3. Royal finances and Henry's policies

Question 1

how did Henry change to way royal finances were managed?

Answer 1

he achieved financial security of the crown and he had enough money stored that he could meet all of his commitments and he did this through a more direct and personal interest in the state of national finances

Question 2

who (at the start of his reign) did Henry allow to take control and how successful were they and what did he do as a result of this?

Answer 2

allowed the Treasury and Exchequer to take control but they were clumsy and insufficient and Henry then took control of administrating finances himself in his private rooms (Chamber and Privy Chamber)

Question 3

what first thing did Henry make in terms of finances?

Answer 3

He made the fist gold coin that had him on a throne on one side (not just the head of the monarch) and he combined the Tudor rose with the royal coat of arms solidifying his rule. The coin was also called a sovereign.

Question 4

in what ways were henry’s policies cautious and realistic in terms of foreign policy and legal rights?

Answer 4

Foreign wars had been the single biggest reason for the poverty of the earlier kings – avoided conducting an aggressive foreign policy

Henry exploited his legal rights to claim special payments from nobles (both to swell his treasury and keep his control over the nobles) – prepared to overlook or reverse games if it meant he won support.

Question 5

in terms of financing what can henry be described as?

Answer 5

a miser (obsessed with hoarding money and hoarding it from every source he could find) say some writers especially in the final decade of his reign

Question 6

how did he spend money when necessary?

Answer 6

he always spent money extravagantly (when necessary) to enhance the image of kingship

Question 7

how was his reputation of being greedy started?

Answer 7

his reputation for being greedy was begun by contemporary writer (Polydore Vergil) he wrote ‘considered they were suffering not on account of own sins but on account of greed of their monarch’

Question 8

what can his methods be described as?

Answer 8

normal but efficiently carried out

Question 9

when did Henry become more obsessed over royal finances?

Answer 9

after the death of his son Arthur (1502) and death of his wife Elizabeth of York (1503) and this could be to do with the fact he did nor feel the succession was now secure and also because he wanted to end his reign with lavish display of affluence maybe to make the Tudors look more powerful

Question 10

how did Henry’s wealth compare to the nobles?

Answer 10

income was 20 times greater than wealthiest noble

Question 11

who research suggested that Henry was not earning much more than the monarchs in the centuries before?

Answer 11

Professor J.R Lander researched it

Question 12

How much did Henry earn compared to the King of France?

Answer 12

earned about £113,000 compared to king of France who had £800,000 at disposal

Question 13

who did Henry inherit lands off of? Houses? earldoms? duchy? principality?

Answer 13

inherited all lands held by houses of York and Lancaster, earldoms of Richard and warwick, dutchy of Lancaster and principality of wales

Question 14

how did he increase his crownlands?

Answer 14

increased by acts of attainders 51 in parliament alone and escheats

Question 15

what were escheats?

Answer 15

revision of land to the king if owner died without an heir

Question 16

what examples are there of Henry introducing techniques of estate management?

Answer 16

Sir Reginald Bray developed these lands further and applied them to other lands

Question 17

who was henry less inclined to give land to?

Answer 17

friends and family as he wanted to maximise both influence and income from leases and rents on this land

Question 18

what were feudal dues?

Answer 18

traditional rights held by the crown to demand money, deriving (not from original concept) from the principle that the king was the sole owner of all the kingdoms and lands that others held as his tenants

Question 19

main types of demand king could get from nobility, what was relief? ordinary revenue

Answer 19

paid by heir when received his inheritance

Question 20

king received from marriage? ordinary revenue

Answer 20

king’s right to arrange marriages of daughters of tenants as profit

Question 21

king received demand from wardship? ordinary revenue

Answer 21

control of heirs under adult age, allowed the king to manage lands for his own profit

Question 22

demand received from livery? ordinary revenue

Answer 22

payment paid by ward on reaching adulthood and taking control of his lands

Question 23

example of him benefitting greatly from wardship

Answer 23

the Earl of Northumberland was killed in 1489 leaving a ten year old son

Question 24

he exploited feudal payments for what 2 purposes and used them to ensure what?

Answer 24

both financial and political purposes and used them to ensure good behaviours

Question 25

difference between ordinary and extraordinary revenue

Answer 25

same as ordinary revenue but related to single extraordinary occasions

Question 26

what occasions was the king entitled to certain occasions? who paid the gifts?

