Establishing the Tudor Dynasty

Question 1

Did Henry VII have the best blood claim to the throne?

Answer 1

No!

Question 2

Name three Plantagenet descendants with a better blood claim. What happened to each of these people?

Answer 2

1. John de la Pole (killed at Stoke)
2. Earl of Warwick (executed)
3. Elizabeth of York (married Henry VII)

Question 3

Who was the father of Elizabeth of York?

Answer 3

Edward IV

Question 4

What two other factors helped legitimize Henry VII’s claim to the throne besides blood?

Answer 4

1. Hand of God - won critical battle at Bosworth Field against Richard III
2. Parliament gave its blessing after the fact

Question 5

What methods did Henry VII use to domesticate the old nobility?

Answer 5

1. heavy fines (but never collected them to hold the punishment over the heads of the “rebel” nobility)
2. confiscations of castles and places that could be fortified
3. beginning of the court of star chamber
4. willingness to employ men of humble birth

Question 6

What was Henry VII’s biggest strength?

Answer 6

financial prowess

Question 7

What was the royal income in 1485 (when Henry took the throne)? What was it when he died in 1509?

Answer 7

1485: 52,000 pounds
1509: 140,000 pounds

Question 8

What strategies did Henry VII employ to gain more revenue for the crown?

Answer 8

1. Efficient collection of customs revenue
2. Good management of crown lands
3. Fiscal Feudalism
4. Marriage with Spain

Question 9

Explain fiscal feudalism.

Answer 9

Henry VII was entitled to money from the nobility for the knighting of his eldest son. He collected this money in 1504 after both his son’s knighting (1489) and his son’s death (1502).

Question 10

Explain what happened with the Marriage with Spain.

Answer 10

Henry VII married his eldest son Arthur off to the Spanish Princess Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella). Arthur soon dies after the marriage and Ferdinand, skeptical of England’s stability, demands Catherine’s dowry back. Instead, Henry VIII marries Catherine in 1509.

Question 11

Why was Henry VII growing increasingly unpopular during his reign?

Answer 11

He rarely called Parliament, overly relied on the Court of the Star Chamber, and he sometimes resorted to forced loans.

Question 12

Characterize Henry VIII.

Answer 12

He was dashing and heroic compared to his father.

Question 13

What year did Henry marry Catherine of Aragon?

Answer 13

1509

Question 14

Who did Henry VIII have executed? Why?

Answer 14

Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson - They were his father’s old advisors who were the most unpopular. He had them executed as scapegoats for his father’s unpopularity.

Question 15

Henry VII didn’t like the day-to-day stuff about being king. Who took care of this for him?

Answer 15

Thomas Wolsey

Question 16

Who was Thomas Wolsey?

Answer 16

Son of a butcher from Ipswich
Cardinal (had become a priest and later Archbishop of York)
Seemed too corrupt and political
never set foot in his archdiocese until the year of his death
He was a patron of humanists like John Frith

Question 17

What European rivalry did Wolsey try to strike a balance with?

Answer 17

Charles V (Hapsburg) and Francois I (Valois)

Question 18

What were the years of Charles V’s reign? What were the years of Francois I’s reign?

Answer 18

1519-1555
1515-1547

Question 19

Who allied with France?

Answer 19

the Scots

Question 20

What battle occurred in 1513? What was the outcome?

Answer 20

Battle of the Spurs - France and Scotland lost

Question 21

Where was the important decisive victory over the Scots? Who died there? How many Scottish soldiers died?

Answer 21

Flodden, James IV, 10k Scottish soldiers

Question 22

What was the result of the Battle of Flodden?

Answer 22

Peace Treaty, Margaret (Henry VIII’s sister) married into Scottish royalty

Question 23

How much did the French campaign cost Henry VIII?

Answer 23

650,000 pounds

Question 24

Who did Henry VIII’s sister Mary marry? Why?

Answer 24

the elderly Louis XII, to solidify peace with France

Question 25

What event marked the peace with France?

Answer 25

The tournament at Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520
There was even a wrestling match between Henry VIII and Francois I (Francois won, which Henry VIII took very personally)

Question 26

What happened to the French king in 1525? Who arranged his release?

Answer 26

He was captured by HRE troops at Pavia. Thomas Wolsey arranged his release.

Question 27

Who does Charles V not want to marry?

Answer 27

Mary, Henry VIII’s sister

Question 28

What happened with the HRE’s army in 1527? Why?

Answer 28

The Sack of Rome, the troops were unpaid and some were Lutherans

Question 29

Who is captured during the Sack of Rome?

Answer 29

Clement VII, the pope

Question 30

What does the capturing of the pope lead to?

Answer 30

England turns against the HRE.