Rule Of Northumberland And Somerset 1549 Essay
& # 8211 ; 1553 Essay, Research PaperIt is clear that by the clip that Northumberland took over as the defender of Edward, Somerset had made some serious mistakes.
Consequently Northumberland was able to capitalize on the state of affairs by guaranting non to do the same errors. The greatest error made by Somerset and perchance the ultimate ground for his ruin was the fact that he used his place in a manner to do the people feel he was an trying to move as the male monarch. In this manner Northumberland was able, after the detrimental regulation of Somerset, to brace the state of affairs in England. The position that Northumberland abused the state of affairs at the clip and that he manipulated grounds against Somerset can be disregarded as his actions mearly reflect the moves of a political manoveror taking advantage of the state of affairs he was placed in, he besides sorted out Somerset & # 180 ; s bequest.Immediately Northumberland realised that he couldn & # 180 ; Ts make himself Lord Protector as this had the possible to do the people feel that he would be trying to procure power in the same manner as Somerset. A cagey move by Northumberland was non to do himself Lord Protector but to title himself & # 8216 ; Lord President of the Council & # 180 ; .
By this he was legalizing himself through the council ; he realised that the people would swear a determination made by a regulating organic structure and it would look that Northumberland was non governing as an person but detecting the popular beliefs through an consultative council. This instantly disassociated his associated state with that of Somerset and hence set a by and large positive tone of experiencing towards him as a leader. Somerset on the other manus had seen himself as the replacement male monarch and had acted really much like a new male monarch would. This was non merely a major blooper because it made him unpopular with the English people but his actions represented the exact opposite attack to what was needed in England at the clip.
For illustration, in September 1547 he decided to occupy Scotland. Even though he managed to get the better of the Scots at the conflict of Pinkie, huge amounts of money were spent on financing the war. This disbursal was exaggerated by the garrisoning of the Scots lodger and guarding these garrisons with soldiers. It is clear that Somerset had non exhaustively planned his actions as he failed to procure a naval encirclement at the Firth of Forth, this meant that the French could entree Scotland and aid the Scots. This type of kingship would be typical of such male monarchs as Henry VIII and may be supported by the people but as Somerset was non the king his effort at going a epic leader miserably failed. Financially, his actions had cost the Crown 580, 000 Crowns this outgo lead to farther adulteration of the mintage and hence resulted in elevated rising prices, the adoption of money from the authorities and mass sale of crown land.
Not merely did Northumberland ingeniously disguise his place of power but he besides cutely increased it by fring of many conservativists such as the Earl of Southampton and others who potentially could stand in his manner. He shortly gained the trust and support of the Kings Household and most significantly the Groom of the Stool, who was the adult male with the most entree to the King. As the King was still really immature he was easy influenced by those around him, in this manner, with his influence over the Household Northumberland efficaciously gained control of the vulnerable King. His actions here in guaranting that he could command England through the King can be seen as clever, nevertheless, Northumberland truly showed his craft by his actions in 1551 when he re-admits Somerset to the Council. He realised that Somerset would try to re-capture his power by intriguing a manner to the top, hence Northumberland waited for Somerset to steal up. When he did in 1552 he answered by put to deathing Somerset for High Treason and framed the state of affairs to do it look that he had saved England from a bloody putsch. Thus it is clear that from all of this Northumberland had an tremendous grade of power which he had carefully accumulated and he had pushed all resistance to one side.
Somerset had to step really carefully in footings of spiritual policy as this of import issue was a delicate topic within England at this clip. It is clear, nevertheless, that there is a prophylactic move towards Protestantism. This is shown by the fact that Somerset Alliess himself with the evangelicals and that immature Edward is given a Protestant instruction. Somerset, nevertheless, was worried about piquing Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor and hence moved in front with his Protestant beliefs with cautiousness That said, there were illustrations of anti-Catholic moves for illustration the devastation of all Catholic images and any stained glass windows that depicted Saints in 1548. In 1549 the Elevation of the Host, i.e. the lifting of the staff of life during the Eucharist, was banned. This is another illustration of a Protestant alteration made under Somerset.
