2) Henry VII: Consolidation Of Power, Government + Finance

Question 1

THE COURT
1) What was the role/purpose?
2) Who was in it?
3) How did it consolidate Henrys power?
4) Was it continuity or change?

Answer 1

1) a way to assure loyalty to the monarch
2) it consisted of the nobility/ gentry like Daubeney and Herbert as Lord Chamberlain
3) assured loyalty from the nobility
4) continuity

Question 2

THE PRIVY CHAMBER
1) What was the role/purpose of the privy chamber?
2) Who was in it?
3) How did it consolidate Henrys power?
4) Continuity or change?

Answer 2

1) a private set of rooms with only selected members of staff, where Henry ran his government through his household
2) a few close and trusted members of staff like Hugh Denys who was Groom of the Stool
3) protected Henry from another betrayal from the nobility as only those selected where allowed to enter
4) change as Henry ran gov through his household rather than traditional institutions

Question 3

KINGS COUNCIL
1) What was the role/purpose of the kings council?
2) Who was in it?
3) How did it consolidate henrys power?
4) Continuity or change?

Answer 3

1) It advised the king over matters of state + acted on his behalf in judicial capacity
2) Men hired on talent not nobility + people he could trust e.g. the Earl of Oxford was appointed Lord Chamberlain and the Earl of Surrey was Lord Treasurer
3) Made the council more efficient as they were selected on skill base + Henry was in control of what was discussed as they were people he trusted
4) Continuity, however the power the ‘new men’ had was change

Question 4

COUNCIL IN THE STAR CHAMBER
1) What was its role/purpose?
2) Who was in it?
3) How did it help consolidate Henrys power?
4) Continuity or change?

Answer 4

1) Sub-committee of kings council + was settle disputes, speedy justice, mostly dealt with rioting cases (59% of cases)
2) Between 4 + 40 councillors met and was dominated by the Lord Chancellor (John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and William Warham)
3) More opportunity for issues to be dealt with, majority of specific cases can be resolved by 1 court
4) Change as this was a sub-committee which was formed from an existing institution

Question 5

COUNCIL LEARNED IN LAW
1) What was its role/purpose?
2) Who was in it?
3) How did it consolidate Henrys power?
4) Continuity or change?

Answer 5

1) Dealt with the kings finances, supervised collection of debts due from bonds + recognisances (was very unpopular due to ruthless reputation + pursuits of money for the crown)
2) ‘new men’ like Richard Empson + Edmund Dudley
3) Money was important to Henry, makes sure finances are taken care of and punishments for delayed payments are enforced
4) Change because this was a sub-committee which was formed from an existing institution

Question 6

Why was Parliament usually called?

Answer 6

. to obtain supplies of money in extraordinary circumstances (tax for ear, rebellion, invasion) or to pass statutes

Question 7

What 2 chambers was Parliament divided into?

Answer 7

. THE UPPER CHAMBER which consisted of the Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual (noblemen, bishops and abbots)

. THE LOWER CHAMBER which coasted of knights of the shire and representatives of the boroughs who became known as the Commons

Question 8

Why was the first Parliament called?

Answer 8

. to recognise Henrys Kingship in 1485

Question 9

How many times did Henry call the Great Council throughout his reign?

Answer 9

. 5 times

Question 10

How many Parliaments did Henry call throughout his reign?

Answer 10

. 6 times in 23 years (after 1504 hr only used it for urgent cases)

Question 11

What were Henrys 3 financial aims?

Answer 11

1. achieve solvency
2. decrease expenditure
3. restore the crowns financial strength

Question 12

How did Henry make sure he effectively managed his crown lands?

Answer 12

. he transferred control of the lands to surveyors + auditors to actively manage the land to ensure he got max income from them
. he established systems + processes that could be exploited by future Tudor Dynasty

Question 13

What advantages with finance did Henry have?

Answer 13

. didn’t have a lot of male relatives to give land to
. Jasper Tudor died with no heir so land returned to crown
. Act of Resumption returned all land to the crown take since 1455
. his finances benefited significantly from Acts of Attainer

Question 14

How did Henry use money to demonstrate power + status?

Answer 14

. flags, banners, badges, images of Tudor Rose + Beauford Portcullis
. put these symbols on important buildings
. spent over £300,000 on jewels and plate
. 1503 donated money to WMA to build a chapel in his name
. 1503 lent £138,000 to Phillip of B + £226,000 to Maximilian HRE, neither repaid in money but in loyalty

Question 15

How did Henry change the administration of finance?

Answer 15

usually done by exchequer but H used his chamber

Question 16

What were the positives of Henry using his chamber?

Answer 16

. finances under direct supervision of king
. part of royal household so had direct control over cash
. fast way for H to get money

Question 17

How much did the chamber handle in the late 1490s?

Answer 17

a turnover of £100,000

Question 18

Why did nobles try to get their men to be The Groom of the Stool?

Answer 18

. get exclusive access to the king

Question 19

What was the role of the Church during Henry’s reign?

Answer 19

. to keep people obedient across the country as well as increase support for Henry’s government by asserting the rights of the king wherever possible

Question 20

What was Ecclesiastical Sanctuary?

