Henry VII consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty: England, 1485–1547 Flashcards
Why would maintain law and order be a priority for Henry?
Avoid rebellions
Establishing his dynasty
Secure his throne
Deal with Yorkist/ rebellions
Control nobility
Make country easier to govern
How can putting a Yorkist in power effectively consolidate power?
YES
Illusion of power
Yorkist seem to have power, however Henry still ultimate power
Spies/ bonds and recognises
Easier to control one man rather than an entire population
Maintain control by keeping enemies close
NO
Lack of trust
He is allowing Yorkist influence over the country
HE IS IN A STRONGER POSITION
What are the benefits of bonds and recognises?
Can control people
Can control society
Easily get money of people go back on their word
Negatives of bonds and recognises
Leads to resentment
Morally incorrect
What are bonds and recognises
bonds - A legal document which bound an individual to another to perform an action or forfeit a specified sum of money if they failed to do so.
Recognisances= a formal acknowledgement of a debt or other obligation which could be enforced by means of financial penalty.
What are JPs and their benefits?
maintain law and order in the country - usually the Gentry
Cheaper
Less of a risk
More competent as they were there because of moral duty towards the community
positives of JPS
It was good for the king as it didn’t give the jps much influence
Helps in the functioning of the country but it doesn’t allow them to gain much attention so can’ over power the king
usually the gentry
The courts of Tudor England
Church court : church administration offences commited by clergy marriage moral offences
Manor courts : landholding rights responsibilities
Borough courts - medieval trading standards
What were his foreign policy aims and what were the reason for those?
GOOD RELATIONS
peace reputation, focus on domestic Yorkist threats
Alliance- Yorkist threat issues, foreign support improves crown finances
TRADE INTERESTS
Sell English products improve economy improve relationships by benefiting both countries
RECOGNITION OF DYNASTY
Reduce threat of rebellions
Strengthen weak relations
Strengthen his claim to the throne
When was the battle of Bosworth?
Battle of Bosworth, August 1485 - same year henry 7 became kng
Richard iii slain in battle
end of Plantagenet rule
Who was King Henry vii ?
King of England (1485-1509)
Married Elizabeth of York, uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York
Fugitive in France for all of childhood
What are the potential problems for Henry vii?
- weak claim to the throne - Descended through the female line via his mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort.
- Yorkist loyalists = faced resistance from Yorkists and Richard iii did not get a formal burial - angered supporters
How did Henry vii consolidate his power?
- Dated his reign to the day before Bosworth so that the Yorkist fighters were labelled as traitors
- Publicly rewarded supporters- giving people knighthoods
- Sir Reginald Bray = Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Sir William Stanley = Chamberlain of the Household - Had Elizabeth of York (later married) and Earl of Warwick detained because of their claim to the throne
- Coronation took place week before first Parliament to solidify his claim-based on hereditary right and not only because parliament had sanctioned it.
- Parliamentary Acts of Attainder: Yorkist fighters’ property forfeiting to the Crown- increasing royal income
- Parliament granted Henry the custom- revenue of tonnage and poundage for life
What is the Act of Attainder and when was it passed?
This declared a landowner guilty of rebelling against a monarch; this attained noble lost his title, lands and sometimes his head; his heirs were disinherited
1486
What is tonnage and poundage?
the right to raise revenue for the whole reign from imports and exports granted for life
‘By 1509, Henry VII had successfully secured his power’. Assess the validity of this view.
Exam question get marked
‘Lambert Simnel posed a greater challenge to Henry VII than Perkin Warbeck’. Assess the validity of this view.
exam question get marked
What were the reasons for the pretender?
Henry’s position was extremely insecure
Yorkist loyalists want the Lancastrians off the throne
Henry seized power on the battlefield which could be seen as invalid
His claim to the throne was weak compared with the Earl of Warwick and others (Edward IV’s nephews)
Disappearance of pretenders to the throne ‘princes in the tower’,
Others just wanted power/the throne for themselves-
Who was Lovell and the Staffords ?
Supporters of Richard III
Tried to raise forces against Henry in the heartlands of Richard’s support (N. Yorkshire, Midlands)
Lovell escaped
Humphrey Stafford executed
Little support in Yorkist heartlands - surprising?
