The English Border Town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, 1558-1625
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2017 From A “strong Town Of War” To The “very Heart Of The Country”: The English Border Town Of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, 1558-1625 Janine Maria Van Vliet University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Van Vliet, Janine Maria, "From A “strong Town Of War” To The “very Heart Of The Country”: The English Border Town Of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, 1558-1625" (2017). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3078. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3078 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3078 For more information, please contact [email protected]. From A “strong Town Of War” To The “very Heart Of The Country”: The English Border Town Of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, 1558-1625 Abstract The English border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed provides the perfect case study to analyze early modern state building in the frontiers. Berwick experienced two seismic shifts of identity, instituted by two successive monarchs: Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and James I (1603-1625). Both sought to expand state power in the borders, albeit in different ways. Elizabeth needed to secure her borders, and so built up Berwick’s military might with expensive new fortifications and an enlarged garrison of soldiers, headed by a governor who administered the civilian population as well. This arrangement resulted in continual clashes with Berwick’s traditional governing guild. Then, in 1603, Berwick’s world was turned upside-down when James VI, king of Scotland, ascended the English throne. The turbulent borders were rechristened the “Middle Shires” of his united realm. Berwick was stripped of its border garrison, and relevance, by 1604; now, it was merely a regional market center. Its townspeople regained their pre-Elizabethan autonomy, but they faced the challenge of redefining their urban identity, so tied as it had been to the town’s militarized status. While Berwick’s leaders developed creative solutions to cope with the loss of employment and crown funds resulting from the garrison’s dissolution, ultimately the town declined without the border line to give it international significance. Across early modern Europe, states engaged in concerted efforts of consolidation and centralization of their power. These efforts proved particularly difficult in the ontiers,fr which were often distant from the crown and near a hostile neighboring state. We cannot understand the process of state formation from the state’s perspective alone. This work tracks the changes in governance, economy, and identity of a town that found itself directly in the orbit of an expanding state. Crown policy as it was enacted on the ground elicited local responses, both cooperative and combative, that in turn shaped how the townspeople understood their community and themselves, and the power of the state. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History First Advisor Margo Todd Keywords Border Studies, Early Modern British History, Urban History Subject Categories European History This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3078 FROM A “STRONG TOWN OF WAR” TO THE “VERY HEART OF THE COUNTRY”: THE ENGLISH BORDER TOWN OF BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, 1558-1625 Janine van Vliet A DISSERTATION in History Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Supervisor of Dissertation ______________________ Margo Todd Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History Graduate Group Chairperson ________________________ Peter Holquist, Ronald S. Lauder Endowed Term Associate Professor of History Dissertation Committee Siyen Fei, Associate Professor of History Ann E. Moyer, Associate Professor of History Steven Ellis, Professor of History, National University of Ireland, Galway FROM A “STRONG TOWN OF WAR” TO THE “VERY HEART OF THE COUNTRY”: THE ENGLISH BORDER TOWN OF BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, 1558- 1625 COPYRIGHT 2017 Janine van Vliet ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the end of such a long road, it is a great pleasure to record the debts accumulated along the way. Margo Todd has been a constant source of support and encouragement. Her expertise has been invaluable, and her generous hospitality has shown me how it is possible to pursue academia while also supporting a family. Ann Moyer’s Latin Reading Group provided both essential grounding in Latin as well as a collegial break in the midst of busy weeks. She offered many helpful comments on the final drafts of the dissertation, as did Steven Ellis from afar. Both have been generous with their time and their expertise, on the early modern world and in today’s world of academia. In my early days at Penn, Siyen Fei helped me think about my topic and interests more broadly; I am grateful to her for accompanying this project to its conclusion. Steven Hahn, Dan Richter, and Thomas Safley contributed to my understanding of empires, frontiers, and the interaction of the two. Since my days as an undergraduate, Alan Kors has been unfailing in his support and encouragement. I am also grateful to the archivists and librarians who offered their expertise and assistance at every stage of this project. Particular thanks go to Linda Bankier, the archivist of Berwick Record Office, whose deep knowledge of the records saved me much time. Andrew Gray and the staff at the University of Durham Palace Green Archives were prompt and helpful, both in person and from afar. While I did not end up utilizing the records from Carlisle, I have happy memories of my time there and the enthusiastic assistance of Tom Robson. Closer to home, Rebecca Stuhr tracked down iii many obscure titles for me at Penn’s library. I am grateful to Livia Saba for sharing her knowledge of all things digital to create a map of Berwick. This project would not have been possible without generous financial support from the University of Pennsylvania in the forms of a Penfield Research Fellowship, an Isobel A. Haldane Fellowship, a completion fellowship, and the Ben Franklin Fellowship. Several research trips were financed by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Fellow graduate students and colleagues have provided very different, but only slightly less essential, forms of support. Jacqueline Burek, Dan Cheely, Courtney Ring, Roberto Saba, Holly Stephens, and Kathryn Taylor have all inspired me with their passion for history. Noria Litaker never refused to read drafts of chapters, and provided crucial encouragement in those last final months of writing. Kate Kent generously shared her knowledge of Berwick with me, while her and her husband Robin welcomed my family into their home in the Scottish borders, even enduring a sick toddler in their car. Finally, the debts of most longstanding are owed to my family. My father inspired me from an early age to pursue my passion, and has been a constant source of encouragement both as a parent and a fellow academic. My mother has never expressed dismay at there being yet another academic in the family, but has always been unfailingly supportive. Caleb has shown enthusiastic interest in my work from the very beginning; this project would not have made it to its final form without his willingness to discuss, read, and edit over the past seven years. Evelyn and Elizabeth will not remember these early years of their lives, but I hope in the future they will be inspired and empowered to follow their own dreams, wherever they may lead. iv ABSTRACT FROM A “STRONG TOWN OF WAR” TO THE “VERY HEART OF THE COUNTRY”: THE ENGLISH BORDER TOWN OF BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, 1558- 1625 Janine van Vliet Margo Todd The English border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed provides the perfect case study to analyze early modern state building in the frontiers. Berwick experienced two seismic shifts of identity, instituted by two successive monarchs: Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and James I (1603-1625). Both sought to expand state power in the borders, albeit in different ways. Elizabeth needed to secure her borders, and so built up Berwick’s military might with expensive new fortifications and an enlarged garrison of soldiers, headed by a governor who administered the civilian population as well. This arrangement resulted in continual clashes with Berwick’s traditional governing guild. Then, in 1603, Berwick’s world was turned upside-down when James VI, king of Scotland, ascended the English throne. The turbulent borders were rechristened the “Middle Shires” of his united realm. Berwick was stripped of its border garrison, and relevance, by 1604; now, it was merely a regional market center. Its townspeople regained their pre-Elizabethan autonomy, but they faced the challenge of redefining their urban identity, so tied as it had been to the town’s militarized status. While Berwick’s leaders developed creative solutions to cope with the loss of employment and crown funds resulting from the garrison’s dissolution, ultimately the town declined without the border line to give it international significance. Across early modern Europe, states engaged in concerted efforts of consolidation and centralization of their power. These efforts proved particularly difficult in the frontiers, which were often distant from the crown and near a hostile neighboring state. We cannot understand the process of state formation from the state’s perspective alone. This work tracks the changes in governance, economy, and identity of a town that found itself directly in the orbit of an expanding state. Crown policy as it was enacted on the ground elicited local responses, both cooperative and combative, that in turn shaped how the townspeople understood their community and themselves, and the power of the state. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: “but one isle of Britain”: Berwick-upon-Tweed and state formation in the Anglo-Scottish borders, 1558-1625 ...................................................................................