Answer 20

. when someone wanted by the authorities sought refuge within a church

Question 21

How did Henry change the Church during his reign?

Answer 21

. attacked the privilege of Ecclesiastical Sanctuary in 1486, now only the King can grant sanctuary
. Henry appointed his own bishops, many were administrators and lawyers as well as church men
. encouraged attacks on church courts In order to ensure that decisions were not being made to undermine his authority

Question 22

What were JP’s?

What power did they have?

Answer 22

. Justices of Peace
. they were local government officers who were responsible for maintaining public order and implementing new laws on social and economical matters
. there were 18 JP’s per country appointed by local landowners/nobility
. they were not paid
. power to arrest and question poachers, grant bail to those awaiting trial, replace members of juries suspected of being bribed

Question 23

How did Henry increase the powers of JP’s?

Answer 23

. he passes 21 statutes to increase their power
. power to arrest suspects, bail them, take bonds from troublemakers, arbitrate in local issues and investigate crime

Question 24

What were Shire Courts?

Answer 24

. they were run by the JP’s
. saw cases relating to land, debts and contracts

Question 25

Since there was no police force in Tudor England, who took on the role of maintaining peace?

Answer 25

. parish constables
. JP’s
. Sheriffs

Question 26

What was the Council of the North?

Answer 26

. responsible for the administration and justice system in the North of England
. primarily concerned with preventing foreign invasion and maintaining law and order
. Henry divided responsibility for the council between Lord Dacre (southern noble) and Thomas Howard (Earl of Surrey)

Question 27

How did Henry strengthen the Council in Wales and the Marches?

Answer 27

. previously a challenging task as poverty was widespread, cattle was easy to steal and sell and the mixture of different courts
. Henry appointed his uncle Jasper Tudor to govern Wales
. Tudor links to Wales meant that the area was largely peaceful
. Henry was able to rule more directly over Wales

Question 28

How did Henry re-organise the Irish Government?

Answer 28

. he appointed Sir Edward Ponying’s as deputy
. his task was to bring thee most rebellious areas of Ireland under the Kings control
. he established a constitution in Ireland known as the Ponying’s Law
. Ponying’s Law decided that an Irish Parliament could be summoned and pass laws only with the King’s approval
. no laws were to be discussed unless they had first been agreed by the King and his council

Question 29

What were the problems of local/regional government?

Answer 29

. dependant on the good will of local officials
. Henry’s control over them was the threat of removal
. if too many nobles and officials decided to seize the opportunity to take authority into their own hands and deliberately ignore royal command, a possible usurpation could occur

Question 30

How bad was Henry’s financial position at the start of his reign?

Answer 30

. had to get loans to pay for his coronation, wedding and to pay for his progress to the north

Question 31

ORDINARY REVENUE
How much did crown lands increase annually in Henry’s reign?

Answer 31

. in the beginning £3,000
. at the end £40,000

Question 32

ORDINARY REVENUE
How were crown lands increased in Henry’s reign?

Answer 32

. through Acts of Attainer and Act of Resumption

Question 33

ORDINARY REVENUE
How much did feudal obligations increase in Henrys reign?

Answer 33

. in 1487 £300 a year
. in 1507 £6,000 a year

Question 34

ORDINARY REVENUE
How much was a bond and recognisance?

Answer 34

. 1491 Marquis of Dorset signed bonds totalling £10,000

Question 35

ORDINARY REVENUE
How much did custom duties cost in Henrys reign?

Answer 35

. £40,000 per year under Henry which was increased by new Book of Rates in 1507

Question 35

EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE
How much money was raised by Parliamentary grants?

When were they used?

Answer 35

. usually £30,000
. 1487 Battle of Stoke
. 1489 war against the French during Brittany Crisis
. 1496 defence against Scottish + Warbeck

Question 36

ORDINARY REVENUE
What were profits of justice?

Answer 36

. the fees paid when legal proceedings start (court costs)

Question 37

EXTROADINARY REVENUE
What are benevolences?

How much did Henry raise for his army to go to France in 1491?

Answer 37

. forced loans without repayment

. £48,500

Question 38

EXTROADINARY REVENUE
How much revenue did Henry receive from loans in his reign?

Answer 38

. around £203,000

Question 39

EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE
What are 2 examples of Clerical taxes?

How much revenue was gained from this?

Answer 39

. Simony - selling of church positions for money
. Vacant bishop positions - kept by the king whist vacant

. 1489 - church council gave £25,000 towards French war
. charged £300 for Archdeaconry of Buckingham
. gained £6,000 per vacant bishops land

Question 40

EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE
How much did Henry raise for the Knighting of Prince Arthur?

Answer 40

. £30,000

Question 41

EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE
How much did Henry gain from the French pension in his reign?

Answer 41

. £159,000 in total (£5,000 annually or 5% of Henry’s annual income)

Question 42

How much money could other king’s raise?

How much could Henry raise in comparison?

Answer 42

. Maximilian HRE raised £1,100,000 per annum
. King of France raised £800,000 per annum

. Henry had around £113,000