Edward VI, Henry VIII's son, was only a child when he became king, so
the country was ruled by a council. All the members of this council were from
the new nobility created by the Tudors. They were keen Protestant reformers
because they had benefited from the sale of monastery lands. Indeed, all the
new landowners knew that they could only be sure of keeping their new lands if
they made England truly Protestant.
Most English people still
believed in the old Catholic religion. Less than half the English were
Protestant by belief, but these people were allowed to take a lead in religious
matters.* In 1552 a new prayer book was introduced to make sure that all
churches followed the new Protestant religion. Most people were not very happy
with the new religion. They had been glad to see the end of some of the
Church's bad practices like the selling of "pardons" for the
forgiveness of sins. But they did not like the changes in belief, and in some
places there was trouble.
