Administration of Royal Finance Flashcards
How did the Royal Council change during H7’s reign?
- Met when King needed
- No written rules governing its procedure
- During H7’s reign, committees of the council emerged to deal with specific matters of policy
- Committees include:
- Council Learned in Law
- Star Chamber
How did Henry manage national finances?
- Beginning of reign, departments of state took control of national finances
- (e.g.: Treasury and Exchequer)
- Issue = were clumsy and inefficient
- 1487 onwards = Henry health with administration of finance from private rooms in palace
- The Chamber and The Privy Chamber
- This system became most important institution of financial administration
What Post and Court did H7 establish to deal with finance?
- Post = Surveyor of the King’s Wards
- investigated cases of money owed to H from wardships
- Court = Court of Audit
- Monitored government spending
How was Henry viewed in terms of his financial control?
- H’s financial policies = cautious and realistic
- Understood foreign wars were single biggest reason for poverty of previous Kings = largely avoided aggressive foreign policy
- Exploited legal rights to claim special payments from nobles and increase control
- Prepared to overlook or reverse claims for support
- Some writers see H as miser, obsessed with money
- BUT Henry still spent money extravagantly to enhance image of his Kingship
What were Crown Lands as a source of Royal income?
- H inherited all land held by:
- Houses of York and Lancaster
- Earldoms of Richmond and Warwick
- Duchy of Lancaster
- Principality of Wales
How did Henry use Crown Lands?
- Less inclined to grant lands to family and friends than Edward IV
- Held onto them = maximise influence and income from leases and rents
What did the 1486 Act of Resumption involve?
- H reclaiming all Crown Lands that had been lost since start of War of Roses
- H didn’t always act on these claims = potential threat = loyalty
What were Feudal Dues as a source of royal income?
- Traditional rights of Crown to demand money
- Derived from idea that King was sole owner of all kingdom’s land
- Any others that ‘owned’ that land held it as his tenants
What was Relief (Feudal Dues)
- Paid by an heir when he received his inheritance
What was Marriage (Feudal Dues)
- King’s right to arrange marriages of daughters of tenants for a profit
What was Wardship (Feudal Dues)
- Control of estates of heirs under adult age
- Allowed King to manage these lands for his own profit
What was Livery (Feudal Dues)
- Payment made by a ward on reaching adulthood and taking control of his lands
What is the numerical evidence of the success of Feudal Dues?
Income from Wardships and Marriages:
- 1487 = £350 per year
- 1507 = £6,000 per year
What were Custom Duties as a source of Royal Income?
- Paid on good entering or leaving country
- Money from tunnage (taxes on exports)
- Money from poundage (taxes on imports)
- Particularly on sale of wool, wine and leather
How did Henry increase the use of Custom Duties?
- Introduced certificates for coastal trade
- Twice updated the Book of Rates (established the charges on imports and exports on many items)
What is the numerical evidence of the success of Custom Duties?
- Beginning of reign = £33,000 per year
- End of reign = £40,000 per year
What were Legal Dues as a source of Royal Income?
- Money from fines and other payments made by people appearing before King’s Courts
- Payments from both common law courts and special courts operated by Royal Council
What were Bonds and Recognisances as a source of Royal Income?
- Payments made as a guarantee of good behaviour
- Applied to Yorkist supporters and merchants who owed Custom Duties
How did Henry use Bonds and Recognisances?
- Used for both political and financial purposes
- Used Council Learned in Law to enforce payments of these debts
What were Loans and Benevolences as a source of Royal Income?
- King’s right to ask for financial help in particular emergencies
- Organised by Royal Council
- Could be requested from indivuduals or institutions
How did Henry use Loans and Benevolences?
- Council Learned in Law used to enforce them
- Irregular source of income
- 1491 = raised £48,000 for war in Brittany
What were Feudal Dues (extraordinary events) as a source of Royal Income?
- H entitled to gifts for special occasions
- e.g.: When one of his sons nighted, when a daughter married
- Leading nobles, and parliament, gave gifts or money
How did Henry use Feudal Dues (extraordinary events) as a source of Royal Income?
- Exploited them fully
- 1504 = received £30,000 from parliament for knighthood of Prince Arthur (who died in 1502)
- Increased demands of payments from nobles who had tried to save money by choosing to refuse knighthood due to expense
What were Clerical Taxes as a source of Royal Income?
- Special taxes which King could levy on Church
- Clergy exempt from paying taxes to Parliament = this was only way of securing money from Church
- Usually came in the form of a voluntary ‘gift’
