AS. Miles - 2. The impact of political change. Flashcards
The rise of Thomas Cromwell.
-Born in 1475 to a London landlord
-Had no formal education
-Travelled widely, fighting for the French in Italy
-Learned about trade working with merchants in Italy
-Became a lawyer for wealthy merchants, despite no training
-Started working for Wolsey as his lawyer by 1524
-Cromwell became an MP in 1525
-Became Wolsey’s personal secretary in 1527
-Instrumental in persuading Henry to divorce in 1529
-Appointed to the Privy Council in 1531
-Becomes Master of the Jewel House in 1532
-He’s also Chief Minister by 1532
How was ‘personal monarchy’ different to ‘bureaucratic government’?
Elton gives the argument that personal monarchy saw the monarch directly involved in decision making through their offices in the Court, whereas bureaucratic monarchy saw specialist offices and trained officials deal with routine matters of government.
Henry was probably a mix of both, getting involved when things personally interested him.
How does Starkey counter-argue Elton’s argument
that Cromwell oversaw a revolution in government?
Starkey agrees that Cromwell was responsible for
setting up new institutions to deal with the Break
from Rome, but he says it’s debatable whether
Cromwell was fully responsible or whether these
institutions were already in place but just not used
effectively.
How was Henry VIII’s Privy Council different to his father’s Royal Council?
The Royal Council was a meeting of varied nobles and clergy who would advise Henry VII on major issues, whilst Cromwell streamlined the Privy Council to no more than 20 members, included more trained personnel like lawyers and accountants.
This is an example of there being a revolution in government.
How did the Tudor’s method of money-management compare to that of the previous House of York?
They both managed finances personally through the Privy Chamber instead of through a separate Exchequer and Treasury.
No real revolution here, although new bodies are set up to manage new finances from the Church that would usually go to Rome.
What role did the three new Courts of Augmentations, First Fruits and Tenths (FFT) and Wards play in managing finances?
Augmentations managed land taken from the Church, FFT handled payments that the Church used to make to the Pope and Wards managed money taken from minors who were not old enough to inherit their fathers land.
Definite of revolution in government, although they were a necessity given the outcomes of the break with Rome.
Power of the Crown
What excuse did Henry give for setting up the Act in Restraint of Appeals in 1533?
He argued that England was an empire and as such, everyone owed the King and not God their obedience.
What parts of Britain were allowed semi autonomy?
The North (Durham) and Wales.
What Act ensured that Wales officially adopted English rule of law?
1536 Act of union.
What Act removed autonomy for extreme regions of England?
Act against liberties (freedom) and franchises.
Role of Parliament.
What had parliament traditionally been used for before Henry VIII?
Mostly used to generate money.
Why was the Reformation Parliament, that met in 1529, so different than its predecessors?
It sat for seven continuous years and passed more laws than ever before.
How many times did a Bill now need to pass through Parliament before it became an Act?
Three times.
Cromwell’s government policies.
Law and order
Abolished ‘Sanctuary in 1540’
Finance
Court of Augmentation set up in 1536 to deal with income from monastic lands.
Crown income doubles to 300, 000.
Administration.
Administration moved more from Privy Chamber to stand alone, specialist departments.
Privy council.
This had been streamlined to 20 from 70 people by 1536.
Wales.
Act of Union of 1536 officially brought Wales under English control.
Second Act of Union of 1543 made English official language of legal system.
The North.
The Council of the North gained far more power in 1536 after Pilgrimage of Grace.
King now had far more say in the North.
The fall of Thomas Cromwell.
(Haven’t got yet)
Political change and legislation under Henry VIII
What was the ‘Tudor Revolution’?
-Historian Elton identifies a ‘Tudor Revolution’.
-Between 1532-1540.
-Transition from Medieval to modern government.
-Financial departments are reorganised.
-Privy Council is created.
-Government by the king replaced with government under the king.
-Parliament now responsible for law making.
-New laws had to pass through as an Act of Parliament.
-Act of Supremacy took power from the Church and gave it to the State.
-Outlying regions brought under control…Acts of Union and Council of the North.
How did Henry VIII’s government work?
The Privy Council, which had about twenty members, handled the routine matters of state. Although Henry himself drew up its agendas,
he never attended its meetings. The Lord Chancellor or Sir William Paget, the Comptroller of the King’s Household, would seek the King’s
approval on the various matters under discussion.
Use of the dry stamp
In the later years of his reign, Henry allowed various Gentlemen of the Chamber the use of the ‘dry stamp’ on official documents.
This was a ‘forged’ King’s signature that was only ever given to three men at one time.
Faction
-A faction was a group of people who sought to advance shared interests, either positive or negative.
-Positive interests might include gaining or keeping privileges, grants or jobs for themselves or their associates; negative interests included denying such things to their rivals.
..pt2
-The most longstanding faction throughout Henry’s reign was the Aragonese faction, who supported the rights and position of the humiliated Queen Catherine of Aragon.
–Other examples were:
-The Boleyn faction, who orchestrated Wolsey’s demise because he would not or could not obtain a divorce for Henry and Catherine, to enable Henry to marry Anne Boleyn.
-The conservatives under Norfolk and Gardiner, who tried to dispense with Archbishop Cranmer in 1543, and who tried to have Catherine Parr arrested for being a heretic in 1546.
Privy Council Factions in the 1540s
The conservatives
Names
-Duke of Norfolk, Bishop Gardiner, Sir Thomas Wriothesley, Lord Russell, Earl of Surrey (Norfolk’s son).
Aims
-A Counter-Reformation, Catholicism and personal
gain.
Tactics
Engineered the Catherine Howard marriage, 1540.
She was executed for treason in 1541. Attempted
unsuccessfully to oust Catherine Parr and Cranmer
from Power, but Henry intervened to save them.
The Reformers
Names
-Earl of Hertford, John Dudley, Sir Anthony Denny, Sir William Paget, Archbishop Cranmer.
Aims.
-Protestant reform and personal gain
Tactics.
-Achieved the Catherine Parr marriage 1543. Denny obtained use of the dry stamp to alter Henry’s will
after his death. Two clauses were added, which helped Hertford to establish himself as Protector in the minority of Edward VI. Norfolk and Surrey were accused of treason for Surrey’s use of badges which suggested he had a claim to the throne.
Patronage
-It has been calculated that there were some 200 posts at court that it was worth a gentleman having. The King and Wolsey/Cromwell would
decide who got those jobs.
-Sir Ralph Egerton – an example of someone who was ‘elevated by patronage and humbled by faction’.
-A prime example of the courtiers who profited and fell on the whim of the king.
Financial administration.
-Court of Exchequer oversaw income from fines and duties.
-Duchy of Lancaster oversaw income from Crown land.
-Courts of First Fruits and Tenths and Augmentation oversaw new income from the
Church.
Creation the privy council.
-King’s Medieval council were very large and unstructured.
-Tudors set up streamlined, permanent council of no more than 20.
-They ran the government.
Role of Parliament.
-By endorsing the Act of Supremacy, Parliament had been seen to allow the break from Rome.
-Parliament had now cemented their position as the supreme power in England and Wales, over the Church.