Government Of Henry VII and Threats To His Rule Flashcards
1
Q
Reasons for unrest in early years of his rule
A
- 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
2
Q
Initial attempts to secure his position
A
- 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
3
Q
How did Henry deal with the most important of the Yorkist claimants: Edward Earl of Warwick + John de la Pole Earl of Lincoln?
A
-Warwick was successfully removed by being sent to the tower
- Lincoln professed his loyalty + invited to join King’s Council
4
Q
Overview of Lovell conspiracy
A
- 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
5
Q
How serious a challenge was the Lovell conspiracy?
A
- neither rebellion prevented royal progress + visit to north helped win loyalty + obedience
6
Q
Reasons for Yorkshire Rebellion
A
- 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
7
Q
Events of Yorkshire Rebellion
A
- 1489 - Henry refused to negotiate despite complaints
- Earl of Northum. tried to collect tax + was murdered
- rebellion led by Sir John Egremont(Yorkist)
8
Q
Response + conclusion of Yorkshire Rebellion
A
- 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
9
Q
Reasons for Cornish Rebellion
A
- 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
10
Q
Events of Cornish Rebellion
A
- 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
11
Q
Response + conclusion of Cornish Rebellion
A
- 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
12
Q
Origins of Simnel Rebellion
A
- 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
13
Q
Events of Simnel rebellion
A
- 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
14
Q
Conclusions from Simnel rebellion
A
- 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
15
Q
Origins of Warbeck conspiracy
A
- 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
16
Q
Events of Warbeck rising
A
- 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)
17
Q
Response + conclusion of Warbeck rising
A
- 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
18
Q
Why was the nobility a problem for Henry?
A
- 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
19
Q
Henry’s response to the nobility = ‘carrots’
A
- 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
20
Q
Henry’s response to the nobility - ‘sticks’
A
- 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
21
Q
What were retainers and how did Henry control them?
A
- 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
22
Q
How did Henry assert power over the nobility with feudal rights?
A
- 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
23
Q
How did Henry control the nobility with crown lands?
A
- 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
24
Q
Changes to central government
A
- 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
25
Q
Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - the North
A
- 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
26
Q
Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - Wales
A
- 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
27
Q
Attempts to restore royal authority in regions - Ireland
A
- 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
28
Q
How effective was local government?
A
- 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
29
Q
How significant was Parliament under Henry 7?
A
- 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
30
Q
Why did Henry reduce the role of Parliament?
A
- 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
31
Q
How effective were Henry’s attempts to restore law and order?
A
- 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
32
Q
In what three ways did Henry attempt to restore royal finances?
A
- Reorganise financial administration
- Exploit sources of ordinary revenue
- Increase income from extraordinary revenue
33
Q
How did Henry reorganise financial administration?
A
- 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
34
Q
What is ordinary and extraordinary revenue?
A
- 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
35
Q
How successfully did Henry exploit ordinary revenue?
A
- 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
36
Q
How successfully did Henry exploit extraordinary revenue?
A
- 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
37
Q
State of Henry’s finances on his death
A
- crown income risen to £113,000 annually + solvency restored
- income of French king was £800,000 per year
