English Land Enclosures: A History of Revolts and Dispossession

The enclosure movement in England, which involved the privatization of common lands, sparked centuries of social unrest and revolts. Peasants historically had the right to cultivate and graze on these lands, but starting in the Tudor era, landowners began selling them for profit, resulting in widespread evictions. Historian Spencer Dimmock highlights the violent nature of this change. During Henry VIII's reign, the Vagrancy Act of 1531 made homelessness a crime, inciting revolts such as the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, led by Robert Aske with 40,000 participants. In 1549, Robert Kett led Kett's Rebellion with 16,000 rebels in Norwich. The Diggers sought to cultivate common lands in 1649, while parliamentary enclosure acts from 1750 formalized dispossession across Scotland, Ireland, and America.