Answer 26

when his daughter was married or his son was knighted and gifts were paid by leading nobles - parliament was also expected to make a grant on behalf of the people it represented

Question 27

how much did he earn from parliament in 1504 and for what?

Answer 27

earned £30,000 from Parliament in 1491 (or 1504) for the knighting of his son Prince Arthur who died in 1502

Question 28

why would nobles take on ‘distant knighthood’ and why did henry increase the demands for payment?

Answer 28

they did it to try and sabe money and for those nobles who did not want to take on expense of becoming a knight

Question 29

what were custom duties?

Answer 29

paid on goods leaving and entering the country (by 15th century it was traditional for parliament to grant these revenues to a monarch for life)

Question 30

what did money mostly come from and how did henry try to maximise this?

Answer 30

came from mainly tunnage (taxes on exports) - particularly on sale of wool, wine and leather ang both Edward and Henry tried prompting trade to maximise the type of income close to loopholes

Question 31

henry largely continued the methods of who? and introduced certificates of what and twice updated the book of what and example of trade that rose?

Answer 31

largely continued methods of Edward introducing certificates of coastal trade and twice updated the book or rates (set out charges of imports and exports of a wide range on items (rose from £33,000 to £40,000)

Question 32

what were legal duties? and where did they come from and operated by who?

Answer 32

money for fines and other payments made by people appearing before the king’s courts
both common law courts and special courts operated by the royal council

Question 33

why did the king increase the use of fines and attainders?

Answer 33

it was very lucrative producing a great deal of profit and was a great source of income

Question 34

how much was attainder of Sir William Stanley?

Answer 34

brought a payment of £9,000 and £1,000 every year after that

Question 35

what were bonds and recognisances? extraordinary revenue

Answer 35

payments made as a guarantee of good behaviour

Question 36

who were they demanded off of?

Answer 36

demanded from those whose loyalty was suspected (Yorkist supporters) - applied merchants who owed customs duty

Question 37

how were bonds and recognisances used?

Answer 37

for both political and financial purposes and payments could be sustainable and was an effective way of maintaining control

Question 38

example of payment having to be made after battle of Bosworth?

Answer 38

(Earl of Westmorland had to pay £10,000 after battle of Bosworth)

Question 39

what special government court did he use?

Answer 39

council learned in law to enforce paying debts.

Question 40

what were loans and benevolences?

Answer 40

King’s right to ask for financial help in particular emergencies

Question 41

who were loans and benevolences organised by?

Answer 41

Organised by royal council and loans could be requested from both individuals and institutions such as town corporations.

Question 42

who else helped to enforce these payments?

Answer 42

• Council learned in law also helped to enforce payments.

Question 43

how regular was this source of income and how much was raised over war of Brittany?

Answer 43

Was an irregular source of income and only raised when king needed funds (In 1491, £48,000 pounds raised over war of Brittany of which £9,000 was contributed by the city of London)

Question 44

what were clerical taxes?

Answer 44

special taxes the king could levy on the church

Question 45

the clergy was exempt from paying taxes so what did they usually come as?

Answer 45

usually came as a voluntary gift and was the only way of securing money from the church

Question 46

how did these gifts compare to ones given by previous rulers?

Answer 46

similar to those of previous rulers and appointed leading churchmen to raise money by selling offices (raised £300 for post of Archdeacon of Buckingham)

Question 47

what is the practice of selling offices called?

Answer 47

practice of simony and it was forbidden by the church but widely practiced

Question 48

what were parliamentary taxes?

Answer 48

special grants of taxes by Parliament to finance royal policies such as military action in Europe or Scotland

Question 49

parliamentary taxes were available when needed but were often unpopular and triggered what 2 rebellions?

Answer 49

Yorkshire 1489 and Cornwall 1497

Question 50

what was the star chamber?

Answer 50

created in 1487 by the star chamber act and this with the aim of prosecuting anymore who acted in rebellious ways or acted in a lawless manner used against those who were politically prominent and whose reputation would precent ordinary courts from convicting them - instead of ordinary court members of the royal council were used on the court to make these judgments - had been argued henry did not use the star chambers much and preferred the other tactics but it still was useful