Lack Of Unity Caused Rebels Failure
'Lack of unity caused the failure of rebellion against William in the years 1066-75'. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view?
After William of Normandy became the first Norman King of England in 1066, there was still severe instability within the country. Between 1066-1075 there was the threat of rebellion against William however there was no victory for the rebels. Lack of unity among the rebel forces played an important part in the failure of the rebellions; however it acted only as an important emphasis upon the immensity of William’s military response.
The fact that there was a lack of unity allowed the Normans to defeat their enemies one by one. There was also no single leader accepted by the people in the area of rebellion and rivalries between the other main figures in rebellions could be bitter, for example in the North in 1069 the Scots, Danes and Anglo-Saxons were interested purely in land and treasures, and it was greed that fuelled their motivation to aid the rebels, they did however, prove to be unreliable allies, as the Danes fled immediately seeing the Anglo-Saxons on the brink of defeat.
Reasons for rebellion included taxes, status, desire for the crown etc, which further divided the rebellions as they had no single motive, for example the Exeter rebellion in 1068 was done for desire of the crown and the Welsh border uprising of 1067 was done for status.
The response of William to each of the rebellions with which he was faced, differed depending on the amount of threats, but one thing that did not change was his determination, to stop those who opposed him and finally establish an integral and continuously stable Anglo-Norman state. William’s military response was brutal, annihilating any chance of another uprising from occurring, and ensuring that the people were well and truly demoralised, especially in the North in 1070 in which William started 'The Harrying of the North'.
Castles were also built in strategic areas of England
After William of Normandy became the first Norman King of England in 1066, there was still severe instability within the country. Between 1066-1075 there was the threat of rebellion against William however there was no victory for the rebels. Lack of unity among the rebel forces played an important part in the failure of the rebellions; however it acted only as an important emphasis upon the immensity of William’s military response.
The fact that there was a lack of unity allowed the Normans to defeat their enemies one by one. There was also no single leader accepted by the people in the area of rebellion and rivalries between the other main figures in rebellions could be bitter, for example in the North in 1069 the Scots, Danes and Anglo-Saxons were interested purely in land and treasures, and it was greed that fuelled their motivation to aid the rebels, they did however, prove to be unreliable allies, as the Danes fled immediately seeing the Anglo-Saxons on the brink of defeat.
Reasons for rebellion included taxes, status, desire for the crown etc, which further divided the rebellions as they had no single motive, for example the Exeter rebellion in 1068 was done for desire of the crown and the Welsh border uprising of 1067 was done for status.
The response of William to each of the rebellions with which he was faced, differed depending on the amount of threats, but one thing that did not change was his determination, to stop those who opposed him and finally establish an integral and continuously stable Anglo-Norman state. William’s military response was brutal, annihilating any chance of another uprising from occurring, and ensuring that the people were well and truly demoralised, especially in the North in 1070 in which William started 'The Harrying of the North'.
Castles were also built in strategic areas of England