Henry vii 2 : government Flashcards
what was the councils and the courts?
- the king ruled with a council of advisors who supported him in making key decisions
- around 227 men are recorded to attend the council during his reign
- the working council had around 6/7 members
why was the council important?
the importance was dependent on its key members particularly sir Reginald Bray and its offshoot the council learned
who was Sir Reginald Bray
chancellor of the dutchy of lancaster,faithful servant to Henry and led the council learned in law
what were the councils main function ?
- advise the king
-administer the realm on the king’s behalf - to make legal judgements
what happened in the Great Council?
- they were meetings of noblemen called by the king to discuss high matters of state usually in moments of emergency as calling parliament would take too long
- they were a useful from of control for the king as they were a way of gaining the agreement and support
when were the five meetings on the great council ?
1485:for the calling parliament and the announcment of Henry’s marriage
1487:in response to Lambert Simnel’s threat
1488:to authorise a subsidy for the campaign in Brittany
1491:to authorise war against France
1496:to grant a loan of £120,000 for war in Scotland
what did the council learned have the power to do ?
it bypassed the normal legal system since it was not a court and those summoned had no chance of appeal
who created the council learned and when?
Sir Reginald Bray in 1495 who defended Henry’s position as a fuedal landlord,maintained the King’s revenue and exploit his prerogative rights
what did the council learned do ?
it dealt with king’s fiscal matters and enforced payments of debts - proved to be more efficient than the exchequer
how was the bonds and recognisances work so effectively ?
the council was a secondary department to the star chamber,but it was the council learned in law that made the system of bonds and recognisances work so effectively
why was the council learned become unpopular?
it was abolished in 1509 as Empson and Dudley were extremely harsh and formed a feared combination of able bureaucrats who raised the extraction of money from the King’s associates into a fine art and created many enemies amongst key advisors
how did the council learned fail ?
Edmund Dudley and Empson were imprisoned,convicted of treason,attained and executed in 1510 - Dudley confessed to having issued harsher penalties than lawful in several cases
what was the royal court?
the centre of government and was always to be found wherever the king was at any given time
- it was the focus of personal monarchy and a place for royal ceremony
why was the royal court important ?
it was where the power of the monarch was demonstrated to all the courtiers in attendance,it was how rewards and status were distributed and was where the support of the king/influential people could be obtained
what was the politicallly important aspect of the court ?
the chamber,presided over by the Lord Chamberlin
what did Henry create once he was betrayed by the lord chamberlin ?
creating the privy chamber into which he retreated,protected by his most intimate servants
how did the court change to the end of Henry’s reign?
henry cut himself off from much of the King’s traditional contacts at court
what was the personal monarch ?
- medival monarchy was personal
- in any personal monarchy the political power and influence of an individual depended more on the relationship the person had with the monarch than on any specific officer they might have held
- so access to the king was the main determinant of power
what was parliament comprised off?
the house of commons and the house of lords (from the 13th century),two mps from each countytwo mps from each borough and representives of two universities and lords temporal (nobility)
when did parliament meet?
only when the king called it (henry only did this seven times during his reign)
how was parliament becoming an increasingly integral part of government ?
as henry sought it but after 1504 henry expressly stated that he was not mided to parliament unles a great urgent cause necessiated it - shows how his attitudes to government changed at the end of his life
what were parliaments main functions?
- to pass laws
- grant taxation to the crown
how did henry use parliament?
to recognise his title as king in 1485,pass acts of attainder an d vote on taxes - he used it to extend his royal authority
how did henry solve the issue created by magnate control in the north of england?
he took a risk and released the yorkist earl of surrey from the tower who served him loyally in the north for 10 years
how was henrys lack of trust demonstrated
the employment of a spy network
what were justices of peace ?
they were people who owed their offcies to the king,henry increasingly relied on them to maintain law and order in the countryside
how did JP’s power grow?
by the end of Henrys reign they held more power than local sheriffs and were the chief local government officers
why were JP’s ensure to implement legislation that would ensure greater social cohesion at a local level?
they were appointed by local land owners so wanted to have relations with them
how did JP’s discuss serious court cases?
they met once every three month at quarter sessions
why did Henry prefer to select his JP’s from the second tier of a county’s landowners ?
in order to restrict power of the great magnates as the JP’s were answerable to the king and would be a useful source of infomation with regards to any magnate becoming too powerfull
what power did Henry give/introduce to JP’s ?
- continued the policy of edward iv of extending the power of jps
- in 1487 JP’s were given the power to grant bail to those awaiting trial
-1495 JP’s given authority to deal with juries that were considered to be tainted by loyalties to magnates - they served for a year
what were the JP’s incentive to do well ?
any JP who fell from grace would also socially within his region as he would be seen as incompetent
what assumptions were made about Henry ?
- he was a miserly king
- he had transformed the royal finances by leaving a vast sum to his son Henryviii
what financial problems did henry face in 1485 ?
- nobles whose wealth and territorial power made them potential rivals to the crown,they managed to grow power gaining land at the expense of the crown
- the poor finances of the crown which had been depleted by wars at home and abroad
what was the key development of Henry’s reign ?
the emergence of committees of the council to deal with specific matters of policy, the council learned of the law and the star chamber
what was Henry’s approach to finances ?
he took a more direct personal interest in the state of national finances as his reign progressed,at the start of his reign he allowed clumsy and inefficient department such as the Treasury and the Exchequer to take control
what was the court of Audit ?
a way to monitor govt. spending
what were henrys policies like ?
cautious and realistic
,avoiding expensive foreign wars and exploiting his legal rights to claim special payments from his nobles
how did henry leave the financial situation ?
he ensured that the crown had built up enough annual income to meet its commitments and money was carefully accounted for
how were crown lands a source of revenue?
1486 used the act of resumption to reclaim all crown land granted away since the start of the roses,making him the largest land owner in the country
how much did income raise during henry’s reign?
from £42,000 to £120,000 per year
how were feudal dues a source of income ?
he increased the demands for payments from nobles
how did income from wardships change from 1487 to 1506
from £350 to £6000 per year
£30,000 was recieved by parliament in 1504 for the knighthood of Prince Arthur (who died in 1502)
how did custom duties raise income?
largely continued the work and methods of Edward, at the start of reign custom duties were £34,000 per year and at the end were £38,000
how did legal dues/profits of justice raise finance?
increased the use of fines and attainder,Stanley’s attainder bought an immediate payment of £9000 and £1000 per year thereafter
how did bonds and recognisances rasie finance ?
used for both financialy and political purposes,council learned in law enforced payment of these debts (useful way of maintain control)
how were clerical taxes a way of raising finance ?
used his right to appoint leading churchman to raise money by selling offices,he raised £300 by selling the post of Archdeacon of Buckingham - this was forbidden but widely practiced (simony)
how did parliamentary taxes raise finance ?
they were available when necessary but were often unpopular and triggered two rebellions in Henrys reign (yorkshire and cornwall)
how did pensions raise finance ?
french agrred to pay Henry a pension of £5000 per annum as part of the treaty of Etaples
how were attainders used to reduce his reliance on the nobility and reuce their power ?
- allowed the king to accuse a noble of treason and disloyalty
- the king could seize titles and possessions of the noble
- henry attaine 138 men
