2 - Government Flashcards
What are the five main aspects of Henry VII’s government?
- The Council
- The Household
- Parliament
- Maintenance of law + order (regionally + locally)
- Maintenance of finances (ordinary + extraordinary revenue)
Did you have to be a member of government to advise the King?
No
- E.g. Loades argued Margaret Beaufort provided most advice
Who were the members of the Council?
- 227 members in total
- Far fewer regularly attended meetings: smaller ‘Privy Council’ group
- 3 types of councillors:
NOBLES - e.g. Lord Daubeney (rarely great magnates)
CHURCHMEN - e.g. John Morton + Richard Fox (good administrators)
LAYMEN - e.g. Sir Reginald Bray + Edmund Dudley (skilled gentry/Lawyers)
What was the purpose of the Council?
- To advise the King
- To make legal judgements
- To administer on the King’s behalf
Why did the Council have offshoots?
To deal with more specific matters
What are some examples of Council offshoots?
- Council Learned in the Law (financial role)
- Court of Star Chamber (implementing law on nobles)
When was the Council Learned in the Law formed?
1495
What are prerogative rights?
Powers of monarch that can be implemented without parliamentary approval
What was the purpose of the Council Learned in the Law?
- Raise revenue through bonds + recognisances
- Collect feudal dues
(Exploit the King’s prerogative to raise as much revenue as possible)
Why was the Council Learned in the Law disliked?
Feared due to strictness of prerogative rights enforcement
Who were the leaders of the Council Learned in the Law?
- Sir Reginald Bray (until death in 1503 - then replaced with Edmund Dudley)
- Richard Empson
How did the Council Learned in the Law change when Dudley joined?
Records tripled
How did historian Penn describe the public opinion of the Council Learned in the Law?
“Fear, frustration and anger”
What happened to Empson + Dudley?
Executed for fraud upon the accession of Henry VIII - to new King from the negative elements of Henry VII’s reign
What was the purpose of the Household?
- To move with + cater for the King
- To impress visitors
Who were the members of the Household?
- The King
- Courtiers (attendees of royal court as companions/advisers to King)
- Servants
- Visitors
What were the different aspects of the Household?
- Household proper
- Chamber
- Privy chamber
What is the Household proper?
- Servants, overseen by Lord Steward
- Care for + cater for King, courtiers + visitors
What is the Chamber?
- Courtiers + guests, overseen by Lord Chamberlain
- Politically important part of household, influencing King
What is the Privy Chamber?
- Made up of most intimate servants + advisors (allowed proximity to King due to their personal skill + loyalty)
- Most influence over King, as in closest proximity
How did the Privy Chamber’s creation impact how easy it was to influence King?
Became much harder - King shut off to most courtiers
When was the Privy Chamber created?
1495
Why was the Privy Chamber created?
- King shaken by Sir William Stanley’s treasonous involvement with Perkin Warbeck
- Increased protection of King, as access to him was limited to those who were most trusted
List 7 members of Henry VII’s Privy Chamber
- Lord Daubeney
- Sir Thomas Lovell
- John Morton
- Richard Fox
- Sir Reginald Bray
- Edmund Dudley
What is a personal monarchy?
Power/status of individual is dependent on their personal relationship with the monarch
Why was it a reward to become part of the King’s Household?
- Taken care of (e.g. fed)
- Opportunity to gain King’s favour
How many times did Henry VII call Parliament?
7
When did Henry VII call Parliament?
- First 10 yrs of reign: 5 times
- Last 14yrs of reign: 2 times
What was the purpose of Parliament?
- Taxation
- Legislation
- Consultation
Why did Henry VII call Parliament less at end of reign?
- Financial security increased
- Legislation in place
- Relied little on Parliament for consultation
What were the two types of members of Parliament?
House of Commons: - 2 MPs from each county/borough - 1 MP for Oxford Uni - 1 MP for Cambridge Uni House of Lords: - Lords Spiritual (bishops/abbots of major religious houses) - Lords Temporal (nobles)
Who voted for the MPs in the House of Commons?
