Government Flashcards
1
Q
How many times did HVIII call parliament in his early reign ?
A
- 4 times before 1529 (1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523)
2
Q
What was HVIII’s view of parliament ?
A
- 2 main functions of government remained (extraordinary revenue to the crown and to pass laws)
3
Q
How many parliaments were held under Wolsey and why ?
A
- Wolsey in power (1514-1529)
- 1515 + 1523
- Regarded Parliament with some distaste
4
Q
Why was the first parliament called ?
A
- 1510
- To abolish the council learned
5
Q
Why was the second parliament called ?
A
- 1512
- To prove extraordinary revenue for the invasions of France and Scotland
6
Q
Why was the third parliament called ?
A
- 1515
- Act of restricting benefit of clergy not renewed despite apparent anticlerical atmosphere of the HC
7
Q
How many parliaments did HVIII have in total ?
A
- 9
8
Q
Why was the fourth parliament called ?
A
- 1523
- Extraordinary revenue for the invasion of France
- Levels of anti clericalism seemed to be reduced in the commons
9
Q
Why was the fifth parliament called ?
A
- 1529
- ‘Reformation parliament’
10
Q
Why was the sixth parliament called ?
A
- 1536
- To enact a new Succession act following the fall of Anne Boleyn
11
Q
Why was the 7th parliament called ?
A
- 1539
- Called for extraordinary revenue with invasion threatened
- Produced religious legislation eg dissolution of the greater monasteries and the 6 articles act
12
Q
Why were the eighth and ninth parliaments called ?
A
- 1542 : Extraordinary revenue and the issues of succession
- 1545 : extra ordinary revenue
13
Q
Why were parliaments held more often in the latter half of HVIII’s reign ?
A
- Cromwell exploited its legislative possibilities
14
Q
Why was there a clash in government ?
A
- HVIII’s impulsive personality v that of his conservative councillors
15
Q
When was the first concillor government ?
A
- 1509-14
16
Q
Why did the Councillor government come to an end in 1514 ?
A
- HVIII became disenchanted with some of his Fathers senior councillors
- Became more attune to governing + increasingly asserted his own opinion
- became impressed with the skills of Wolsey
17
Q
What was the Privy chamber like under HVIII ?
A
- The King’s ‘minions’ became Gentlemen of the Privy chamber
- These supporters of HVIII distrusted Wolsey
- 1519 : Wolsey secured the removal of the minions and replaced them with his supporters
- BUT the minions were largely able to recover their position
- Remained the one part of government out of Wolsey’s immediate control
18
Q
Which courts were increasingly used under Wolsey and why ?
A
- Star chamber (1516)
Wolsey led to challenge the corruption of the nobility and Wolsey heard criminal cases
Wolsey was able to use this to increase his power and control over the court
Popular with the commoners as it was cheap and decided quickly
1,065 cases were heard (10x that of HVII) - Court of chancery
Court to deal with problems such as enclosure and contracts
Promoted civil law rather than common law and was more based on justice and fairness
Created tension between him and lawyers as they resented him for not being trained
19
Q
What were Wolsey’s financial policies ? 4
A
- Act of Resumption 1515
- Subsidies
- Amicable grant 1525
- Eltham ordinances 1526
20
Q
Act of resumption (Wolsey)
A
- Act of Resumption 1515 + (returned former crown land)
- gained £200,000 in forced loans from 1522-1523
- Failed to be enough for FP plans due to inflation
21
Q
The subsidy (Wolsey)
A
- Designed to replace the fifteenths and tenths tax + meant to be more flexible rather than a fixed amount
- Ran a national survey in 1522
- Used 4 times
- Unified taxation and made it fairer BUT unpopular with the nobles
- Raised £322,000 in subsidy and £822,000 by Wolsey in total set HVIII spent £1.7 million on War
22
Q
Amicable grant
A
- 1525
- Extraordinary revenue to fund HVIII’s war in France
- Highly unpopular and led to the only significant rebellion (20,000) in the first half of HVIII’s reign
- Widespread refusal to pay the tax and HVIII had to suspend it and was dissatisfied with Wolsey
23
Q
Eltham ordinances (Wolsey)
A
- 1526
- reformed the royal household eg privy chamber cut form 12 to 6 + removal of groom of the stool
- Wolsey maintained his massive influence over the King + reduced others gaining favour but some money was saved
24
Q
What did Wolsey do in regards to enclosure ?
A
- 1515 Enclosure Act (involved himself in the growing problems of enclosures unlike HVII who was concerned about annoying land owners)
- inquiry into enclosures 1517 (opposition in Parliament meant this was suspended until 1526 and there were 188 prosecutions)
25
What did Wolsey do in 1527 ?
