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Between 1525 and 1632 England faced the usual human tragedies of war, epidemic, and food shortages, and the unusual strains of dynastic crises, religious revolutions, and the novelty of constant inflation. The efficiency of government and the cohesion of society were severly tested but, with the occasional disruptions, they were sustained. Unlike many of their neighbours, the English were not "an ungovernable people" - until the 1640s, that is. How were peace and order maintained across such a turbulent century? Who held power and how was it imposed? How did authority work among the people, in street and alehouse, in manor house and court house? All those who ruled - monarchs, nobles, gentry, parish officers, and town leaders - faced with a difficult task, in a society without professional policing or standing army.