How serious was the instability of England under Edward VI and Mary I between 1547 and 1558, and was there a mid-Tudor crisis?
Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y106 England 1485 to 1558): Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation, the protectorates of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions of 1549, the succession crisis of 1553, and Mary I's Catholic restoration, marriage and rebellion.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to the mid-Tudor crisis from 1547 to 1558. Covers Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation, the rule of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions of 1549, the disputed succession of 1553, and Mary I's Catholic restoration, Spanish marriage and Wyatt's rebellion, with the debate over whether there was a crisis.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Unit 1 for the Early Tudors closes with the reigns of Edward VI (1547 to 1553) and Mary I (1553 to 1558), the period of the so-called mid-Tudor crisis. You need the Protestant Reformation under Edward, the protectorates of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions of 1549, the succession crisis of 1553, and Mary's Catholic restoration, Spanish marriage and rebellion. The Section B essay (AO1) often asks you to judge whether there was a genuine crisis.
The answer
Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation
The rebellions of 1549
The year 1549 was the crisis point of Somerset's rule, with two great risings of different character:
- The Western (Prayer Book) Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall was a religious protest against the new Prayer Book, demanding the restoration of Catholic worship.
- Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk was driven mainly by economic and social grievances: enclosure, high rents and corrupt local government.
Both were crushed, but they exposed the weakness of Somerset's protectorate and led to his fall and replacement by Northumberland.
The succession crisis of 1553
Mary I: restoration, marriage and rebellion
Mary restored Catholicism and papal authority (repealing the Edwardian and some Henrician changes), and married Philip of Spain (1554), a deeply unpopular foreign match that provoked Wyatt's Rebellion (1554), a rising from Kent that reached London before failing. Her reign is remembered for the Marian persecution, the burning of around 280 Protestants including Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, which earned her the name "Bloody Mary". She lost Calais (1558), England's last continental possession, and died later that year, succeeded by Elizabeth I.
Was there a crisis?
The debate is the heart of many essays. The case for a crisis is the run of minority and female rule, the falls of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions, the disputed succession, religious upheaval in both directions, debasement, inflation and the loss of Calais. The case against, made by revisionists such as Jennifer Loach and David Loades, stresses that government continued to function, rebellions were defeated, and the throne passed peacefully from Edward to Mary to Elizabeth.
Examples in context
A model paragraph on 1549 would argue that the two rebellions had different causes (religion in the West, economic grievance in Norfolk) but a common enabling condition (the weakness of Somerset's government), so weak rule turned local grievances into a national emergency.
Try this
Q1. How far do you agree that Mary I's reign was a failure in the years 1553 to 1558? [20 marks]
- What the marker wants. An AO1 essay weighing failures (the unpopular Spanish marriage, Wyatt's rebellion, the burnings, the loss of Calais, no heir) against achievements (a peaceful accession, restored Catholicism, financial and administrative reform), with a judgement.
Q2. Who reigned for nine days in 1553 before Mary I took the throne? [2 marks]
- Cue. Lady Jane Grey, whom Northumberland tried to place on the throne to exclude the Catholic Mary.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H505 Y106 201920 marksHow far do you agree that the years 1547 to 1558 deserve to be called a mid-Tudor crisis?Show worked answer →
A Section B period study essay (AO1) on the crisis debate, weighing instability against continuity and judging. Level 6 engages the historiographical claim, not just the events.
For a crisis. Two child or female monarchs, two falls of leading politicians (Somerset in 1549 and 1551, Northumberland in 1553), the rebellions of 1549 (Western and Kett's), the disputed succession of 1553, religious upheaval in both directions, debasement, inflation and the loss of Calais in 1558.
Against. Government continued to function, the rebellions were defeated, the succession passed peacefully to Mary then Elizabeth, and revisionists (such as those following Jennifer Loach and David Loades) stress administrative continuity and competent rule.
Level 6 judges whether the problems amount to a systemic crisis or a run of serious but contained difficulties, reaching a supported view.
OCR H505 Y106 202120 marksTo what extent were the rebellions of 1549 caused by religious grievances?Show worked answer →
A Section B essay (AO1) ranking the causes of the 1549 risings, distinguishing the two main rebellions.
For religion. The Western (Prayer Book) Rebellion of 1549 was provoked by the new Protestant Book of Common Prayer and the Act of Uniformity, demanding the restoration of Catholic worship.
Against. Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk was driven mainly by economic and social grievances (enclosure, rents, corrupt local government) rather than religion; both were worsened by the political weakness of Somerset's protectorate.
Level 6 distinguishes the rebellions, judging that religion drove the Western rising while economic grievance drove Kett's, so the causes differed by region, and weighs the role of weak government.
Related dot points
- Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y106 England 1485 to 1558): the establishment of the Tudor dynasty under Henry VII, his government and finance, the pretenders and rebellions he faced, and his foreign policy and consolidation of power.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to the establishment of the Tudor dynasty under Henry VII from 1485 to 1509. Covers Bosworth and the securing of the throne, government and royal finance, the pretenders Simnel and Warbeck, the major rebellions, and foreign policy, with the period-essay and enquiry skills the paper rewards.
- Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y106 England 1485 to 1558): Henry VIII and Wolsey, the divorce campaign and the break with Rome, the royal supremacy and the Reformation, the dissolution of the monasteries and the Pilgrimage of Grace.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to Henry VIII and the break with Rome from 1509 to 1547. Covers Wolsey's ministry, the divorce and the King's Great Matter, the royal supremacy and the Reformation statutes, the dissolution of the monasteries, the Pilgrimage of Grace and the role of Cromwell, with the essay and enquiry skills Unit 1 rewards.
- Unit 1 Section A: the enquiry question, evaluating four contemporary sources for their use in testing a given hypothesis, weighing content and provenance against the historical context (AO2).
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 guide to the Section A enquiry. Explains how to answer the source question, evaluating four contemporary sources for their use in testing a hypothesis, weighing content and provenance against the historical context, with a Tudor worked example and the AO2 skills the enquiry rewards.
- Unit 1 Section B: the period study essay, building a sustained analytical argument across the period that ranks factors and reaches a substantiated judgement (AO1).
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 guide to the Section B period study essay. Explains how to read the command, plan a ranked thematic argument across the period, deploy precise evidence and reach a substantiated judgement for AO1, with a worked Tudor example and the essay skills the paper rewards.
- Unit 3 Option (e.g. Y306 Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors 1485 to 1603): the thematic study of the causes, course and significance of Tudor rebellions, the maintenance of order, and the changing relationship between the Crown and its subjects.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 3 thematic study guide to Rebellion and Disorder under the Tudors from 1485 to 1603. Covers the causes of rebellion (dynastic, religious, economic and political), the major risings, the Crown's methods of maintaining order, and the changing relationship between government and subjects, with the synoptic essay skills the paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level History A (H505) specification — OCR (2015)