Government & Parliament Flashcards
What were the time frames of conciliar government & key ministers?
- 1509 - 14, conciliar
- 1514 - 29, Thomas Wolsey
- 1529 - 32, conciliar
- 1532 - 40, Thomas Cromwell
- 1540 - 47 conciliar
How was the Privy chamber changed in the early years?
How many parliaments were called under Henry VIII?
Why were parliaments of difference to Henry VII?
- Made larger by King’s minions (young courtiers) became gentlemen of the Privy Chamber
- 9
- Sat for much longer periods
- e.g. Reformation parliament (1529 - 36)
Prior to 1529 when were the Parliaments called & what were they?
(4)
- 1510: Abolished Council Learned
- 1512 : Extraordinary revenue for war
- 1515: Act restricting benefit of clergy
- 1523: Extraordinary revenue for war
Why was Wolsey reluctant to ever use Parliament?
- Because Parliament had anti-clerical nature early in the reign & as a religious man, Wolsey was not fond of this
- Parliament was filled with the Nobility who Wolsey felt looked down on him as the son of butcher
- Wolsey preferred to be in the King’s ear to have maximal influence
How did Wolsey eventually neutralise the influence of the minions?
Why was this unsuccessful?
- Wolsey secured the removal of the minions & replaced them with his own supporters (1519)
- Removed Groom of the Stool, Sir William Compton, replaced him with Henry Norris
- Most minions regained their positions, Privy chamber remained outside of Wolsey’s control
Dates of Wolsey’s chancellorship under Henry?
Dates of Cromwell’s chancellorship under Henry?
- 1515 - 1529
- 1533 - 1540
When did Wolsey become Bishop of York?
When did he become Cardinal?
When did he become Chief Minister?
When did he become Papal legate?
- 1514
- 1515
- 1515
- 1518
Why did conciliar government end in 1514? (4 reasons)
- Henry became frustrated at the reluctance of some councillors to support a war against France
- He wanted to control decision making 3. Henry surrounded himself with minions who reinforced his suspicions of the ‘old guard’
- Impressed by Wolsey’s efficiency, who contributed successfully to the first French campaign
What can government broadly be split into?
- Legal
- Financial
- Institutions (Parliament & Privy chamber/council)
What 3 categories can domestic policies under chief ministers be split into?
- Legal
- Administrative
- Financial
What were 2 legal domestic policies under Wolsey?
- Court of Star chamber (1516): Wolsey wanted it to dispense cheap, fair justice in order to root out corruption & pressure the nobility
- Court of Chancery: Created legal precedents, established permanent judicial committee to deal with cases brought by the poor
What were 3 financial domestic policies under Wolsey?
- Act of resumption (1515): wanted to increase revenue from crown lands, but much land had been given away at the beginning of the reign, income had decreased to £25,000 per annum, act only returned some land
- The subsidy: Wolsey wanted the subsidy to replace the fifteenths & tenths tax. Subsidy was a more realistic tax as it was based on valuations of the persons wealth
- Amicable grant (1525): funded Henry’s campaign against France, caused rebellion in East Anglia & non-payment following taxes in 1522 & 1523 & subsidy of 1523 that was still being paid
How much was government expenditure between 1509-1520?
Why was this bad?
- 1.7 million
- Money collected by Wolsey was less than government expenditure meaning wars could not be financed & Henry’s aim of becoming a warrior king waned
What was 1 administrative policy under Wolsey?
- Eltham ordinances (1526): Reformed the Royal household to maintain financial efficiency e.g. removed minions & ensured his political supremacy after the failure of the Amicable grant (1525)
What did the problems of the King’s great matter lead to in the short term & long term?
- Short term failure to achieve the ‘King’s Great Matter’
- Long term success in achieving Royal Supremacy over the Church of England
Give 2 reasons as to why Henry needed an annulment from Catherine of Aragon?
- By mid-1520s She was past child bearing age & had failed to produce a male hair
- Henry had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn & she was unwilling to become Henry’s mistress
What did Henry use to justify the annulment to the Papacy?
What did Catherine use to argue against this?
- Found Biblical justification from the book of Leviticus
- This prohibited marriage between a mans brother & his widow
- Henry believed his marriage was illegal & had the right to marry Anne
- Arthur & her never consummated their marriage & so their marriage was never valid
Why was it made difficult for Pope Clement VII to issue a Papal dispensation?
- May 1527 Rome was sacked by Charles V (Nephew of C of A) & the Pope became the prisoner of Charles V
- Charles V directed the Pope not to allow annulment
What did Wolsey attempt to do in May 1527 to attempt to secure an annulment?
Why did this not work?
- Wolsey used power as Papal legate (Pope’s representative)
- Brought Henry before a fake court & accused him of sin with Catherine (affairs)
- Henry readily accepted
- Catherine refused the court’s verdict & with canon law (Church law) appealed to Pope Clement VII
In what years was their ‘fruitless diplomacy’ during the King’s Great Matter?
Why was this?
- 1527-29
- Pope played for time in order to long the situation out, frustrating Henry
Explain the Cardinal Campeggio debacle?
- Clement agreed to have a Legatine court (religious court)
- Pope sent an envoy (Cardinal Campeggio) to hear the case in Blackfriars (1529)
- Hearing opened 15 June - 30 July when Campeggio adjourned for the Summer
- Campeggio died that Summer resulting in Wolsey’s final failure to secure the annulment
What happened to Wolsey after failure?
- October 1529 charged with Praemunire & gave up all possessions
- 4th November 1529 arrested & was to be tried & executed
- Died of natural causes 29th November
3 reasons for Wolsey demise?
