2. Government and Parliament

Question 1

What was Henry VIII’s overall outlook on Government?

Answer 1

He liked to have an overview of his government, but was happy to let others (his royal council or chosen ministers) do the mundane work for him.
This meant the style of government varied across his reign.

Question 2

What was Henry VIII’s relationship with parliament like at the beginning reign?

Answer 2

Before the 1530s, his relationship with parliament seemed to be the same as his fathers.
Its two main functions were to grant extraordinary revenue to the Crown and pass laws.
They could also advise the king but neither Henry VII or VIII asked for advice during their reign.

Question 3

How many times did Henry summon parliament before 1529?

Answer 3

He only summoned it 4 times…

1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523

Question 4

What was one of the reasons for Henry VIII’s relationship with parliament at the beginning of his reign?

Answer 4

Wolsey, who had a strong influence on the king at the beginning of his reign, regarded Parliament with some distaste.
Only one parliament (1523) was called during his period of dominance (1514-29).

Question 5

What did Henry VIII do in his first parliament (1510)?

Answer 5

The Council Learned in the Law was abolished.

Question 6

What did Henry VIII do in his second parliament (1512)?

Answer 6

Provided extraordinary revenue for invasions of France and Scotland

Question 7

What did Henry VIII do in his fourth parliament (1523)?

Answer 7

Provided extraordinary revenue for invasion of France.

Question 8

What did Henry VIII use parliament for in the first part of his reign?

Answer 8

He followed the pattern associated with his father.
The primary reason for calling parliament was to secure revenue.
Wolsey was reluctant to use parliament

Question 9

How many times did Henry VIII summon parliament in the second part of his reign (after 1529)?

Answer 9

5 times

1529, 1536, 1539, 1542, 1545

Question 10

What was one of the reasons for Henry VIII’s relationship with parliament during the second part of his reign?

Answer 10

Cromwell exploited its legislative possibilities much more thoroughly, so it met much more frequently.

Question 11

What happened to councils during Henry VIII’s reign?

Answer 11

Conciliar government was adopted at the start of the reign and lasted from 1509- 1514.

Question 12

What factors brought about the end of councils?

Answer 12

Henry was angry at the reluctance of some of his father’s senior councillors to support the war.
The young courtiers that surrounded Henry reinforced his suspicions of the ‘old guard’.
Wolsey caught his attention after his effective management of the French campaign.

Question 13

What influence did Wolsey have over the King?

Answer 13

He suited the King’s ‘hands off’ approach in policy-making.
Wolsey’s main concerns were the legal system, domestic policy, foreign relations, the church and political decision making.

Question 14

What was the Privy Chamber?

Answer 14

An area of government that lay out of Wolsey’s control.
It was established during Henry VII’s reign.
But its role extended in the early years of Henry VIII’s reign.
It was made up of a group of young courtiers were close to Henry VIII- they became Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber.

Question 15

How did Henry VIII view the Privy Chamber?

Answer 15

The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber distrusted Wolsey who wanted to neutralise their influence.
In 1519, he secured the removal of the ‘Gentlemen’ and replaced them with his own supporters.
However, many of the Gentlemen recovered their positions.
Therefore, it retained its influence and stayed out of Wolsey’s control.

Question 16

When was Wolsey Henry’s chief minister?

Answer 16

1515- 1529

Question 17

What were Wolsey’s legal responsibilities?

Answer 17

As Lord Chancellor, Wolsey oversaw the legal system and presided over the court of chancery and tried to uphold ‘fair’ justice.
However, it became too popular and justice was slow since it became clogged up with too many cases.

Question 18

What was the Court of Star Chamber?

Answer 18

Wolsey extended its use from 1516 to increase cheap and fair justice.
He heard both public and private cases.
It was so popular that Wolsey set up ‘overflow tribunals’.
A permanent committee was set up in 1519 to deal with cases of the poor.

Question 19

What was extraordinary revenue?

Answer 19

Parliamentary taxation.

