AS FP2 : Henry VIII, Government and Parliament (1509-1526) Flashcards
Conceptual Awareness
What was Henry VIII’s approach to government?
Henry VIII liked to have an overview of his government, but he was happy to let others do the mundane work for him (dry stamp 1545) - be it his royal council or chief ministers.
- His style of government therefore varied across the reign.
Conceptual Awareness
What was Henry VIII’s attitude towards Parliament, how did this change?
Before 1530 there was little to suggest that Henry VIII’s view of Parliament differed little from that held by his father. However, thanks to the king’s great matter, a major overhaul of relations between Crown and Parliament took place in Henry VIII’s reign.
- Before 1529, Henry VIII only summoned 4 parliaments, only one of which occured under Wolsey’s period of dominence (1523).
- The last 5 parliaments of Henry VIII’s reign, (those that occurred after 1529) spanned several years, highlighting the growing importance of parliament.
Parliament
What was the primary use of Parliament before 1529?
The primary use of parliament before 1529 was securing revenue.
Parliament
How did Cromwell exploit Parliament’s legislative possibilities?
Compared to Wolsey, who seemed reluctant to use Parliament, Cromwell exploited its legislative possibilities :
- Reduction in the number of men in the Privy Council to 20 made it more effective.
- Council in the North made a permanent body in 1537, helping to end disquiet and discontent in that region.
- New government departments emerged, such as the Court of Augmentations / First-Fruits and Tenths, which helped government deal with financial matters in a more efficient, less corrupt way.
- Law in Wales Act (1536) brought Wales under English Law, further centralising government.
Consequently, Parliament met much more frequently at the end of Henry VIII’s reign.
Wolsey
Why did government by councils come to an end?
Lasted 1509-1514, came to an end due to :
- Henry became disenchanted with with the reluctance of some of his father’s councillors to support a war with France
- Henry wanted to assert his right to control decision making.
- Henry surrounded himself with like-minded courtiers who reinforced his suspicions about the ‘Old Guard’.
- Became particularly impressed with the work of Thomas Wolsey.
It was Wolsey’s energy and organisational skills that allowed him to emergy as the dominant political figure, being able to give the king precisely what he wanted or to convince the king of what he wanted.
Wolsey
What did Wolsey come to manage?
In addition to the management of the church and the conduct of farm relations, Wolsey’s main concerns were the legal system, the formulation of domestic policy and political decision making.
Wolsey
What were Wolsey’s official positions?
1514, Archbishop of York
1515, made cardinal.
1518, Papal Legate.
The Privy Chamber
What was the role of the Privy Chamber at the beginning of Henry VIII’s reign?
The Privy Chamber was the one area of government which, before 1519, lay outside Wolsey’s immediate control. The Privy Chamber’s role had been extended in the early years of Henry VIII’s reign when the king’s minions, his favourites, became gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. Transforming their status and that of the Privy Chamber.
The Privy Chamber
How and why did Wolsey initially attempt to reduce the number of gentlemen of the Privy Chamber?
Collectively, the minions distrusted Wolsey who set himself the tax of neutralising their influence. In 1519 he secured the removal of the minions and replaced them with his own supporters, however most of the minions managed to recover their positions.
Remained outside of Wolsey’s immediate control.
Wolsey
How did Wolsey use the Court of Chancery?
Chancery was the main court of equity in the kingdom, as Lord Chancellor Wolsey was responsible for overseeing the legal system.
However, the system became too popular and justice was slow as it became clogged up with too many cases.
Wolsey
How did Wolsey use the Court of Star Chamber?
The Court of Star Chamber was established in 1487, Wolsey wanted to increase cheap and fair justice and began using it from 1516. Wolsey increased the court’s work from 20 to 120 cases per year.
Wolsey
What and when was the Act of Resumption?
The Act of Resumption 1515 was used to increase revenue from crownlands following the annual revenue falling to £25,000.
Wolsey
What and when was the Tudor Subsidy?
1523, Wolsey set up a national committee to assess the wealth of the nation before attempting to raise taxes for the French campaign.
However the amount was insufficient and Wolsey was denied a grant by parliament who highly disliked him. Consequently Wolsey attempted to raise unparliamentary taxation through the so-called Amicable Grant, leading to widespread resistance and rebellion.
Wolsey - Rebellions
What and when was the Amicable Grant?
The Amicable Grant of 1525 was an attempt to raise unparliamentary taxation through a forced loan by Wolsey, as he both acted without Parliament and attempted to raise an amount that could not possibly have been filled, £800,000, it resulted in widespread unrest.
Wolsey - Rebellions
Provide some key details about the scale of refusal for the Amicable Grant.
The Scale of Refusal was immense.
- Geographically widespread, the strongest resistance occurred in North Essex + South Suffolk.
- Earl of Suffolk reported that 1000 people had gathered at the Essex-Suffolk border and were determined to resist payment.
- Norfolk and Suffolk also faced about 4000 taxation resisters.
Wolsey - Rebellions
What was the consequence of the Amicable Grant?
The King backed down and Wolsey publically begged him to pardon those involved, the rebels were treated leniently. The whole business demonstrated very clearly to Henry that he could not operate in defiance of the tax paying classes , when he next opted to invade France he supplemented his extraordinary revenue with cash from the sale of Monastic lands.
Wolsey
What and when were the Eltham Ordinances?
In 1526 Wolsey introduced the Eltham ordinances in order to reform the finances of the Privy Council ; in the guise of pushing forward proposals for a reduction in household expenditure.
Wolsey thus gained control over the Privy Council, an area of government which had previously been out of his reach - replacing the Groom of the Stool, Sir William Compton, with the more compliant, Henry Norris.
Reflected Wolsey’s fears about losing control over Henry following the Amicable Grant.