Who was Lambert Simnel and the Earl of Lincoln ?
Lincoln nephew of Ed4/R3 - R3 designated successor, leader of Yorkists after Bosworth
simel Initially tutored to impersonate Duke of York, ended up impersonating Earl of Warwick
Crowned as King of Ireland in 1487, encouraged by JdlP (Lincoln)
H7 exhibits real Warwick in London
Lincoln fled, joined Lovell in Margaret of Burgundy’s court
Pair persuade Margaret to support rebellion
Henry regained stronghold in North of England to ensure no support for invasion at home
Battle of Stoke Field (1487) - Henry feared betrayal as R3 had suffered at BoB
Lincoln killed, forces defeated, victory for Henry
simnel given job in kitchen - 10 yo
Who was Perkin Warbeck?
Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York
Ability to gain favour from foreign rulers added to his threat
Attracted support of Ireland, France, Burgundy and Scotland across 8yr period (1491-1499)
Initial failed invasion in 1495 - fled to Scotland
1496, small invasion over Scottish border - quickly retreated
Tried to exploit Cornish Rebellion in 1497
Surrendered to the King
Executed in 1499
Who was the real The real Earl of Warwick ?
Placed in the Tower at the age of 10
Nephew of R3
Innocent party in a lot of the plots that were conspired in his name
Executed alongside Warbeck in 1499
Who was the Edmund and Richard de la Pole?
Younger brothers of Lincoln
Ed = Earl of Suffolk, fled to seek refuge in Burgundy - given up in 1506 - executed in 1513
Richard, ‘White Rose’ left in exile until death in 1525 (Battle of Pavia)
What are the 3 parts of the Judicial system in Tudor England under
Henry vii?
church courts
Manor Courts
Borough Courts
What is a church court ?
Church administration - offences committed by clergy, proving of wills, marriage and moral offences?
What is a manor court?
Landholding; rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants; use of common land; responsibilities for drainage and land issues
What is a Borough court?
Medieval trading standards; specific judicial rights granted by royal charter
What was the structure of the government under Henry vii?
Under the monarch
there is the council , court , Parliament
What was the council?
Henry preferred it conciliar government.
Their job was to advise the king , administer the realm on the king’s behalf
make legal judgements
Member met separately on occasion to resolve administrative issues without the king
reliance on the council learned in law
who was the council made of?
Members of nobility - Lords of the country, rarely magnates (higher nobility)
Churchmen - e.g. Richard fox - often had legal training and good administrators
Laymen - sir Reginald Bray - Gentry or lawyers, skilled administrators.
What was the great council?
Meeting of the house of lords without Commons
only met 5 times
occasional rather than permanent
Usually met for national security reasons - war , rebellion
What was the council learned in law?
to maintain the king’s revenue and exploit his prerogative rights
It was seen as shady because those summoned had no chance to appeal and were able to entrap many of the king’s subjects
Empson was joined by Edmund Dudley. Together they formed a feared combination of able and conscientious bureaucrats who raised the extraction of money from the king’s subjects to a fine art. (they were lawyers and bureaucrats )
What was the court?
A place to display his wealth and Rewards and status were distributed through the court
Courtiers had paid positions or the right to free food
A place to obtain the support of influential persons which usually helped in legal problems
What were the households in the court?
Responsible for looking after the King, the courtiers, and guests
Personal and catering requirements supervised by the Lord Steward
A level in the court
What was the chamber?
A level in the court
Presided over by the Lord Chamberlain, influential courtiers (a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the moarch)
Politically-orientated
A blow to Henry when his Lord Chamberlain (Sir William Stanley) was involved in a treasonous plot with Perkin Warbeck in 1495
Who was the Lord chamberlain?
an experienced nobleman, member of the King’s council, responsible for organising court ceremonies
What reforms happened in the court after Lord Stanley’s betrayal?
Henry created the privy chamber
Here he could retreat, protected by his most intimate servants
Made it more difficult for those who had fallen out of favour to regain the king’s support.
He also cut himself of to most of the king’s traditional contacts
What was parliament’s purpose?
Comprised of the House of Commons and House of Lords which had existed since the 13th century
Only met occasionally and was therefore not central to government. It had two main functions:
passed laws
Granted taxation to the Crown
A means by which local issues could be passed on to the King’s officials by local MPs
What was in the house of laws ?