- Failure to secure annulment
- Unpopular Domestic policies
- Failure to use Parliament & unpopularity with nobility
How did Thomas Cromwell’s emergence of power occur?
What did his suggestions lead to?
- Suggested Henry break with Rome & place himself as Head of the English Church
- Became the King’s chief minister by 1532
What was 1 legal policy under Cromwell?
- Act abolishing Sanctuary 1540
- Banned the use of religious houses to shieled criminals
What was 1 financial policy under Cromwell?
What was the implication of this?
- Court of Augmentations 1536 dealt with income from the dissolution of the monasteries
- Crown income increased from £150,000 - £300,000
How did Cromwell reform the Privy council?
- By 1536 20 Privy councillors conducted business of government in its daily working despite 70 Privy councillors
- The bureaucracy grew & there was more independence nearing the King’s death
What was the Wales & the North policy issues by Cromwell?
- Act of Union 1536
- Wales became incorporated into the English legal system
Under Cromwell what institution diminished & which one grew in importance?
- Royal Household
- Privy council then had a significant role in managing government & parliament
In what years was the reformation parliament sitting?
What was the primary reason for this parliament?
- 1529 - 36
- Henry’s desired divorce & the Church
How did Cromwell exploit weaknesses in the Church in order to achieve the divorce?
- Catholic Church weakened by Erasmus & John Colet through humanist thinking
- 1528 Church’s legal supremacy was challenged by Christopher St German who asserted superior English law over Canon law
- Thomas Cranmer & Edward Foxe compiled Collectanea Satis Copiosia: redefined boundaries between royal & ecclesiastical power
- King humiliated Lord Chancellor Thomas Cranmer by having to produce academic opinions from European Universities for divorce
How did Henry & Cromwell pressurise the Pope?
What did the last measure in 1532 result in?
- 1531: Clergy accused of Praemunire & fined
- 1532: Act in restraint of Annates: prevented money going to Church
- 1532: Supplication against the Ordinaries: accused Church of abusing power
- 1532: Submission of Clergy to Henry VIII: Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor
How did Anne Boleyn contribute towards the annulment?
Why did the problem of succession continue?
- Started consenting to sexual relations with Henry
- If she were to become preggers she would force Henry to take decisive action
- Archbishop of Canterbury (William Warham) replaced by Thomas Cranmer, receiving authority from Rome & would become a leader of the Reformation
- Boded well for Henry as Anne was pregnant by December 1532
- Marriage occurred 25th January 1533
- Aragon & Henry’s marriage annulled May 1533 by Cranmer
- Because Anne Birthed a daughter (Elizabeth)
What acts of parliament did Cromwell issue (1533-34)?
(5 acts)
- Act in restraint of Appeals: Monarch had imperial jurisdiction, no appeals could be made to Rome
- Act of succession: Henry’s marriage to Catherine was invalid, to deny validity of Henry & Anne was treasonable, oath’s were to be taken to support the new marriage
- Act of Supremacy: Achieved break with Rome, Henry head of English Church
- Treason Act: Treasonable to speak, write, deed to speak wrongfully of the King
- Act annexing first fruits & tenths to the crown: allowed Bishops to pay their annates to the Crown only
- Increased financial burden on Clergy & reinforced Royal supremacy
Who faced execution as a result of the Treason act?
- Sir Thomas More
- Convicted & executed July 1535
- Denied the Royal Supremacy
Out of Cromwell’s actions which was most effective?
What government became enabled after the Break with Rome through Parliament?
Why could this be seen as a failure?
- Parliament
- By 1534 relationship between Church & State had been destroyed
- Parliament’s role in law making had been strengthened
- Henry had entire control of the Church
- Dissolution of the Monasteries 1536-42
- Church land was confiscated
- increased wealth & power of Crown in order to pursue Henry’s aggressive foreign policy
- Much of the land was granted away or sold below the market price
Outline fall of Anne Boleyn?
- Relations between Anne & Cromwell deteriorated
- Cromwell believed he needed the favour of the King as he felt threatened
- Cromwell allied with the Conservatives & persuaded Henry Anne was a slag
- Anne was accused of adultery & incest with her brother
- executed 19th may 1536
- Henry was now free to remarry
Outline fall of Cromwell?
- By 1540 Cromwell’s influence had declined due to the fact he had secured the annulment & break with Rome
- Main reason was his failure with Henry’s marital failures
- 1537 Jane Seymour died giving birth to Prince Edward
- 1540 Cromwell tried to reconcile Henry with League of Schmalkalden by arranging a marriage between Henry & Anne of Cleves, marriage annulled quicky
- Duke of Norfolk capitalised on this by arranging marriage with his niece Catholic Catherine Howard
- Cromwell accused of Heresy & Treason & executed July 1540
What was the league of Schmalkalden?
- League of German princes & free cities within the HRE who supported Martin Luther
With the inception of conciliar government after Cromwell who did power rest with?
(3 names)
- Temporarily by 1540 power lay with conservatives in the Privy council
- Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner, Thomas Wriothesley
How was the Duke of Norfolk wounded politically in the last years of Henry’s government?
(4 points)
- Catherine Howard has allegations of an affair with her distant cousin
- Catherine executed 1542
- Norfolk tried to remove himself from the affair
- Norfolk’s problems worsened when Henry married protestant Katherine Parr so tried unsuccessfully to accuse her of heresy
What happened in government as the King’s health began to deteriorate?
- Factional rivalries began to form
- Edward Seymour (to be Duke of Somerset) was uncle to Prince Edward
- Norfolk had lost political credit especially after his son (Earl of Surrey) had threatened to Usurp the throne
- Norfolk was sentenced to death but missed execution due to Henry’s death (28th January 1547)
- Norfolk remained a prisoner in the Tower for Edward’s VI reign
