Fall of Somerset

Somerset was doomed; his policy had not succeeded, and his enemies in the council determined to depose him. They charged him with a rash invasion of Scotland, with bringing on war with France, and above all, with encouraging social disturbance and insurrection. In general, they charged his government with failure, ignoring the fact that failure had been due, not to Somerset, but to the social troubles in England, for which the members of the council, the leaders in parliament, and the moneyed class generally were very largely responsible. But there were other and more legitimate charges. Somerset had been arbitrary and overbearing, he had seized church lands, had spent money ostentatiously in erecting Somerset house, and had given offices to personal friends and neglected the friends of his colleagues.

But the real reasons were after all none of these. Somerset fell because he believed in moderation, had faith in constitutional liberty, and had espoused the popular cause against the rich and avaricious landowners. In October, 1549, he was committed to the Tower, and his place, not as protector but as leader in the council, was taken by his chief enemy, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, son of the Dudley who had been baron of the exchequer under Henry VII.

The Second Period of the Reign of Edward VI (1549-1553): Warwick's Tyranny

The second period of the reign of Edward VI now began. The moderation of Somerset gave way to the tyranny of Warwick. If the Protector had lashed the Catholics with whips, Warwick chastised them with scorpions." The contrast is a striking one, for in nearly every point was Somerset's policy reversed. Warwick got rid of all Romanists from the council. He deposed from their sees bishops of the old faith, such as Bonner and Gardiner, and sent Bishop Tunstall to prison on the pretext of treason. He began a systematic persecution of Princess Mary, deprived her of the privilege of hearing private mass, and forced on her the Book of Common Prayer. With the concurrence of Archbishop Crammer, he began executions for heresy. Joan Bocher was burnt at the stake in 1550, and in 1551 George van Paris, a Dutch Anabaptist, suffered a like fate. In 1552 a Second Book of Common Prayer was issued, and a second Act of Uniformity passed. The new prayer book was distinctly Protestant in character; the new act of uniformity imposed severe penalties, not only on priests who refused to use the new prayer book, but on people who refused to attend the service. The next year Forty-two Articles of Faith were set forth, defining the doctrine of the church.

In political matters Warwick, who had assumed the title duke of Northumberland in 1551, aimed to be supreme. He packed the council with his adherents, and packed parliament by interfering in elections and creating new boroughs. Charging Somerset, who had been pardoned in 1550, with treason, he made every effort to bring about the death of his rival. The treason charge broke down ; but Somerset was found guilty on the charge of inciting the citizens of London to meet in unlawful assembly, and was executed, January 22, 1552.

Attitude toward Social Troubles

Just as Northumberland persecuted in the interest of Protestantism and manipulated politics in the interest of his own leadership, so he dealt with the social question in the interest of the landowners. John Hales fled to Germany, and parliament reversed the Protector's policy, dropping the enclosure commission, and passing laws which encouraged, rather than discouraged, enclosures. Northumberland did nothing to alleviate the burdens that distressed the people. By his acts he encouraged bribery, sale of offices, and misuse of funds, and continued the debasement of the currency, which Somerset had forbidden, increasing the alloy, and reducing the value of the shilling coined by Henry VIII (testoon) first to ninepence and afterward to sixpence. The coinage of England reached its lowest point under Edward VI. The miseries of the people were intense.