Chapter 2 - Henry VII's Government

Question 1

Who made up the King’s council? What was its role?

Answer 1

• Around 227 men are recorded as having attended the council during Henry’s reign but his actual working council consisted of about 6/7
• It advised him, administered the realm on his behalf and made legal judgements.

Question 2

What was the role of the council learned in law and who was a associated with it?

Answer 2

• It maintained the King’s revenue (e.g. came up with the system of bonds and recognizances) and exploited his prerogative rights (powers he could use without consulting Parliament)
• Lead by Sir Reginald Bray who also worked with Richard Empson (who succeeded him) and Robert Dudley

Question 3

What was the role and function of the court?

Answer 3

To be a place for royal ceremony and demonstrate Henry’s power. It was also where rewards and status were given out to members of the nobility as well as where people could get the support of the King or other powerful people.

Question 4

What is the Privy Chamber? When and why did Henry create it?

Answer 4

• A place for Henry to retreat to, protected by the servants that he trusted the most. This made him less accessible to the traditional court.
• Created by Henry to increase his protection and security following Lord Chamberlain William Stanley’s plot against him with Warbeck.

Question 5

How many times did Henry call parliament during his reign? What issues did his early Parliaments mainly address.

Answer 5

• Called Parliament 7 times (5 times within the first 10 years of his 24-year reign)
• Mainly dealt with issues of national security and raising revenue. His first two parliaments passed numerous acts of attainder (declaring people guilty without a trial).

Question 6

What was extraordinary revenue? How was it usually granted? What year was it limited?

Answer 6

• money raised from additional sources as one-off payments when the King faced an emergency or unforeseeable expense
• usually granted in fifteenths and tenths (fractional taxes of fifteenths and tenths imposed upon the alleged value of a taxpayer’s goods).
• Parliament limited their demand in 1504.

Question 7

Why couldn’t Henry rule England in Sphere’s of influence like Edward IV had done? What did he do about this?

Answer 7

• The War of the Roses had caused the number of magnates to fall
• He put most of the trustworthy magnates up in the north to control the more problematic areas.
• For the rest of the country he either had to rely on people who were more trustworthy but poorly resourced or reinstate Yorkist magnates who he couldn’t really trust.
• He then set up a network of spies to report on them and started using bonds and recognizances

Question 8

What did Justices of the Peace do? How did Acts of Parliament increase their power?

Answer 8

• Maintained law and order in the countryside by administering justice. Did this through quarterly sessions.
• Parliament gave them the responsibility of tax assessments, investigation of complaints against local officials etc.

Question 9

What was the difference in the income from Crown Lands from the beginning of Henry’s reign and the end? How did he do this?

Answer 9

• Rose from about £12,000 to about £42,000
• He did this by (in 1492) reverting to Edward IV’s method of registering income through the royal chamber instead of the inefficient court of the exchequer.

Question 10

How did the council learned make Henry so much money?

Answer 10

• would sometimes make false claims about people owing the King money
• was not an official court of Law so those summoned before it could not appeal
• harsh with the enforcement or penalties
• came up with very efficient systems such as that of bonds and recognizances.

Question 11

What were some of the main ways in which Henry’s government collected income.

Answer 11

• Crown lands
• Profits of justice
• customs revenue (increased from £34,000 to £38,000 throughout the course of Henry’s reign)
• parliamentary grants
• clerical taxes
• feudal dues (e.g. obligations payable on the death of a feudal tenant-in-chief
• French pension (£5000 per year - agreed at the Treaty of Etaples)

Question 12

What were the two main elements of the court?

Answer 12

• The Household Proper - looked after the king, courtiers, guests etc. (supervised by the Lord Steward)
• The Chamber - presided over by the Lord Chamberlain (powerful position, matter of trust). Made up of other senior household officials as well.