character and aims

Question 1

When did Henry VII die?

Answer 1

April 21st, 1509

Question 2

When was Henry VIII proclaimed king?

Answer 2

April 23rd, 1509
This was 2 months before his 18th birthday.

Question 3

What did John Guy say about Henry’s mind?

Answer 3

That it was second rate.

Question 4

Why was Henry VIII’s accession welcomed as a breath of fresh air?

Answer 4

The influence of Empson and Dudley in the last years of his father’s reign had created a sinister atmosphere.

Question 5

Why did Henry VIII’s version of kingship differ from his father’s?

Answer 5

He had a strong dislike for the business of government.He would pass the work on yet could intervene suddenly in the business of government, contradicting decisions which had already been made.
He also lacked the work ethic of his father, preferring to pass time with company - there was a lot of emphasis on pageants, revelry, sports, hunting and tournaments.

Question 6

How did the structure of government evolve compared with Henry VII’s?

Answer 6

• Short term, there was a renewed emphasis on governing through council.
• For two periods during his reign Henry VIII relied upon the work of a chief minister who shaped the structures of government to meet his needs; the first being Thomas Wolsey and then Thomas Cromwell.

Question 7

How much money had Henry VII supposedly left for his son and what happened to it?

Answer 7

£300,000.
Henry VIII spent it as a result of paying for the revival of a traditionally aggressive foreign policy towards France.

Question 8

What happened to the conciliar form of government in his first few years?

Answer 8

Disappeared as a result of the emergence of Thomas Wolsey as the focus of government.

Question 9

What did Richard Fox, Sir Thomas Lovell and Richard Weston secure?

Answer 9

The arrest of Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley.

Question 10

When was the Council Learned abolished?

Answer 10

It was abolished by an Act of Parliament in January 1510.

Question 11

Who did Henry ensure his popularity against in the beginning of his reign and how did he do this?

Answer 11

The nobility and propertied classes, who considered themselves victims of Henry VII’s approach to taxation.What
He had cancelled many of the bonds and recognisances which the Council Learned had imposed, and had executed Empson and Dudley.

Question 12

What were Henry’s aims in the first few years of his reign?

Answer 12

• To establish his status amongst European monarchs through marriage
• To re-establish the role of the nobility
• To establish himself as a warrior king through success in battle

Question 13

Why did Henry’s councillors like the fact that he was wanting to be quick in marrying Catherine of Aragon?

Answer 13

Because they viewed the marriage as a distraction to political matters, which enabled them to conduct conciliar business as usual.

Question 14

When did Henry VIII marry Catherine of Aragon?

Answer 14

June 11th 1509.

Question 15

Why did Henry lead to repent marrying Catherine so quickly?

Answer 15

Because he hadn’t drawn much attention to how she was 5 years older than him, and it became clear that she wasn’t able to give him a male heir.

Question 16

Why didn’t the nobility achieve the political domination that they’d hoped to after being re-established from being frozen out during Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 16

Because Henry VIII had chosen to promote the interests of Thomas Wolsey, the churchman who had organised the war in France on his behalf.

Question 17

What did Henry’s pursuit of military glory and re-establishment of the nobility quickly lead to?

Answer 17

A war in France, which reoccurs regularly throughout his reign.

Question 18

What was the usual result from Henry’s many conflicts with France?

Answer 18

Vast amounts of money spent to achieve painfully small gains which had very little strategic significance.

Question 19

What were the spells of aggression with France usually mixed in with?

Answer 19

Occasional alliances with the French against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

Question 20

Why did Henry’s reign leave an enduring mark on English history?

Answer 20

• The broadening of the use of statute law (Acts of Parliament) to achieve political ends and to grow the importance of Parliament
• The destruction of much traditional religion
• Plundering much of the Church’s wealth

Question 21

How did Henry display his ruthless and cynical personality?

Answer 21

He resorted to execution for treason, often on the flimsiest charges.
He also combined tyranny and insecurity which overshadowed positive qualities which witnesses had seen in him.

Question 22

How did Henry display his impulsiveness?

Answer 22

Through his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
He also came to regret his swift decision to execute Thomas Cromwell.