1. Group A Group B Group F

2. AQA A Level History Unit 1C: The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
Mary I: Administration and economy

3. …in order to help us answer this question:
The aim of this and next lesson is to assess these interpretations of Mary I’s reign:
“Positive achievements there were none.”
G.R. Elton
“Sterility was the keynote of Mary’s reign.” A.F. Pollard
…in order to help us answer this question:
To what extent did Mary’s reign contribute to a Mid-Tudor crisis?

4. Mary I balance sheet
On a piece of A4 paper write the question: To what extent did Mary’s reign contribute to a Mid-Tudor crisis? Divide the paper into two columns with these headings: Crisis? What crisis?

5. Mary and Parliament
Mary remodelled Parliament, replacing radical bishops in the House of Lords and creating 19 new seats in the Commons.
Nevertheless she met with opposition from Parliament.

6. 10
Mary and Parliament
Use info from the paragraph inTillbrook pp.44-5 and your own knowledge to assess the validity of this statement:
Mary’s relationship with Parliament was one of conflict rather than co-operation.
Tip: identify examples of conflict and
co-operation/compromise, and use them to agree or disagree with the statement.

7. Mary and Parliament Conflict Co-operation/compromise
Parliament sent a delegation (Nov.1553) to persuade Mary not to marry Philip of Spain.
Mary went ahead but negotiated a marriage treaty which dealt with Parliament’s concerns.
Mary allowed the owners of ex-Church land to keep it, in return for repealing the Act of Supremacy and introduction of new heresy laws (Dec 1553-Jan 1554).
80 (=20% of ) MPs opposed the repeal of Edward VI’s religious legislation (Nov. 1553).
Parliament rejected a bill to confiscate the property of Protestant exiles (1555).
Mary didn’t pressure Parliament over these issues or use her prerogative to dissolve it.
Parliament rejected a bill to protect Philip against treason (1554) and prevented his coronation (1554).
It was in the interests of Mary and Parliament to co-operate in order to prevent rebellion.
Parliament refused to exclude Princess Elizabeth from the succession after Wyatt’s Rebellion (1554).

8. Mary I balance sheet
Under the appropriate heading, summarise Mary’s relationship with Parliament. Crisis? (if you think it was characterised mainly by conflict) What crisis? (if you think it was mainly characterised by co-operation/compromise)

9. Which of the following is true of Mary’s Privy Council?
It was only made up of religious conservatives
None of the councillors had previous experience of government
Supporters of Northumberland were not included
Mary didn’t consult it about her marriage
Its large size made it inefficient

10. Mary’s Privy Council Included
Stephen Gardiner - Lord Chancellor (conservative)
Duke of Norfolk (senior conservative noble)
William Paulet – Lord Treasurer (reformer, had supported Northumberland)
William Paget – Lord Privy Seal (reformer, had supported Northumberland)
In practice only 8-12 of its 50 members attended meetings - Gardiner, Paulet and Paget were key players.
Its efficiency was enhanced by the establishment of 12 subcommittees with specific administrative responsibilities, e.g. developing the navy.

11. Mary I balance sheet
Under the appropriate heading, comment on Mary’s management of the Privy Council. Crisis? (if you think that it was generally poorly managed) What crisis? (if you think that it was generally well managed)

12. Mary’s chief advisers
At the start of her reign: Simon Renard (Imperial Envoy), especially for advice on her marriage.
Philip of Spain (advised her to develop the navy and not to escalate religious persecution).
After his return from exile (Nov.1555): Cardinal Reginald Pole (Papal Envoy), especially on religious policy.

13. According to Richard Rex, why was Mary unable to appoint a chief minister as effective as Wolsey or Cromwell?
“…with none of these men [in her government] could she ever enjoy that degree of trust essential to the relationship between monarch and chief minister… If they had not played a leading part in destroying the world of her childhood in the 1530s… then they had browbeaten her over religion around She might appreciate political realities enough to understand that she could never govern without these men, the Gardiners, Pagets and Paulets. But she never liked them… and she shared enough of the prejudices of the old nobility to think rather little of men who had clawed their way up the greasy pole. The two men she did trust, King Philip and Cardinal Pole, though both talented, could never fit the bill. Neither the foreigner nor the exile had the close ties among the English political elite vital to success in such a role. Besides this, Philip was mostly out of the country, while Pole was too idealistic and unworldly to act effectively as a chief minister, and in any case had no desire to do so.”