Taxpayers had to provide it and it was achieved by raising subsidies.

Question 20

How were subsidies collected?

Answer 20

Wolsey changed the way they were collected.
He set up a national committee which he headed.
The nation’s revenue base became more realistic as the committee provided realistic assessments of the wealth of taxpayers.

Question 21

What problems were there with the national committee?

Answer 21

The money raised was insufficient to pay for war in France.

This lead to the implementation of the ‘Amicable Grant’ of 1525 which caused widespread discontent and almost rebellion.

Question 22

What were the Eltham Ordinances?

Answer 22

Introduced by Wolsey in 1526.
Wolsey used it to reduce the number of the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber.
Also, he removed the Groom of the Stool, Sir William Compton and replaced him with the more reliable Henry Norris.

Question 23

What was The ‘King’s Great Matter’?

Answer 23

By the mid-1520s Henry was dissatisfied with his marriage to Catherine.
She was past childbearing age and only Princess Mary had survived infancy.
Henry was anxious for a male heir and had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn who refused to be his mistress.
Therefore, he required Wolsey to secure a papal dispensation for the annulment of his current marriage.

Question 24

What were the general consequences of the King’s Great Matter?

Answer 24

Short term it lead to the downfall of Wolsey.

Long term it lead to the establishment of Royal Supremacy, under the direction of Thomas Cromwell.

Question 25

How did Henry justify his annulment to Catherine?

Answer 25

As she had been briefly married to his brother, Arthur, Henry argued that the papal dispensation issued by Julius II to permit his own marriage to Catherine was invalid.
In God’s eyes, the marriage was illegal, so he was free to marry Anne.

Question 26

How did Catherine argue against Henry’s justifications to annul their marriage?

Answer 26

She claimed her and Arthur had never consummated their marriage, so the biblical ban did not apply.

Question 27

Why could Pope Clement VII not annul the marriage?

Answer 27

On 6th May 1527, Rome had been sacked by Emperor Charles V (Catherine’s nephew).
The pope was effectively the emperor’s prisoner and could not issue the dispensation for annulment.

Question 28

How did Wolsey try to annul the marriage?

Answer 28

In May 1527, as the personal representative of the Pope in England, he brought Henry before a fake court to ‘accuse’ him of living in sin with Catherine.

Question 29

How did Catherine respond to Wolsey’s attempts to annul the marriage?

Answer 29

She refused to accept the fake court’s verdict.

She appealed to the Pope.

Question 30

Did Wolsey succeed in annulling the marriage?

Answer 30

No.
After two years on no progress, The Pope sent Cardinal Campeggio to hear the case.
The hearing opened on 15th June 1529.
However, it was adjourned on 30th July, marking Wolsey’s failure to annul the marriage.

Question 31

When was Wolsey charged and what was he charged with?

Answer 31

October 1529

He was charged with praemunire

Question 32

When was Wolsey arrested?

Answer 32

4th November 1530

Question 33

When did Wolsey died?

Answer 33

29th November 1530, before his execution

Question 34

How was government run after Wolsey’s dismissal?

Answer 34

Conciliar government went on for 3 years
However, there was resolution to the ‘King’s great Matter’.
This lead to the emergence of Thomas Cromwell who proposed an method of securing Henry’s marriage annulment.

Question 35

What did Cromwell propose to secure the marriage annulment?

Answer 35

He suggested that Henry break with Rome and place himself as head of the English Church.

Question 36

When was Cromwell Henry’s chief minister?

Answer 36

1532- 1540

Question 37

How did Parliament’s role in Government develop after 1529?

Answer 37

The use of parliament shifted to dealing with Henry’s divorce and the church.
Both the divorce and the break with Rome were achieved through statute law (acts of parliament)

Question 38

What factors made Cromwell’s task of breaking with Rome easier?

