth caused factions in her Privy
● Mary I did often consult her advisors (Cromwell, Cranmer, Audley and Council
● Elizabeth I definitely relied on her advisors - initially Rich) caused the Aragonese
William Cecil (Revolt of the Northern Earls) then faction to join the Pilgrimage of ● Overall - used inconsistently
Robert Cecil (Essex), as well as her spymaster, Grace rebellion with mixed results - not wholly
Walsingham (Throckmorton and Babbington) ● As Edward was too young to reliable and often caused
rule, Somerset took charge yet problems
did not consult the Privy Council
- as a result of this and his
failure to handle the Year of
Commotion, Somerset was
forced out and replaced by
Northumberland
● The advice Mary I received was
conflicting as she had a mix
English, Protestant advisors and
Spanish, Catholic ones (Wyatt -
when the rebels were
approaching the council gave
different advice - the Catholics
said to leave the Protestant
London and the Protestants said
to stay, Renard said they were
“quarrelling, taking sides and
blaming one another”)
● Elizabeth’s reliance on the Cecils
caused factions to emerge and
, led to rebellions (Northern
Earls, Essex)
Strategy Used and successful examples Not used / unsuccessful examples Summary
Gather information ● Henry VII had a network of spies in different courts ● Henry VII - very consistent,
across Europe, including in England. He used this ● Henry VIII failed to gather highly successful, one of his key
network to keep informed about the whereabouts accurate/reliable information strategies
of the pretenders (Simnel - knew he was at the during the Pilgrimage of Grace ● Henry VIII - ineffective and
court of Burgundy, that he had gone to Ireland, (ordered the Earl of Derby to unsuccessful - allowed the
when he landed in England - therefore Henry was arrest the leaders at Sawley Pilgrimage of Grace
able to divert his troops when he was on royal Abbey but Derby was too far ● Edward VI - ineffective
progress; Warbeck - knew when he sailed to away, ordered Norfolk to ● Mary I - effective
England so sent troops to deal with him at Deal and engage the rebels in battle even ● Elizabeth I - very effective
thwarted his attempts to land). Also uses his spies though he was outnumbered)
to learn about Stanley’s plot against him ● Edward/Somerset - during the ● Overall - Henry VII and
● Mary I gathered information (by arresting and Year of Commotion there were Elizabeth I were particularly
interrogating Courtenay) about the four pronged over twenty uprisings so effective as both had clear
attack planned for the Wyatt rebellion, leaving government forces were enemies that their spy
Wyatt as the only prong, greatly reducing the stretched and information was networks could respond to
threat of the rebellion out of date (Western - advised while Henry VIII and Edward VI
● Elizabeth relied heavily on Walsingham (and his JPs to liaise with the gentry but faced fast-growing, high politics
fifty-ish agents) to deal with plots concerning Mary, they had already attempted rebellions that were more
Queen of Scots. Able to successfully identify the this) difficult to gather information
traitors, gather evidence and put them on trial about
during the Ridolfi, Throckmorton and Babbington
plots. This also eventually led to the permanent
removal of MQS, a major threat. Successful
gathering of information enabled a preemptive
strike on the Oxfordshire rebels (even if there were
only four of them)