‘Forty shilling freeholder’ (men of property)
After what point was it decided that parliamentary acts had to be passed by Commons + Lords?
1489
What was the Great Council?
Just the House of Lords
How many times was the Great Council called by Henry VII? Give example
- 5
- Usually to get noble support (Lords Temporal)
- E.g. Before Battle of Stoke (1487)
What was the least frequent part of government?
Parliament
How was Parliament used for taxation?
- Traditional tax: ‘fifteenths and tenths’
- Extraordinary revenue approval: fund wars/rebellion suppression (e.g. to fund Breton Crisis)
How was Parliament used for legislation?
- Laws for national security (e.g. Acts of Attainder - first parliament)
- Laws for raising revenue (e.g. Tonnage + Poundage - first parliament)
How was Parliament used for consultation?
- Gain parliamentary approval occasionally (e.g. first parliament - approve marriage to E.of.Y)
- Gain support of members, often through offshoot Great Council
What was Parliament most important for?
Making nationwide, blanket laws (not finer detail gov)
Who did Henry VII rely on to maintain law + order regionally?
Nobility (magnates + less powerful nobility)
What happened to many magnates during the War of the Roses?
Lost power + land returned to crown
Who did Henry VII have most faith in maintaining law + order regionally?
- Less powerful nobility (preferably who had proven loyalty)
- Less trusting towards powerful magnates, but needed them in some cases, to keep some continuity in regional rule
Give some examples of powerful magnates + which regions they were responsible for maintaining law + order in
- The Stanleys (NW England)
- Earl of Northumberland, then Earl of Surrey after 1489 (NE England)
Which area of the country had most magnate control?
North
Give some examples of less powerful, more trusted nobles
- Earl of Oxford
- Lord Daubeney
Who did Henry VII rely on to maintain law + order locally?
- JPs (increased role - held most local power)
- Sheriffs (decreased role in favour of JPs)
What were JPs?
‘Justices of the Peace’
- Used to maintain law + order on local scale
- Mainly unpaid local gentry
- Had individual powers, which they could use in ‘Petty Sessions’, e.g. deal with complaints about local officials
- Met 4 times a year in ‘Quarter Sessions’ where they could make powerful decisions, e.g. death penalty
What were Sheriffs?
- Used to maintain law + order on a local scale
- Responsible for some peace keeping, e.g. running county jail + overseeing elections
- Slowly being phased out in favour of JPs
What were the main, central courts used to implement justice?
- King’s Bench (superior criminal jurisdictions, e.g. appeals)
- Common Pleas (major civil cases)
- Exchequer (cases involving royal money)
What were the main, local courts used to implement justice?
- Courts of Assize (local major criminal + civil cases heard twice a year by crown-appointed judges from Westminster)
- Quarter Sessions (local less severe criminal + civil cases heard four times a year by local JPs)
Give 3 examples of other, specialist courts
- Church courts
- Special commissions courts (ad hoc for major issues, e.g. rebellion)
- Chancery + equity courts (ruled on fairness not strict law)
What was Henry VII’s financial aim?
To be financially SOLVENT (Income matched expenses)
What treasury did Henry VII inherit?
A bankrupt treasury
What treasury did Henry VII leave behind?
Solvent treasury
- approx £10,000 cash
- approx £300,000 plate + jewels
How much did Bacon claim Henry VII left behind in treasury? Was this an underestimate or overestimate?
- Overestimate
- £1.8 mill
How was Henry VII’s financial attitude viewed?
Criticised by many (particularly at time) for being too greedy
- Bacon
- Lord Mountjoy wrote “such extreme greed is now dead”
Some believe he was justifiably cautious towards £, after poor exile
- John Guy
Most at least recognise some extortion, e.g. through Council Learned
Did Henry VII improve royal finances?
Yes - achieved financial solvency despite inheriting bankruptcy
BUT - This was at the expense of some of his likeability
How did Henry VII deal with royal finances + how did this change over time?