- Trade embargo against Spain (lack of money to fight + English trade was badly effected)
- 1527 was also one of the worst harvests of the period
26
When did Wolsey debase the coinage ?
- 1526
27
How did the second parliament fail to support Wolsey ?
- Only called so they could agree to taxation
| - Wolsey received £150,000 but had requested £800,000
28
What did Cromwell contribute to The Law ? (2)
- Act in restraint of appeals 1533 assured the Monarchs legal authority and superiority
- Introduced an Act to abolish sanctuary in 1540 (re-established the ultimate authority of the King and reinforced the 1534 Treason act
29
What did Cromwell do in terms of Parliament ?
- 1529-1536 'reformation parliament'
- Met nearly every year + increased the influence of Parliament as tight could express their opinions and laws
- Parliamentary acts had to be changed in parliament again
30
When was the coinage debased under Cromwell ?
- 1544 and 1546
| - Gave the economy a boost
31
What were Cromwell's financial policies ? (creation of departments)
- Court of the general surveyors was brought under the court of augmentations (1536) to manage the income generated from the dissolution of masteries
- Crown income doubled from £150,000
- The court of the first fruit and tenths was est to collect money previously paid to Rome through Annates (created a department)
- Court of wards was established to collect feudal dues from the estates of a minor who inherited land (created s government department)
32
Creation of the Council of the North
- 1536 following the Pilgrimage of Grace
- Overseen by JPs and responsible for law and order
- This extended HVIII's authority + the system of administration became more unified (less likely for further rebellions)
- HOWEVER it wasn't planned as Cromwell didn't premeditate to unite England as these changes were reactionary
33
When was the council streamlined in 1536 ?
- By 1536 20/councillors were conducting the daily business + Cromwell tended to coordinate ministers rather than dominate them as Wolsey had done
- Signalled a move from power centred within the household + more bureaucratically
- Dispersed power more and departments be are more formalised
34
What did Cromwell do in terms of Administration in Wales ?
- 1536
- Incorporated Wales into the English legal and administrative system
- Extended the administration system and meant Wales and England became more united
35
What were JPs given authority in 1542 ?
- Justices of Assize were given authority to hear charges against JPs
- BUT Wolsey has also been keen to improve local justice and the quality of JPs
36
What did the Act for resuming certain liberties do ?
- 1536
- Destroyed many privileges areas such as Durham had where the Kings writ didn't extend (palatines)
- Steps towards a unitary state which was more unified
37
What could only the crown do after 1536 ?
- Appoint judges and JPs in any area of England and Wales
38
How did Cromwell transform governance in terms of Calais ?
- 1536 : sent 2 MPs to represent their interests
| - This incorporated Calais in to the Kingdom of England making it more unified
39
How many MPs did Wales have ?
- 7 shires were given the right to elect an MP for the HC
40
What was the Act for Laws and Justice ?
- 1536
| - Laws and justice to be administrated in Wales in like form to this realm (English Parliament)
41
What did the West council achieve and what did it fail to do ?
- Established John Russel as the dominant landowner in the region
- Creation of the council of the West 1536 but it was unpopular and was abandoned after Cromwell's fall from influence
42
What led to the downfall of Wolsey ?
- 1529
| - Failure to secure the King's great matter
43
When was there ministerial government ?
- 1514-1529 (Wolsey)
| - 1532-1540 (Cromwell)
44
When was there conciliar government ?
- 1509-1514
- 1529-1532
- 1540-7
45
What were the 5 acts of parliament 1533-34 in reference to the break with Rome ?
1. April 1533 : Act in restraint of appeal (Declared the monarch possessed an imperial jurisdiction which wasn't subject to any foreign power) + COA couldn't appeal to Rome
2. April 1534 : Act of succession (Marriage to COA was void and the succession of Anne Boleyn' children)
3. Nov 1534 : The act of supremacy (effectively accomplished the break from Rome)
4. Nov 1534 : The treason act (treason could be committed by spoken word as well as by deed or writing)
5. Nov 1534 : Act annexing First Fruits and Tenths to the crown (annates previously paid to the pope were to be paid to the king)
46
What led to Cromwell's fall from power ?
- Failure with an attempt between a marriage alliance with Henry and Anne of Cleves (league of Schmalkalden) which was annulled
-
47
What dominated the last 7 years of HVIII's government ?
- Factional rivalries between conservatives (eg Norfolk + Gardiner) and protestants (Edward Seymour)
48
How was Norfolk damaged by Catherine Howard + Katherine Parr ?
- CH was his niece and he was damaged following her promiscuity (executed for Treason in 1542)
- KP was a Protestant and he unsuccessfully tried to embroil her in accusations of heresy
