AD 1500-1750 Early modern

The East Anglian cloth trade declined in the 16th and 17th centuries AD because of England’s wars with Spain and Holland, but agriculture boomed. Large areas were profitably enclosed for sheep farming – some as a result of Henry VIII’s seizure of monastic estates in 1536. By the 1670s, England had become a net exporter of grain, much of it grown in East Anglia.

Eastern England was divided by the period’s religious upheavals. Catholic nobility and gentry rallied to Mary I in 1553 when she raised her standard at Framlingham Castle. However, almost 30 Suffolk people were martyred for their Protestant beliefs in her reign. East Anglia was a Parliamentary stronghold in the Civil Wars. Oliver Cromwell recruited the Eastern Association army there in 1642. Puritanism spawned hysteria over witches. Matthew Hopkins, ‘Witchfinder General’, was responsible for hunting down over 100 ‘witches’ in Suffolk alone, most of whom were hanged or burnt.

In the late 17th century, the area was caught up in the war with the Dutch when a number of fierce naval battles were fought off-shore. In the early 18th century the political struggles between Whigs and Tories were acted out in local parliamentary seats, with the Tories eventually dominating.