Government Of Henry VII and Threats To His Rule

Question 1

Reasons for unrest in early years of his rule

Answer 1

• only gained throne through battle
• many nobles neutral during Battle of Bosworth = didn’t like Richard III but didn’t support Henry either
• blood claim relatively weak + likely to be challenged by Yorkists

Question 2

Initial attempts to secure his position

Answer 2

• dated start of his reign as day before Bosworth = any who fought against him were traitors - could seize their estates + increase king’s wealth
• arranged coronation for 30th Oct, before Parliament met = couldn’t be claimed that he only became King because of Parliament
• asked for papal dispensation to marry distant cousin Elizabeth of York + unite two houses
• married in Jan 1486, after coronation so it couldn’t be claimed that he owed crown to his wife

Question 3

How did Henry deal with the most important of the Yorkist claimants: Edward Earl of Warwick + John de la Pole Earl of Lincoln?

Answer 3

-Warwick was successfully removed by being sent to the tower
- Lincoln professed his loyalty + invited to join King’s Council

Question 4

Overview of Lovell conspiracy

Answer 4

• Henry took royal progress to the north(Yorkist support = strong)
• 1486
• rebellion in Midlands involving Lord Lovell + Stafford brothers(loyal Richard supporters) - Henry heard of plot + sent armed force to offer reconciliation or excommunication + death = rebels dispersed, Lovell fled to Flanders, Humphrey Stafford exec. + Thomas Stafford pardoned + loyal
• Welsh rebellion led by Yorkist families Herberts + Vaughans - put down by Henry supporter Rhys ap Thomas

Question 5

How serious a challenge was the Lovell conspiracy?

Answer 5

• neither rebellion prevented royal progress + visit to north helped win loyalty + obedience

Question 6

Reasons for Yorkshire Rebellion

Answer 6

• due to Henry’s attempts to raise money to aid Brittany in conflict with France
• Yorkshire particularly annoyed- bad harvest in 1488 + other northern counties exempt from tax due to role defending against Scots
• area less concerned about France - southerly counties at risk of invasion/attack

Question 7

Events of Yorkshire Rebellion

Answer 7

• 1489 - Henry refused to negotiate despite complaints
• Earl of Northum. tried to collect tax + was murdered
• rebellion led by Sir John Egremont(Yorkist)

Question 8

Response + conclusion of Yorkshire Rebellion

Answer 8

• easily crushed by royal army but tax not collected = royal authority weak in north
• Henry therefore appointed Earl of Surrey as rep. in North - had no vested interest + loyalty secure as restoration of his estates depended on his success in region

Question 9

Reasons for Cornish Rebellion

Answer 9

• same as Yorkshire Reb. - Henry’s need for money + parliamentary vote - this time due to James IV of Scotland wanting to aid Perkin Warbeck in invasion of North
• Cornish had little interest in geographically remote issues + didn’t see why they should fund war on England’s northern border

Question 10

Events of Cornish Rebellion

Answer 10

• rebels assembled at Cornish county town of Bodmin in May 1497 + marched through county
• numbers increased to 15,000 = sign of some cross-class support in minor gentry(but only attracted 1 noble = impoverished Lord Audley)
• numbers declined when approaching London + rebels clear that complaints were against ‘evil councillors’ e.g. Morton + Bray and not King

Question 11

Response + conclusion of Cornish Rebellion

Answer 11

• Henry assembled royal army of 25,000 = easily crushed rebels at Blackheath in June 1497
• never serious - only reached London because he was more concerned with Warbeck
• leaders tortured + executed, others heavily fined
• suggests country not prepared to fund campaigns to defend Tudor monarchy
• shows loyalty still limited 12 years into his reign

Question 12

Origins of Simnel Rebellion

Answer 12

• Lambert Simnel - claimed to be Earl of Warwick - crowned Edward VI in Ireland + received support from Margaret of Burgundy(sent money + 2000 mercenaries)
• began in autumn of 1486 but Henry not aware of it until early 1487

Question 13

Events of Simnel rebellion

Answer 13

• Henry offered rebels pardon + paraded real Earl of Warwick in London = didn’t stop rebellion which became more dangerous following flight of Earl of Lincoln to join rebels
• June = rebels landed in Lancashire + marched South, failed to gain widespread support but still 8,000 strong
• rebel army faced Henry at Stoke in June 1487 - Henry won

Question 14

Conclusions from Simnel rebellion

Answer 14

• weak claimant had been able to attract support + bring King to battle
• many of Henry’s men, like at Bosworth, held back until outcome was clear
• victory took 3 hours + could have easily gone other way

Question 15

Origins of Warbeck conspiracy

Answer 15

• contested but Warbeck’s arrival in Ireland in 1491 likely part of plan with Charles VIII of France and Margaret of Burgundy
• strong Yorkist element