- Yorkist practice: use Chamber
- Henry reverted to using Exchequer (Chamber focused elsewhere)
- Exchequer was inefficient (annual crown income had dropped to £12,000 from £25,000 under R.III)
- Reinstated Chamber system, led by Treasurer of the Chamber, to deal with all finances except custom duties + sheriff’s accounts
- Chamber had become highly efficient by late 1490s (annual crown income over £100,000)
Why was the Exchequer a bad method of dealing with royal finance?
- Slow
- Less centralised
Why was the Chamber more efficient at dealing with royal finances?
- Quick
- Centralised under monitoring of King (Henry VII often signed off royal accounts, so knew what was happening with finances)
Which men were the Treasurers of the Chamber?
Lovell, then Heron
Why did Henry VII neglect finances at the start of his reign, using inefficient Exchequer?
Chamber + King preoccupied with ensuring security + dealing with rebellions etc
What were the two types of revenue Henry VII collected?
Ordinary + extraordinary
What were the forms of ordinary revenue?
- Crown lands
- Feudal dues
- Custom duties
- Profits of justice
- Bonds + recognisances
What was ordinary revenue?
Regular income on which the Crown could rely to finance the costs of the monarchy
How were crown lands a form of ordinary revenue?
Gained income from rents of the land
By how much did crown lands increase under Henry VII?
Crown lands multiplied by 5
Who was the majority landowner during the reign of Henry VII?
Henry VII
By how much did annual income from crown lands increase under Henry VII?
£12,000 (1485) - £42,000 (1509)
How did Henry VII increase the amount of crown lands?
Act of Resumption (1486 parliament)
- Crown regained all properties granted away since start of War of Roses (1455)
Other methods
- Few relatives to bestow land (compared to Ed IV - gave lots to Woodvilles)
- Regained relatives’ land after death (e.g. Jasper Tudor’s)
- Attainders (regained traitors’ land)
- Escheats (regained land if landholder died without heir)
What was the most valuable crown land? What was its annual income + who managed it?
Duchy of Lancaster
- Annual income increased from £650 to £7000
- Managed by Sir Reginald Bray
How were feudal dues a form of ordinary revenue?
Henry VII maximised enforcement of these traditional rights, which gave money to the crown in a number of circumstances
Give 3 types of feudal dues
- Wardship (all profits to crown if land owned by minor)
- Livery (payment to recover land from a wardship)
- Relief (payment as land inherited)
Give an example of a feudal due being paid to Henry VII
Livery
- Robert Willoughby de Broke
- Paid £400 in 1502 to recover land from wardship
What new officer was appointed in 1503 to help improve collection of feudal dues (a form or ordinary revenue)?
Master of the King’s Wards
By how much did annual income from feudal dues increase under Henry VII?
£350 (1487) - £6000 (1507)
How were custom duties a form of ordinary revenue?
Imports + exports taxed (tonnage + poundage - granted at first parliament)
What was tonnage a tax on? What was poundage a tax on?
Tonnage = wine Poundage = other imports/exports
By how much did annual income from custom duties increase under Henry VII?
£33,000 (1485) - £40,000 (1509)
What fraction of Henry VII’s income was from custom duties?
Approx 1/3
How did Henry VII try to tighten trade policy to increase revenue from custom duties?
- Book of Rates updates twice during reign to increase monitoring
- Merchants on English coast had to show certificate to prove taxes had been paid (1487)
- Tried to reduce privileges of foreign merchants, e.g. tax immunities (1496)
What was the Book of Rates?
Accounts of taxes paid by foreign merchants importing + selling goods in England
How were profits of justice a form of ordinary revenue?
- Payment to King for royal writs + letters (compulsory for start of court trial)
- Payment to King as punishment for injustice (fines, attainders, etc)
How much ordinary revenue did profits of justice raise?
Varied annually
How much revenue did Henry VII gain from the attainder of William Stanley?
£9000 (paid in annual instalments of £1000)
How did bonds + recognisances act as ordinary revenue?
Bonds - written obligations that could be punished by payment if not fulfilled
Recognisances - acknowledgments of existing debt that could be punished by payment
How much ordinary revenue was raised by bonds? How did this change over time?