14. According to Richard Rex, why was Mary unable to appoint an effective chief minister?
“…with none of these men [in her government] could she ever enjoy that degree of trust essential to the relationship between monarch and chief minister… If they had not played a leading part in destroying the world of her childhood in the 1530s… then they had browbeaten her over religion around She might appreciate political realities enough to understand that she could never govern without these men, the Gardiners, Pagets and Paulets. But she never liked them… and she shared enough of the prejudices of the old nobility to think rather little of men who had clawed their way up the greasy pole. The two men she did trust, King Philip and Cardinal Pole, though both talented, could never fit the bill. Neither the foreigner nor the exile had the close ties among the English political elite vital to success in such a role. Besides this, Philip was mostly out of the country, while Pole was too idealistic and unworldly to act effectively as a chief minister, and in any case had no desire to do so.”

15. Mary I balance sheet
Under the appropriate heading, comment on Mary’s choice of chief advisers. Crisis? (if you think that overall, it contributed to her failure as a monarch) What crisis? (if you think that overall, there were advantages to her choices)

16. Economic problems
Debts of £185,000, increased to £300,000 by war with France.
Rising inflation and base coinage – the buying power of an agricultural worker’s wages in 1559 was 59% of what it had been in 1509.
Heavy rain (1555-6) caused worst harvest failures of the century, resulting in rising grain prices and famine.
Typhus and influenza epidemics doubled the death rate and killed c.1 in 10 of the population (1556-8).
Unemployment and vagrancy.
However, economic problems did not lead to rebellion.

17. The search for overseas markets
Mary continued the policy of Northumberland, who sent Richard Chancellor and Sir Hugh Willoughby to discover a north-eastern sea route to the Far East (1553).
Chancellor reached the White Sea and travelled by land to Muscovy, where he established links with Ivan IV.
In 1555, a royal charter was issued to the Muscovy Company giving it exclusive trading rights in the region.

18. Administrative and economic changes15
Administrative and economic changes
Using your notes and the handout, create a diagram which ranks changes in the areas below in order of success.
Add notes explaining the changes and their significance.
Overseas markets
Revenue collection
Customs duties
Crown lands
Coinage
Navy
Militia
Towns

19. Admin/economy Change Revenue collection Customs duties Crown lands
Coinage
Navy
Militia
Towns
Improved by increasing the responsibility and efficiency of the Exchequer (as recommended by 1552 commission).
A new Book of Rates (the first since 1507) was introduced in Customs duties increased from £29,000 to £83,000, but it was Elizabeth I who benefitted from this.
A survey of crown lands led to a review of rents and fines which brought Mary another £40,000 p.a.
However, she had to sell lands worth £5,000 p.a. (1554) and £8,000 p.a. (1557) to help pay off Crown debts. She also returned Crown lands worth £60,000 p.a. to the Church.
Mary made plans to reissue the coinage, but these were not carried out until
Six new ships built; 14,000 p.a. funds allocated to navy.
Militia Act (1558) made the method of raising troops in wartime more efficient; Arms Act (1558) improved supply and quality of weapons.
Charters were issued confirming the rights of towns; Acts of Parliament protected urban clothmaking and trades against rural competition by restricting the migration of workers to the countryside.
However, encouraging the growth of a variety of industries in town and country would have provided more jobs for the unemployed.

20. Mary I balance sheet
Under the appropriate headings, list Mary’s administrative and economic successes and failures. Crisis? What crisis? Add any other achievements or failures of her reign (marriage, foreign policy, religion, succession, rebellion).

21. Write a paragraph assessing these interpretations of Mary I’s reign:10
Write a paragraph assessing these interpretations of Mary I’s reign:
“Positive achievements there were none.”
G.R. Elton
“Sterility was the keynote of Mary’s reign.” A.F. Pollard
Tip: argue for and against the idea that Mary’s reign was a failure, supporting your arguments with relevant examples.

22. Marking Grid Structure and content Marks out of 10
Opening sentence refers to the interpretations 1
Arguments for and against the interpretations are used 2
Relevant supporting examples are used 6
Final sentence gives a clear judgement
A = 8-10
B = 7
C = 6
D = 5
E = 4
U = 1-3

23. Mid-Tudor crisis key factors5
Mid-Tudor crisis key factors
Factionalism
Weakness of leadership and succession
Religious upheaval
Economic problems
Foreign policy failures
Rebellions
What can you add to your MTC tree for Mary’s reign?