Henry's VII Government Flashcards
Who and What was the Council?
They were a group of people who ruled with Henry and supported him in making key decisions. They had 3 main functions:
.Advise the King.
.Administer the realm on the King’s behalf.
.To make Legal Judgements.
Who and What was the Council Learned?
They were an offshoot of the main council. It had a fairly simple function being that they had to maintain the King’s Revenue and use his Prerogative Rights (the power that the Monarch could exercise without requiring Parliaments Consent) as an exploit.
Who and What was Parliament?
This contained the House of Commons and the House of Lords. However, they only met occasionally and was not, therefore, central to the system of Government. It had two main functions:
.To Pass Laws.
.And Grant Taxation to the Crown.
How did Henry VII use Parliament?
Henry was the only person who could call Parliament to have a chat. He did this a total of 7 times, 5 times in the first 10 years of his reign and 2 in the later 14 years of his reign. As an example, the first 2 passed numerous Acts of Attainder. These declared individuals guilty without having to go through the inconvenience of a trial if they were alive; if they were dead, their property would be forfeit to the the crown.
Who and What were the Justices of Peace?
They were people who watched over part’s of England for the King. They enforced Law and Order. They met 4 times a year. Most of them were Local Gentry who fulfilled their unpaid tasks either out of a sense of Duty or because they perceived that doing so might open the path to greater advancement of local prestige.
What were Bonds and Recognisance?
Bonds: A legal document which bound an individual to another to preform an action or forfeit a specified sum of money if they failed to do so.
Recognisance: A formal acknowledgement of a debt or other obligation which could be enforced by means of financial penalty.
What were the Crown Lands?
Land owned by the King that people could rent to live on, (think of it like rent for a modern day apartment) and that money paid to live there goes directly to the King.