- 36/62 noble families in bonds
- £3000 in 1493
- £35,000 in 1505 (increased with paranoia)
Give an example of a recognisance used as ordinary revenue?
Viscount Beaumont of Powicke
- Given £10,000 recognisance after Bosworth
What was extraordinary revenue?
Irregular income that the Crown received on particular occasions
What were some types of extraordinary revenue?
- Parliamentary grants
- Loans + benevolences
- Clerical taxes
- Feudal obligations/aid
- Foreign power pensions
How were parliamentary grants a form of extraordinary revenue?
Parliament agreed to raise countrywide taxes (usually in form of fifteenths + tenths) to act as a grant for the King
When were the three parliamentary grants under Henry VII?
1487: Fund Battle of Stoke
1489: Fund Breton Crisis/war against French
1496: Fund the build up of army to defend against Scots + Warbeck
How much money was typically agreed in a parliamentary grant?
£30,000
Why did Henry VII not choose to regularly get parliamentary grants?
Angered public, sometimes to the extent that rebellions were triggered (1497 Cornish Rebellion)
How did fifteenths + tenths work?
- Tax on 1/15 goods in rural areas
- Tax on 1/10 goods in urban areas
Hod did loans + benevolences act as extraordinary revenue?
Form of ‘agreement’ (couldn’t really say no) to gift the King money in a circumstance where he needed it
What was the difference between loans + benevolences?
Loan = sum of money given to King that is repaid Benevolence = sum of money given to King that is NOT repaid
Give an example of a loan
- 1492
- For Breton Crisis/fighting French
- £100
- From Sir Henry Vernon (rich, Derbyshire landowner)
Give an example of a benevolence
- 1491
- For Breton Crisis/fighting French
- £48,500 (largest benevolence)
- General request directed at the public
Approximately how much did Henry VII make in loans (extraordinary revenue)?
£203,000
How did clerical taxes act as extraordinary revenue?
King received a number of payments from the church
E.g.
- Convocations often gave money alongside parliamentary grant
- Fines for simony
- Money from vacant bishoprics (Henry VII would keep the roles unfulfilled after a death for a few months to gain some revenue)
What is a convocation?
Church parliament (Upper = senior clerics represented) (Lower = parish priests represented)
What is simony?
Selling Church positions
Give an example of a convocation giving money alongside a parliamentary grant (form of clerical taxes - extraordinary revenue)
1489 - Gave £25,000 for Breton Crisis/fighting France
Give an example of a fine for simony (form of clerical taxes - extraordinary revenue)
£300 fine for Archdeaconry of Buckingham
Approx how much was Henry VII gaining a year from temporarily vacant bishoprics?
£6000 +
How did feudal aid act as a form of extraordinary revenue?
Crown had right to impose taxes on certain occasions, e.g.
- Marriage of eldest daughter (collected on marriage of Margaret)
- Knighting of eldest son (collected £30,000 on knighting of Arthur)
When was feudal aid restored by Henry VII so it could be used as a form of extraordinary revenue?
1504
Which foreign pension was the most significant as a form of extraordinary revenue?
French pension
How did Henry VII gain his French pension?
Part of Treaty of Etaples (1492) - as compensation for raising army
How much was Henry VII’s French pension?
£159,000 (in annual instalments of £5000)
Historically, what treaty had given England a French pension?
Treaty of Picquigny (1475)
What is the New Monarchy theory? Who proposed it? When?
New monarchial authority established between 1471 and 1509 by Ed IV + Henry VII to restore dignity + power of the monarch
(Proposed by J.R Green in 1874)
How did Pollard reform the new monarchy theory?
Said Henry VII specifically was an innovator who reestablished the monarch as the ruler of a new peaceful, controlled England.
Also recognised installation of ‘new men’ (gentry + professionals) to help the pursuit for control by reducing power of nobility.
Give an example of a historian who opposes the new monarchy theory. What do they think?
Christine Carpenter
- Believed Henry VII wasn’t a great innovator, just ruler of modest ability, who wasn’t great at understanding the needs of the country