Question 16

Events of Warbeck rising

Answer 16

• Warbeck appeared in Yorkist stronghold of Ireland + claimed to be Richard Duke of York = Warbeck didn’t get widespread support in Ireland but did in French court - joined by 100 Yorkist supporters(but France more concerned about Italy)
• Treaty of Étaples in 1492 = forced to move to Flanders under support of Margaret - Henry broke off profitable cloth trade(serious threat)
• Warbeck supported by Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor(but he lacked finances to help)

Question 17

Response + conclusion of Warbeck rising

Answer 17

• Henry got intel of conspiracy through spy network + passed series of attainders against those implicated in plot
• plotter = Sir William Stanley - leading courtier, Lord Chamberlain of King’s household + supporter at Bosworth = plot went to heart of court
• acts meant when Warbeck landed at Deal in 1495, defeated easily by local militia
• Warbeck fled to Ireland + failed to capture Waterford, but welcomed in Scotland + married to James IV’s cousin
• James gave Warbeck 1500 troops to invade north England but failed due to lack of public support in north - this time James abandoned him, preferring offer of marriage to Henry’s daughter
• Nov 1497 - persuaded to give himself up, foreigner = couldn’t be convicted of treason - allowed to stay at court
• 1498 - tried to run away, put in the tower, rumoured to plot with Earl of Warwick + then executed

Question 18

Why was the nobility a problem for Henry?

Answer 18

• Henry = usurper, nothing to stop powerful noble from doing same
• owned lots of land + land = power
• exile = Henry needed their help + advice to govern - difficult as many had supported Richard III
• could give leadership + force for rebellion

Question 19

Henry’s response to the nobility = ‘carrots’

Answer 19

• limited nobles he created to only 3 earls - also intensified value of peerage
• ‘carrot and the stick’ - gave nobles, including those that fought against him at Bosworth, the opportunity to prove their loyalty
• abandoned costly land rewards + re established Order of the Garter with 37 knights = prestige but no power/land
• continued traditional patronage but only as a result of loyal service, not in hope of it - non-nobles rewarded too
• Kings’s Council/Great Council - membership = sign of trust + clever way to ensure noble support

Question 20

Henry’s response to the nobility - ‘sticks’

Answer 20

• Acts of Attainder - lost right to possess their land = social + economic ruin - not new but much more severe - passed 9 against nobles, reversed 5 but attached conditions to 4
• effective as good behaviour = reversal
• Bonds and recognisances - written agreements - nobles who offended the King either paid for offence of paid money as security for future loyalty
• effective deterrent as sums reached £10,000 per peer
• became more severe as reign continued - 36/62 noble families involved between 1485+1509

Question 21

What were retainers and how did Henry control them?

Answer 21

• when nobles recruited local fighting forces - strengthened King when used on his behalf but serious threat if he didn’t have his own army
• 1485 = made Lords and Commons swear not to illegally retain
• 1504 = issued proclamations that nobles needed licence to retain
• penalties severe = £5 per month
• unable to abolish it but absence from crime records suggest warnings somewhat successful + raised large amounts of money

Question 22

How did Henry assert power over the nobility with feudal rights?

Answer 22

• marriage - profited from arranged marriages of heirs
• wardship - estates of minors under royal control until they came of age, estate exploited until then
• relief - payment to the King when land inherited
• livery - payment to the King to recover land from wardship

Question 23

How did Henry control the nobility with crown lands?

Answer 23

• 1486 Act of Resumption - recovered land granted away pre War of Roses
• when rewarding nobles with land, Henry took it from estates taken by attainder from other nobles = doesn’t diminish crown lands
• meant crown had 5x more land by end of H7s reign that H6s

Question 24

Changes to central government

Answer 24

• used smaller committees within the council, establishing Court of Requests, Court of General Surveyors + Council of Learned Law
• didn’t rely on particular families but drew chief advisors from lesser landowners, gentry + professional classes e.g. lawyers Reginald Bray and Edmund Dudley
• Council Learned in the Law = hated as collected bonds and recognisances, especially after 1504 under leadership of Empson + Dudley = exploited royal rights

Question 25

Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - the North

Answer 25

• developed regional councils in north, Wales + Ireland
• Council of the North = appointed Earl of Surrey as leader, had to defend border + had admin. + judicial power to enforce law quickly - main change = London gov. closely monitored activities + Henry appointed councillors, not Surrey = greater loyalty

Question 26

Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - Wales

Answer 26

• particularly unruly during civil war due to absence of oversight from London - no attempt to make single system of counties + lordships/abolish privileges of Marcher lords
• revived Edward IVs Council of Wales in 1493 under nominal head of son Arthur - death of number of Marcher lords + King’s connection with Wales = able to increase control

Question 27

Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - Ireland

Answer 27

• Yorkist stronghold = particulate problem
• English control limited to area around Dublin known as the Pale, outside major Irish families e.g, Kildare were dominant
• Poynings’ Law 1494 - Irish parliaments could only be called + pass laws with King’s approval
• Sir Edward Poynings = Henry’s deputy in Ireland - failed in task to bring Ulster under greater control
• efforts were costly - Henry forced to restore Earl of Kildare as Lord Deputy

Question 28

How effective was local government?