Answer 38

The catholic church was weakened by the humanists Colet and Erasmus
The superiority of English law was asserted over canon (church) law, this helped the parliamentary attacks of the church’s power.
Thomas Cranmer and Edward Foxe had compiled intellectual justifications of the King’s divorce in the Collectanea Satis Copiosa.

Question 39

How did Anne Boleyn contribute to the marriage annulment?

Answer 39

She consented to having sexual relations with Henry.

This meant that she was gambling becoming pregnant which would force him to take decisive action.

Question 40

Why was the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury significant?

Answer 40

Because he was replaced by Thomas Cranmer who would become the leader of the reformation.

Question 41

When did Anne Boleyn get pregnant?

Answer 41

By December 1532.

Therefore, they got married in secret on 25th January 1533.

Question 42

When was Henry and Catherine’s marriage annuled?

Answer 42

May 1533 by Archbishop Cranmer

Question 43

When did Anne Boleyn give birth?

Answer 43

7th September 1533.
However, to Henry’s grief it was a girl, Princess Elizabeth.
The problem of succession was not solved.

Question 44

What acts did Thomas Cromwell pass to achieve the break from Rome and establish Royal supremacy?

Answer 44

The Act in Restraint of Appeals- April 1533
The Act of Supremacy- November 1534
The Act of succession- April 1534
The Treason Act- November 1534

Question 45

What was The Act in Restraint of Appeals?

Answer 45

It declared that the monarch possessed imperial jurisdiction.
Appeals could not be made to Rome regarding Church court decisions.
This meant that Catherine could not appeal to Rome against her marriage annulment.

Question 46

What was The Act of Supremacy?

Answer 46

Gave legislative force force to the royal supremacy.
Stated that the king is the rightful supreme head of the Church of England.
It effectively accomplished the break from Rome.

Question 47

What was The Act of succession?

Answer 47

Declared Henry and Catherine’s marriage void.
The children of Henry and Anne would succeed the throne.
To deny the validity of Henry and Anne’s marriage was treasonable.

Question 48

What was The Treason Act?

Answer 48

It ensured that it was treasonable to describe the king as heretic, tyrannic or a usurper to the crown etc.

Question 49

What was the Act Annexing First Fruits and Tenths to the Crown?

Answer 49

Passed in November 1534.
The Annetes paid by bishops were to be paid to the King.
It increased the financial burden on the clergy and strengthened royal supremacy over the church.

Question 50

What was the monarchy’s relationship with the church by 1534?

Answer 50

Their relationship with Rome was destroyed.
The clergy had recognised the King’s supremacy over them.
Parliament’s role as a law-making body had been strengthened.
Henry had control over the Church in England, religious policies would be based on Royal whim.

Question 51

When was the dissolution of the monasteries?

Answer 51

In 1536 and ended in 1542
Ensured vast amount of the Church’s land was confiscated by the Crown.
Increased the wealth and power of the Crown.
However, this was short-lived as it was granted or sold away to pay for foreign policy.

Question 52

What led to the fall of Anne Boleyn?

Answer 52

Cromwell believed Anne threatened his relationship with the king.
So he allied with the conservatives to convince Henry of Anne’s adultery.
She was executed on 19th May 1536.
Henry was free to marry Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour.

Question 53

What led to the fall of Thomas Cromwell?

Answer 53

He attempted to arrange a marriage between Henry and Protestant Anne of Cleaves.
The marriage was a failure and was quickly annulled, destroying Cromwell’s remaining credibility
He was accused of treason and heresy and executed on 28th July 1540.

Question 54

What main things happened to Henry’s Government after the fall of Cromwell?

Answer 54

The fall of Cromwell saw an emergence of a privy council.

In 1540 the majority of power lay with the conservatives in the council such as Norfolk.

Question 55

How did the shift in power towards the Privy council impact Henry’s marriages?

Answer 55

Norfolk was eager to benefit politically from marriage between his family and the King.
The marriage between Henry and Catherine Howard failed- she was executed on 13th February 1542.
This damaged Norfolk politically.
Henry then married Protestant Katherine Parr.