H8 gov Flashcards
what type of gov did H8 inherit?
inherited a strong, central government and local gov structure, staffed by admin
early years= continuity
what changes occured after 1514
1509-14 gov by council broke down by 1514 between H and his councillors e.g w/ war over Fr or H’s pref to surround himself w/ young courtiers
Wol as chief minister
1514-29
Relied on wol to manage gov effectively
WOl infl derived from his close rel w/ king from formal pos.
wol = cardinal 1515
wol = papal legate 1518
1515 parl
wol involved but did not call
inability to manage parl in early 20s due to Wol’s temp & near impossibility of winning tax for wars that had already happened
1515 parl dismissed b4 granting tax bc Wol wanted to stop them criticising the church
V anti-clerical bc of murder of Richard Hunne
1515 Wol asked for extension of the b of clergy- parl ref wanted to abolish it
1523 parl
Wol had been given taxes in 1522 + spent on war
Called again 1523 for subsidy due to 3-pronged attack… asked for £800k, 4 shillings in the £
Parl ref… kept them sitting over the summer
Eventually agreed but only half + paid in installments
gave up anti-encl pol
Wols only parl as LC
caused resentment led to amicable grant
Eltham Ordinances
1526 wol red size of pc from 12-6. said it was to save money, rlly removed chief opposition
1529 parl
met after fall of wol
T More put forward a petition signed by H8 to never have wol back in power
V anti clerical, criticised c corruption + inability to get divorce
H8 happy to accept bc wol failed to get div
Opening of reformation parl- BWR
1529-32
Concillar gov restored… same as before
1532-40
Crom as chief min
1540-47
concillar gov restored in a new form… new PC emerged w/ fixed membership and recorded proceedings. Pwer lay w/ cons
Cromwell’s way of governance
more ‘modern’, more bureaucratic, intoduced gov dept controlled by rules… less personal style of governance
court of augmentation + court of first fruit and tenths subject to scruting + careful auditing of all accounts
Croms changes to the PC
changed composition of PC
Red to 20 men… incr efficency appointments based on talent.
Croms other roles
Also neg further marriages for H… when mar between A + H broke down, from acc AB of adultery
Aft failure of H’s marriage w/ A of Cleaves. C tried for treason + heresy
Factional rivalries
From 1540- cons dom concilliar system, wanting to stop further relig change, such as Gardiner + Wriothesley.
Norfolk’s infl threatened aft exec of Cath 1542
As K’s health decr, fac rivalries incr, wanted to control successor. Norfolk escaped exec by K’s death. Som in favour.
Changes to parl
Magna Carta to H7= 1092 pages of law
H8 reign 1032 pages of law
laws now applied to relig matters as well as secular. A of Parl became supreme law
Cromwell used parl for other matters; trade, industry, food prices, rural depopulation and poverty
Crown had become a part of parl. B4 king AND parl. Now king IN parl
After BWR abbots disappear from HoL… becomes more secular, created 4 more bishoprics. HOL shrinks fell from 100 lords to 80
Parl summoned more frequently
HoC 14 new boroughs created
More MPs in HoC due to act of union w/ wales. 296-400 MPs
Changes in finance
dissolution of monastries: income grew from £150,000 to £300,000
created new courts incl;
court of Augmentations created in 1536 to deal w/ prev monastic lands
court of wards 1540- land temporarily in K’s possession due to the death of a nobleman who had infant children
court of first fruits and tenths 1540; money from clergymen act 1534, not as powerful
court of general surveyors 1540: revenue from older crownlands
court of the DUchy of Lancaster- old lancastrain crown lands
kept the old exchequer syst which was now v slow
each new court had staff, accounting procedures etc
a treasurer was elected by crom to administer the first fruit and tenths rather than a bureaucratic body (finance)
finance negs
diss of mons brought in over £1mil but £800,000 worth of land from Diss was sold to pay for Fr campaign (Boulogne 1544) and Solway Moss 1542 and ROugh Wooing 1544
led to ‘great dbasement’ of the 1540s and loans from Antwerp- by 1547 owed £100k
wales
1536 1st A of Union
24 MPs from Welsh shires to Westminster, English legal syst est in Wales, council of Wales est, was given authority to govern in the absence of a prince of wales
1543 2nd A of Union
Eng becomes the lang of gov in wales
dividd into counties and shires
JPs and SHeifs intro
C of Wales reorg to incl border areas e.g Gloucester
C of Wales role= transmit orders, publish proclamations, act as a judicial court
Council in the North
1537
permanent base in York
legal and administrative role
responsible for electing and overseeing JPs
dealing w/ treason
trade and food supplies
1541 wakefield plot- gentry and clergy plan to murder arch of york- pres of CoN and take pontefract castle, didnt work
no probs until n’ern earls
Council of the West
1539
Fear of invasion
Worried about loyalty of Devon and Cornwall- history of reb
Lord Russell in control
Lord Lieutenants appointed in the west to raise local forces
Met in 1540
but by 1540 FP improved so council lapses
Reason why 1549 w’ern reb got out of hand.
