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1.1 Henry VII (1485 - 1509) > Government > Flashcards

Government Flashcards

Councils, parliament, justice, royal finance, domestic policies

1
Q

What were the 3 main functions of of the Council under Henry VII?

A
  • advise the king
  • administer realm on king’s behalf
  • make legal judgements
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2
Q

What were the 3 main types of councillor?

A
  • members of nobility
  • churchmen
  • laymen (gentry or lawyers)
    • skilled administrators
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3
Q

Despite it being a permanent body with a core membership, what did the Council not have?

A
  • any established rules and procedures
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4
Q

What did the importance of the Council depend on?

A
  • its key members
    • Bray and Dudley
  • the Council Learned
    • offshoot of the Council
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5
Q

Who was Sir Reginald Bray?
LOOK AT FACT FILE

A
  • faithful servant of Henry Tudor for some time
  • had helped raise funds for Battle of Bosworth
  • his influence increased through his role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • led the Council Learned in Law
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6
Q

Who was Henry’s most influential advisor?

A

Lady Margaret Beaufort (Henry’s mother, who held no office)

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7
Q

Who was Margaret Beaufort?
LOOK AT FACT FILE

A
  • married Edmund Tudor in 1455
  • gave birth to Henry VII when she was 13
  • her 3rd husband was Thomas, Lord Stanley
  • remained an important unofficial advisor to Henry VII
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8
Q

What was the Great Council?

A
  • a gathering of the House of Lords
  • without House of Commons
  • no clearly defined function
  • occasional rather than permanent body
  • met only 5 times throughout Henry VII’s reign
  • concerned with issues relating to war or rebellion
  • a means of binding nobility to key decisions relating to national security
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9
Q

What was the Council Learned in Law?

A
  • main offshoot of the Council
  • developed during second half of Henry’s reign
  • under Bray’s leadership (at first)
  • maintain king’s revenue
  • exploit king’s prerogative rights
  • made the system of bonds and recognisances work effectively
  • often seen as a shady operation
  • was not a recognised court of law
  • those summoned before it had no chance to appeal
  • important for the maintenance of the king’s authority as well as raising finances
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10
Q

Who was Bray’s associate in the Council Learned?

A

Richard Empson

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11
Q

What happened after Bray’s death in 1503?

A
  • Empson was joined by Edmund Dudley
    • both were feared and were able to extract money from the king’s subjects
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12
Q

What is an indicator that the Council Learned was unpopular in the last years of Henry’s reign?

A
  • after Henry’s death, they were both removed from the Council Learned
    • ‘brought rejoicing on the streets’
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13
Q

Who was Sir Richard Empson?
LOOK AT FACT FILE

A
  • member of the king’s Council from 1494
  • eventually chaired the Council Learned
  • identified with increasing ruthlessness of Henry’s regime
  • arrested shortly after Henry VII’s death, charged with treason and executed
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14
Q

Who was Edmund Dudley?
LOOK AT FACT FILE

A
  • came to prominence after death of Bray
  • role to exploit financial opportunities
  • made influential enemies
  • became vulnerable to attack once lost king’s protection
    • became accountable for his actions after Henry VII’s death
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15
Q

What did the Tudors rely heavily upon?

A

the royal court

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16
Q

What was the royal court and what did it have to be?

A
  • centre of government
  • focus of personal monarchy
  • place for royal ceremony
  • where monarch’s power was shown to all in attendance
  • always to be found wherever the king was at any given time
  • had to be magnificent and gorgeous because wealth = power
    • influenced by continental examples of royal courts
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17
Q

What was the role of the royal court?

A
  • through which rewards and status were distributed
  • courtiers enjoyed paid positions or the right to receive free food
  • where an advancement could be attained
  • where support of the kings or other influential people could be obtained
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18
Q

What is a personal monarchy?

A
  • the political power and influence of an individual depended more on their relationship with the monarch
  • access to the king was a main determinant of power
    • access controlled through royal court
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19
Q

What were the different levels of court?

A
  • household proper
  • the Chamber
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20
Q

What was the function of the household proper?

A
  • looking after the king, courtiers, guests, and ‘hangers-on’ who were being entertained
  • personal and catering requirements supervised by the Lord Steward
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21
Q

What was the Chamber?

A
  • politically important part of the system
  • presided over by Lord Chamberlain
    • position of considerable trust and power
  • Lord Chamberlain and other senior officials were influential courtiers
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22
Q

What was a considerable blow to Henry in 1495?

A

discovering that his Lord Chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, was involved in the treasonable plot with Perkin Warbeck (pretender)

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23
Q

What was Henry’s response to this challenge?
(Lord Chamberlain involvement in Warbeck plot)

A

remodel the Chamber by creating a Privy Chamber

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24
Q

What was the Privy Chamber?

A
  • where the king could retreat as he was protected by his most intimate servants
  • changed the character of the court
    • more difficult for those out of favour with the king to regain his support
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25
Q

What did Parliament comprise of?

A
  • House of Commons
  • House of Lords
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26
Q

What were the 2 main functions of Parliament?

A
  • pass laws
  • grant taxation to the Crown
27
Q

Why was Parliament not central to the system of government?

A

as it only met occasionally

28
Q

What was Parliament’s subsidiary function?

A

a means by which local issues and grievances could be passed on to the king’s officials through local Members of Parliament (MPs)

29
Q

INSERT INFO ABOUT HENRY’S PARLIAMENTS AND HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE WAS A BIG GAP BETWEEN 6TH AND 7TH PARLIAMENT

A
30
Q

How many parliaments did Henry call throughout his reign?

A

7

31
Q

What were Henry’s early parliaments mainly concerned with?

A
  • national security
  • raising revenue
  • his first 2 parliaments passed numerous Acts of Attainder
  • his first parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life
32
Q

What were Acts of Attainder?