It seemed that Somerset was non careful plenty in his polic y as the impression soon stirred that his moves towards Protestantism were too dramatic and too sudden. This common consensus among the people is symbolised by the rebellions of 1549 leading to his eventual downfall. The religious situation in England by the time that Northumberland took the chair had therefore changed dramatically from how it had been at the end of Henry VIII?s reign.
Even though Somerset had sparked two rebellions supposedly due to his religious policy one can say that the ultimate cause of his downfall was the hopelessly unpopular position that he had developed amongst the people of England. Northumberland knew that any religious change that he implemented could give his enemies an alibi to rebel against. It may, however, be said that some of the council radicals had found Somerset?s religious policy unsatisfactorily modest. Many wanted radical change and they realised that Northumberland shared their views. In this way there was pressure put on Northumberland to take the next step towards Protestantism and to radicalise religious policy.
Fortunately Northumberland believed that further radicalisation was the key process in tiding up the damage that Somerset had left behind. His main moves were those attached to transubstantiation at the Eucharist, this had proved to be the area of most controversy in past years. Even though Northumberland can be seen as more effective than Somerset in his proctorship it is clear that Somerset did inherit an extremely tough legacy from Henry VIII with no previous experience of how to rule. In this way it was inevitable that he was going to find his job very difficult to manage and there was an extremely high chance that it would prove to be a shortened rule due to these difficulties. Northumberland on the other hand had taken over from a protector who was unpopular in every sector of the country therefore he was in the fortunate position of having the support of the people in acting against the man that they despised. The mistakes of Northumberland could also be hidden by the fact that he had created an impression that young Edward was ruling through him and therefore any alterations in policy could be landed on the King. This added much security to Northumberland?s protectorate and gave him the confidence to act on his own accord.
It is clear therefore that Northumberland was a more effective leader than Somerset. His financial policy attempted to clear up the legacy that Somerset had left. Immediately he brought the expensive war with France and Scotland to an end thus immediately reducing the expenditure of the crown. Northumberland did issue one final debasement of the coinage for which he can be duly criticised; however he does abandon this as a long-term plan. With the aid of William Cecil and Sir Walter Mildway he effectively reorganised the finances of the crown. Together they cut crown expenditure as much as possible; they extracted an increased revenue from the church and the Kings debtors. The ultimate aim was the ensurance that the accounting system was as effective and efficient as possible.
Northumberland also cleverly reduced the price of basic foodstuff to increase his own popularity, in this way he was then able to push through more unpopular policies. Northumberland?s foreign policy complimented his financial policy in that it too ultimately aimed to reduce crown expenditure. He steered England away from Somerset?s war desiring policy and exerted a more peaceful approach. In 1515 the Treaty of Boulogne gave back Boulogne to France, although some historians present this as a national humiliation it was a positive move as it was a massive drain on resources for England to upkeep and protect. This cuts spending and ensures a French pension of 133, 333 pounds. Further finances were relieved by the abandoning of the Scottish garrisons. All these measures aimed at stabilising the situation caused by Somerset it could be argued that if Somerset had not ruled then Northumberland would have then been able to secure more finances for the crown.
It can be said, therefore, that Somerset, in his difficult position, chose the wrong style of leadership that only proved to make him unpopular. He also, by this autocratic style of leadership, left all of the negative aspects of the years 1547 to 1549 upon his shoulders therefore it appeared that he was the problem. Northumberland was able to use this negative feeling to his advantage and secure a great deal more power than Somerset had managed. His attempts to bring in his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, was a desperate attempt to secure his future once he realised that Edward was to die and Mary was the heir to the throne.
He cannot be blamed for his actions as they mearly reflect human inclination for it was clear that Mary would have him imprisoned or executed. The plot proved to be too obvious and when his attempts fail the inevitable occurs and Northumberland was sentenced to the death of a traitor.
