Propaganda was only one aspect of maintaining stability during the Tudor period and was relatively successful in doing so. Propaganda played an important role in stopping the regular occurrence of riot and rebellion. This can be seen in the correlation between the increase in Crown propaganda and lack of unrest towards the end of the period. However, in terms of reducing the number of rebellions involving noble individuals who sought status for themselves propaganda proved less influential as these rebellions occurred during the reign of each Tudor monarch. This was especially true of the situation in Ireland after 1534. Socially speaking, lower-ranking subjects would have more opportunities under the Tudor monarchs towards the end of the period but Tudor monarchs also realised that this showed others that the distribution of wealth and power came directly from the monarch. Due to the propaganda of the Great Chain of Being, the fabric of society was held together in the faces of radical political, economic and social change in Tudor England. It was propaganda combined with the political system that accounted for the actions of the Justices of the Peace and nobility, legislation, commissions, and the reform of the legal system which working together maintained political stability in Tudor England from 1485-1603.
The theatrical assets of government maintained political stability by using the Church as a political platform to emphasise the doctrine of obedience. This would ensure political authority of the monarchy and the state was upheld. Due to Church doctrine during Elizabeth’s reign that their misfortune was due to their own sin and it was emphasised in compulsory weekly services that they should be ‘longsuffering’. As a result hundreds of people in remote areas of the country quietly starved through the four consecutive famines during the 1590s rather than rebel against the state, lest this increased their misfortune. However it could be argued that the policy of the Reformation undermined the political strength of the Church and upset the order of routine rituals that underpinned political stability. However propaganda was also successful in persuading rebels to dissolve rebellions. Henry VII produced a copy of the papal bull of 1487 that excommunicated rebels from the Church before the battle of Stoke and at Blackheath in 1497. Many rebels surrendered rather than risk eternal damnation. Henry VIII also made personal responses during the 1536 rebellion and personally replied to the Lincoln Articles. Propaganda that enforced the monarch’s legitimacy was used throughout the period although it was more concentrated during Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I’s reigns. They used publicly distributed images that glamorised the monarchy, which was more effective than written propaganda as most of the population could not read anyway. Both Elizabeth and Edward VI went on progresses in the southeast of England that showcased the monarchs’ power and legitimacy. Although it could be argued that this did not increase political stability in the more autonomous regions of England, the progresses provided a body of support around central government and were an important factor in increasing political stability around the capital. Propaganda also stopped any potential class warfare during the social and economic changes of the period through enforcing the God-granted hierarchy of the Great Chain of Being. During potentially tumultuous times, the Crown enforced the image of the many-headed monster of those below the nobility and gentry in publications such as Richard Morrisson’s ‘Lamentations’ in the hope that this would scare them into supporting the Crown.
Both common and statute law was re-established at the start of the Tudor period as one of the first priorities of government was to maintain law and order. The courts moved away from common law during Henry VIII’s reign but each system was promoted equally. During Henry VIII’s reign Wolsey established regular sittings of the prerogative courts such as the Star Chamber and Requests, which led to an increase in the number of cases. The cases brought to the Star Chamber rose from 12 to 150 per year by the end of the first half of the 1500s as a result. The reformation of law courts continued into the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I where reform of the law courts made them more accessible to poorer litigants. As a result, towards the end of the period the number of enclosure riots and rebellions decreased as they were no longer required as a method of getting cases heard in court. It could therefore be argued that this increased political stability overall as it avoided rebellions that started due to personal disputes over enclosure. The reform of the law courts also increased the authority of the monarch. For example the 1487 Act of Maintenance stopped nobles from exerting influence over the judicial system. represented by Henry VII. After the Reformation had become wider reaching so in the creation of courts more aspects of society had to be accounted for. There were religious courts such as. Courts in the localities developed throughout the Tudor period demonstrating the absolute authority of the monarch’s law throughout the land. In Henry VIII’s reign and Elizabeth I’s reign, Ireland saw the establishment of a law court in Dublin an other localities developed legislative systems connected with centralised government. Th Councils of the North and Welsh Marches were reformed several times during Elizabeth’s reign which enforced the authority of the Crown at local level. However it could be argued that this method of maintaining political stability was less successful in when rebellion erupted in 1549 as the paternal image of the government caused people to expect to be legislated.
Poor laws and frequent enclosure commissions throughout the Tudor period seem to account for the decline in rebellion by the end of the period. Wolsey and Somerset implemented enclosure commissions in 1517-18 and 1547. Cecil also set up enclosure commissions during Elizabeth’s reign after the 1569 rebellion of the Northern Earls. Books of Orders were commissioned during Mary I’s reign that made sure that grain was sold to the poor first. Elizabeth additionally implemented the Poor Laws of and1601 to deal with beggars and the poor. It could be argued that these were so successful in maintaining political stability that they were kept until the early 19th Century. Tudor government also worked with the JPs at a local level to ensure that legislation was being carried out. Although the JPs had at least 80 different tasks already detailed in the Eirenaca, these increased as the population doubled mid-period and there was a greater need for hunger to be mitigated by social practises and action by the state. Even though this was not always supremely effective, the symbolism of government action in favour of the common people perpetuated the image of a just government across the country and this increased political stability. However, Henry VIII and Protector Somerset both experienced rebellion in 1525 and 1549 where the image of the paternalistic state was undermined. Where people resisted the unpopular taxes of the Amicable Grant and Somerset’s enclosure tax this was a reminder, especially after Wolsey and Somerset’s ineffective enclosure commissions, that repeated paternalism raised the expectations of the general populace. This meant unfortunately, that even if economic conditions were improving and the government failed to perform their duty then this could still warrant insurrection.
It is also notable that there was around 90% illiteracy in 1550 amongst the lower echelons of society. As they became more remote from their social superiors this helped to enforce the social hierarchy of the Great Chain of Being, which worked well to keep the poor in their place. However this meant that they had no solidarity with those above them. Nobility and gentry were impressed by social status and not ideology and so local offices such as (lord lieutenant or JP) provided great prestige and let people know that the Crown’s authority was active even at a local level. The commissions enforced this idea. However in Ireland the allocation of offices to English officials caused major unrest with the rebellion after the ninth earl of Kildare was replaced in 1534.This trend was exacerbated in Elizabeth’s reign by a series of incompetent lieutenants of Ireland who ruled using marshal law. Tudor government was much less successful at maintaining political stability in this area.
Propaganda was an important tool for maintaining political stability in Tudor England as it acted as a safety net for ineffective government policies and held the class system together during a period of change in society that came with the Reformation. However this could only be exploited so far the examples of Somerset and Wolsey showed that the image of a strong monarch at the centre was important and proves that it was not just the merits of government legislation alone that was essential to maintain political stability. The image of the monarch essential as it gave this newfound governmental authority legitimacy. Even when local representatives of the Crown failed in their duties, by enforcing the propaganda of the Great Chain of Being the ultimate authority of the Crown could avoid rebellion. Although propaganda was the chief factor in maintaining political stability, social progression was also a vital part of this. The actions of the JPs and lords lieutenants enforced connections between local and central government and through their actions it was clear that government legislation always acted to preserve the paternal image of the state, even if legislation was not always effective in achieving its aims. Changes to the judicial system resulted in a change in political culture amongst the lower echelons of society. This made it more favourable for litigants to resolve their problems legally. Although the poor became more remote from their social superiors during the mid-Tudor period, the opportunity for social progression was not completely eliminated by Tudor government and it was the balance between this factor and propaganda that maintained political stability throughout the period.
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