Cromwell Flashcards
How did luck cause Cromwell’s rise?
- He was of common birth in Putney even describing himself as a “ruffian” in his youth to Cranmer
- Wolsey’s and More’s falls left vacancies - Henry was looking for new talent
How was Cromwell’s skill a cause for his rise?
- Was able to provide solutions to Henry’s Great Matter
- Memorised the entire New Testament - demonstrates his religious convictions and strong mind
- Instinct for survival led him to leave Wolsey when his fall became imminent
How was Henry a cause for Cromwell’s rise?
- Cromwell had friends who were close to Henry e.g. Gardiner and Heanage
- As an MP, Cromwell defended his old master in Westminster - Henry was impressed by his loyalty
What evidence suggests Cromwell changed religion?
- Implemented the 1534 Treason Act which made it treasonous to even fail to report people who spoke against the king’s new title as ‘supreme head’ of the church
- 1536 Ten Articles and 1537 Bishop’s Book both undermined Catholic sacraments
- Greatest achievement was the distribution of an English bible to every parish in the country - Matthew’s Bible then the Great Bible
What evidence suggests Cromwell DID NOT change religion?
- 1539 Act of 6 Articles reasserted Catholic sacraments and made denial of transubstantiation punished by burning
What evidence suggests Cromwell changed government?
- Reduced Privy Council membership from 70-90 members to a far more effective 20 allowing them to react quickly in emergencies such as the Pilgrimage of Grace (easier to come to a decision)
- Drastically increased the workload of parliament - 1032 pages of laws passed under Henry VIII compared to just 1094 over the past 251 years
- Split Wales into shires to bring it in line with England and gave Council of Wales powers needed to bring Wales under control of central government - lasting impacts - major leap towards modernisation of gov
What evidence suggests Cromwell DID NOT change government?
Wolsey’s Eltham Ordinances had cut Privy council membership down to 6 which improved efficiency - modernisation process had already begun
CONSENSUS: Wolsey’s chief advisor when he did this was Cromwell
What evidence shows Cromwell changed finances?
- Cromwell was made Chancellor of Exchequer in 1533 on promise of making Henry the ‘richest prince in Christendom‘
- Earned Henry £1.3mil by dissolving the monastries
- When this money ran out he persuaded parliament to agree to a peacetime taxation of £214,065 - was able to maintain success
What evidence shows Cromwell DID NOT change finances?
Sanctioned building of coastal defences around Calais costing £376,477 to defend against Catholic crusade - was a waste as no crusade took place
What evidence suggests religion was a cause for Cromwell’s fall?
- Cromwell was caught harbouring over 60 protestants - his religious convictions caused him to disobey Henry thus undermining any benefit he brought from skill -
- Act of Attainder confiscating his property mentioned his support for Lutheran Robert Barnes
- Norfolk took over as chair of committee handling King’s religious settlement - led to implementation of 1539 6 Articles - reputational harm - looked like he couldn’t do his job
What evidence suggests religion was NOT a cause for Cromwell’s fall?
- Role of reputation in Cromwell’s fall is overplayed as he still has support from Protestant population
CONSENSUS: It is support from Henry that ultimately matters most
How did Anne of Cleves cause Cromwell’s fall?
- Cromwell wanted to marry her to Henry to create a protestant alliance - however Henry dubbed her the ‘Flanders Mare’ and Cromwell took the blame for exaggerating her beauty - Henry was unable to consumate
- Henry wanted to marry Catherine Howard - divorce should’ve been easy as the marriage was unconsumated but Cromwell stalled until he was arrested in June 1540 - Henry married Catherine on the day of Cromwell’s execution
What evidence shows Anne of Cleves DID NOT cause Cromwell’s fall?
- Due to ongoing war with France and Spain marriage alliances were no longer needed as there was no threat of catholic crusade - Henry’s marriage would’ve always been his own decision rather than advisors
CONSENSUS: Still Cromwell stalling aggravated Henry and Anne of Cleves acted as the trigger
COMPARISON: Cromwell chose Anne as she was a noblewoman for the Protestant League of Schmalkalden - reliant on his religious beliefs
What shows the conservative faction caused Cromwell’s fall?
- As Henry’s conservative views became clearer Cromwell and Cranmer became more isolated - Norfolk took over as chairman of religious settlement committee at 1539 Parliament
- The Act of Attainder confiscating his property mentioned how he protected those accused of treason - reflects conservative attacks against him - Norfolk found him harbouring the protestants
What shows the conservative faction DID NOT cause Cromwell’s fall?
- Cromwell was able to assume leadership of the Privy Chamber in 1540 and pack it with his own supporters
CONSENSUS: Ultimately not enough to counteract the opposition he faced from major members of Privy Council e.g. Norfolk whose neice was married to Henry