Answer 28

• Edward IV had relied on powerful families, Henry wanted to reduce their power
• difficult as he lacked paid officials in localities to enforce law + had to rely on nobility and gentry
• developed JPs - previously under influence of larger magnates/ exploited their power = problems lessened by bonds system
• JPs appointed annually from second rank of landowners = loyalty more assured + weakened nobles
• role widened to include greater responsibility for law enforcement e.g. arresting + questioning poachers + trying criminal offences
• JPs still dependant on other officials informing(unlikely to do so - made them unpopular) - local gov. highly dependant on good will

Question 29

How significant was Parliament under Henry 7?

Answer 29

• called when King needed money/to pass laws
• composed of Lords and Commons but Lords seen as more important and Commons election made by small, wealthy electorates
• Parliament only met 7 times + 4 of those in first decade = limited role
• used to pass Acts of Attainder, uphold claim to throne + define responsibilities of JPs
• even when they met = meetings usually brief

Question 30

Why did Henry reduce the role of Parliament?

Answer 30

• wanted to avoid asking country for money - could cause disquiet(like in 1489 + 1497)
• avoided war = needed to raise less money
• Parliament’s role as court of law was being fulfilled by other courts e.g. Council Learned of the Law

Question 31

How effective were Henry’s attempts to restore law and order?

Answer 31

• still problems = poor communications + reliance on unpaid officials for local gov.
• men increasingly willing to take on roles e.g. JPs - brought social prestige + increased status
• strong leadership from king, increased central control + careful selection of officers = law and order more firmly established than start of reign

Question 32

In what three ways did Henry attempt to restore royal finances?

Answer 32

1. Reorganise financial administration
2. Exploit sources of ordinary revenue
3. Increase income from extraordinary revenue

Question 33

How did Henry reorganise financial administration?

Answer 33

• restored Edward IVs Chamber system as opposed to Exchequer in 1487 = more flexible + informal + Henry had greater control - managed crown lands, feudal dues, profits from justice and the French pension
• Treasurer of Chamber + officials like Gentlemen of Bedchamber became more important - meant Henry had closer control of finances

Question 34

What is ordinary and extraordinary revenue?

Answer 34

• ordinary = yearly income from crown lands, customs, justice profits and feudal dues
• extraordinary = irregular + usually only raised in times of need by taxation/times of emergency by borrowing

Question 35

How successfully did Henry exploit ordinary revenue?

Answer 35

• most important source = crown lands - increased size 5x through 1486 Act of Resumption = meant income from CL rose from £29,000 at reign start to £42,000 by 1509
• didn’t take back all land he was entitled to to appease nobility
• custom duties - under E4 = £70,000 per year, 1509 = still 1/3 of ordinary revenue but dropped to £40,000 - tried to imitate E4s methods but smuggling + relationship with European powers
• profits from justice varied annually but Henry did exploit them - often punished by fines not imprisonment(some claimed after his death he charged people merely to fine them)
• feudal dues - rose dramatically - income rose from <£350 per year to >£6000 in 1507 - bonds and recognisances also fully exploited

Question 36

How successfully did Henry exploit extraordinary revenue?

Answer 36

• most frequent source = parliamentary taxation - Henry did not misuse it - cautious after Yorkshire + Cornish rebellions - only asked for exceptional circumstances e.g. Simnel or Scot/Warbeck invasion
• sums were based on out of date assessments of wealth = didn’t bring amounts they should have
• in emergency, could ask wealthy subjects for loans - brought in £203,000 but had to repay
• benevolences = forced loans with no repayment(used in 1491 in expedition against France, brought in £48,500) but not sustainable on regular basis
• Church - made contribution when Parliament granted money, Henry sold Church offices + left bishoprics vacant so he could claim revenue(made him £6000 per year)
• feudal aid levied on special occasions e.g. knighting of Prince Arthur(£30,000) + marriage of daughter Margaret
• French pension = result of Treaty of Étaples in 1492 = £5000 annually

Question 37

State of Henry’s finances on his death

Answer 37

• crown income risen to £113,000 annually + solvency restored
• income of French king was £800,000 per year