A
  • declared individuals guilty without having to go through trial if they were alive
    • if they were dead, their property would be forfeit to the Crown
33
Q

What was tonnage and poundage?

A

customs revenues

34
Q

What did other parliaments grant?

A
  • extraordinary revenue
35
Q

What was the most common form of extraordinary revenue?

A
  • fifteenths and tenths
    • imposed upon the alleged value of taxpayer’s goods
  • yielded £203,000 from 1487 to 1497
36
Q

What did Henry’s final parliament do?

A
  • limit the demand for extraordinary revenue
37
Q

Why was the maintenance of law and order a prime responsibility for Henry?

A
  • at worst it could lead to uprisings or rebellions
    • concerned that potential enemies might challenge his authority
38
Q

What did Henry rely upon to ensure law and order was maintained?

A
  • well placed members of nobility to exercise power on his behalf
  • must ensure that the more influential nobles did not become so powerful that they could challenge Henry’s authority
39
Q

How was the country divided?

A
  • into spheres of influence controlled by magnates
  • number of magnates had declined since War of the Roses
    • few Henry could trust
40
Q

What demonstrated Henry’s lack of trust in magnates across the country?

A
  • spying network
  • imposition of bonds and recognizances
41
Q

What were bonds?

A
  • legal document binding an individual to another to perform an action or forfeit a specified sum of money if they failed to do so
42
Q

What were recognizances?

A
  • formal acknowledgement of a debt or other obligation which could be enforced by means of financial penalty
43
Q

What were bonds and recognizances/what did they do/how did they help?

A
  • Henry restored law and order largely through forcing subjects to take out bonds and recognizances
  • some were a result of genuine debts owed
  • many purely political
  • used to enforce order and obedience
44
Q

What were justices of the peace (JPs)?

A
  • maintain law and order in the countryside
  • appointed on a county-by-county basis
  • met 4 times a year to administer justice
  • most were local gentry
  • various Acts of Parliament were passed to increase the power and responsibilities of JPs who were responsible for routine admin
    • such as tax assessments, alehouse regulation, investigation of complaints against local officials, maintenance of law and order
45
Q

What were the types of court that made up the judicial system?

A
  • church courts
  • local courts
    • manor courts
    • borough courts
  • king’s courts at county level
  • king’s common law courts
  • chancery and other equity courts
46
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of church courts?

A
  • church admin
  • offences committed by clergy
  • proving of wills
  • issues relating to marriage
  • ‘moral’ offences
47
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of manor courts?

A
  • landholding
  • rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants
  • use of common land
  • responsibilities for drainage and land issues
48
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of borough courts?

A
  • medieval trading standards
  • specific judicial rights granted by royal charter
49
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of king’s courts at county level?

A
  • assizes
    • held twice a year
    • deal with major criminal and civil cases
    • presided over by senior Westminster judges
  • quarter sessions
    • held four times a year
    • presided over by JPs
    • deal with less important criminal cases as well as civil and admin affairs
  • special commissions
    • set up on ad hoc basis
    • deal with major issues such as rebellion
50
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of king’s common law courts?

A
  • King’s Bench
    • had superior criminal jurisdiction
  • Common Pleas
    • dealt with major civil cases
  • Exchequer
    • dealt with issues relating to royal revenues
51
Q

What were the areas of jurisdiction of the chancery and other equity courts?

A

exercised jurisdiction on basis of equity (fairness) rather than on strict reading of common law

52
Q

What were the sources of royal income?

A
  • Crown lands
  • profits from feudal dues and exercise of royal prerogative
  • customs revenue
  • pensions from other powers
  • profits of justice
  • extraordinary revenue
53
Q

What two things have been commonly assumed about Henry VII and finance?

A
  • he was a miserly king who begrudged throwing money away
  • he transformed royal finances by leaving a vast amount of money to his son, Henry VIII
54
Q

What were the Crown lands and how did they generate income?

ADD MORE FROM NOTES

A
  • the Crown lands were the king’s estates
  • the rental income from his property was a very important part of the Crown’s ordinary revenue
55
Q

What were there increased profits from?

A
  • wardship
    • aspect of feudal system enabling Crown to gain profits from property held by a minor
56
Q

What did Parliament grant in 1504 and how did this increase Crown finances?

A
  • granted a feudal aid
  • the Crown could impose a tax on their tenants for knighting the eldest son, the marriage of the eldest daughter or to ransom a lord
57
Q

What was an additional source of revenue?

A

obligations payable on the death of a feudal tenant in chief
- irritated landowners

58
Q

What was customs revenue?

A
  • tonnage an poundage had been granted for life
  • increased annual revenue from this from £34,000 to £38,000
59
Q

What were pensions from other powers?

A
  • Treaty of Etaples in 1492, French agreed to pay Henry £5000 per annum
60
Q

What were profits of justice?

A
  • included fines and income from bonds
    (however, bonds were a potential rather than actual asset, therefore not all expected was collected)
61
Q

What was extraordinary revenue?

A
  • money raised from additional sources as on off payments
  • could be parliamentary grants, loans or clerical taxes
  • overall received over £400,000 from extraordinary revenue
  • but helped to provoke rebellions in 1489 and 1497
  • 1504 Henry had to promise not to use this to raise any more money
62
Q

How much money did Henry VII leave to his son, Henry VIII?

A
  • plate and jewels worth around £300,000
  • £10,000 in cash
63
Q

What were the consequences of Henry trying to increase Crown finances?

A
  • political price to be paid
    • angered landowners, who Henry would need if his throne was threatened
64
Q

To what extent were Henry VII’s financial policies successful?

A

LOOK AT NOTES ETC

1.1 Henry VII (1485 - 1509) (6 decks)

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