Harsh Policies Flashcards
The sudden deaths of Henry’s wife and two sons had exposed a weakness in the Tudor dynasty that its enemies might exploit. To prevent this…
Henry seems to have spent his final years using the powers at his disposal to make certain that the nobility was not in a position to threaten him or his only surviving son.
How did Henry successfully use the powers at his disposal to make sense that the nobility was not in a position to threaten him or his only surviving son?
Eliana is rain Henry exercise his powers flexibly he had used punishment such as placing nipples in the rebel recognizance sparingly often chain and reversing a fine after a few years to gratitude and loyalty the skill of manipulating the powers at disposal and using them just enough to maintain the threat of penalties for this loyalty or rewards for service well not over using them to the point where they created resentment and open opposition however, Later in his reign there’s evidence that he got this balance wrong
How was the council learner used by Henry and how did it show an obvious source of resentment?
He used them as well as the star chamber to maintain his feudal rights over his leading subjects.
E.G.
-In 1493 buns from the nobility brought in £3000 in cash although much more had been demanded and promised
- in 1505 The equivalent sum was £35,000
-To some extent this may reflected the change of personnel.
- The death of Reginald Bray led the appointment of Sir Richard Empson as the chancellor of the Dutchie of Lancaster in 1504.
What did Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson do?
He and Edmund Dudley created a system of spies and informers who looked for signs of misdeeds among wealthy people
The downfall of Henry’s treatment of the nobility and the corruptness. How were they corrupt and how did the nobility suffer which lead to them feeling resentment?
In Henry’s reign 46 out of 62 Noble families suffered financially for one reason or another and the level of activity increased rapidly in the last years of his rain royal demand were increased and enforced far more rigorously than the earlier years for example some might be fine for alleged defence but then forced to sign the bond in which there was a promised to pay a sum of money to the crown each year as a guarantee their future good behaviour. Edmund Dudley confessed in 1509 that in least 84 cases he had extracted money illegally since this information was revealed after he had been arrested by Henry the eighth. It is difficult to know how accurate it is because he might have been pressured into exaggerating the scale of his crimes, allowing for this, it remains the case that the council learned in law was conducting its activities in a way likely to cause resentment and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Henry the seventh was aware of this
Death of Henry VII
Henry the seventh died in April 1509 aged 52. He had been visibly ailing for the previous few months and had hardly been seen in public since February. He continued working planning ahead and especially securing the future of the Tudor dynasty.
Overall success and criticism
He has achieved stability, defeated, rivals controlled the nobles improved finances and was able to pass all this on to his eldest surviving son who became Henry the eighth. Secure foundations made possible the achievements of the later Tudors. However, as explained above he died more respected than loved. The extent of his achievements had also been questioned.
Chapter summary
• England in 1485 was a relatively unimportant country on the edge of Europe with a weak monarchy and over powerful nobles
• he seventh established Tudor rule ending the wars of the roses
• he used propaganda skilfully to justify becoming king, including symbolically uniting the red and white roses by marrying Elizabeth of York
• he kept the government, patronage and limiting noble retainers
• he improved the crown finances
• he defeated rebellions for example lovell and Stafford
• he felt successfully with pretenders (Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck).
• he worked hard to build up diplomatic and trading relations in Europe
• after the death of Arthur in 1502 he worked hard to rebuild his achievements so that his legacy would be secure
• His reputation was; he was respected rather than loved