Lords Spiritual (bishops and abbots of major religious houses)
Lords Temporal (the nobility)
More important of the two houses
What was the house of commons?
Two MPs for each county
Two MPs for each borough
Representatives of the two universities (Oxbridge)
Voting?
Restricted to men of property (‘forty shilling freeholders’ in the counties)
Voting qualifications varied in different boroughs
How many times did henry call parliament ?
7 times
stopped after granting extraordinary revenue
What is extraordinary revenue?
money raised by the king from additional sources as one off payments when he faced an emergency or an unforeseeable expensive of government, this could be made up of parliamentary grants, loans, clerical taxes for example.
Fifteeths and tenths- standard form of taxation, calculated in the 14th century, paid by towns and boroughs to the crown.
what was henry foreign policy aims?
Maintaining good relations and defence
National security
Recognition of the Tudor dynasty
Defence of English trading interests
why did henry want peace?
War was expensive and dangerous. Peace was far cheaper and gave Henry time to consolidate his power in England.
Why did henry want allies?
Gaining allies offered some guarantee of support and stability.
TRUE or FALSE
his domestic issues where secondary to his foreign ones
FALSE
Henry’s foreign policy was very much secondary to his domestic policies of enriching the monarchy and ensuring the obedience of his subjects.
In short, Henry’s primary aim was to retain control of the Crown and secure the long-term future of his dynasty.
What was another reason his claim to the throne was questioned by foreign leaders and why did they refrain from making alliances?
As a usurper, his right to the throne was thought by many to be suspect and most of Europe’s rulers did not expect him to last long.
In addition, Henry was menaced by the claims of pretenders to the throne, two of whom, Simnel and Warbeck, successfully sought aid from foreign powers.
Why did henry pursue a defensive and cautious policy?
Henry pursued a more cautious and defensive policy than that of his predecessors because he had to be constantly on his guard against possible invasion.
What was the 100 year war and what was the result?
What did henry aims regarding the 100 year war?
Hundred years war- a conflict that lasted on and off from 1337 to 1453, and was fought between England and the country seen by many english people as the traditional enemy- France
happened over territorial claims
What did henry aims regarding the 100 year war?
Dominated both countries’ foreign policy for over 100 years
France won, driving the English out of the country bar their fortress at Calais
Henry VII had no grand plans to assert English power in Europe, he was therefore more concerned with maintaining good relations and defence.
Features of France that the English had to consider?
Traditional enemy of England
France was the richest, largest, and most populous kingdom of western Europe
Leader - Charles VIII
Priorities to expand into the Kingdom of Naples
What was Brittany?
Fiefdom of the French crown
Ruled over by Duke Francis II - only heir to his throne was duchess Anne
French were eager to claim this territory and strip Brittany’s independence
Duke Francis dies in 1488
What did henry ask for in Parliament in 1489?
asked Parliament for extraordinary revenue to attack France for the following reasons:
Sense of obligation to Bretons
Fear that direct French control of Brittany could increase the threat to England
What was the treaty of redon?
When was it signed?
What did it cause Duchess Anne to do?
Feb 1489: Treaty of Redon between England and Brittany
Duchess Anne would pay for a small English army to defend her land against the French
What did henry try to arrange between Anne and Maximillian ?
Henry tried for an alliance with Maximilian (HRE-elect) who had contracted a marriage-by-proxy with Anne, no desire for the Duchy of Brittany to fall into French hands.
What did Anne do that caused some trouble for henry?
She feared futility of prolonged resistance to the French and so surrendered to France and married Charles VIII
left English army marooned in France
Maximillian lost interest and situation made worse by Perkin Warbeck
What did Henry do in response to Anne’s surrender?
IN 1492 he invaded France
Used info from his agents that Charles was so concerned with Italy that Anglo-Franco peace would come quickly
What was the treaty of Estaples and when was it signed?
Charles agreed to withdraw support for Warbeck
pay Henry a pension as compensation for military action
Henry had managed to defend national and dynastic interests. He improved his financial position and ensured a period of relative cordiality in Anglo-French relations.
Was the incident with France and Brittany a success or failure?
SUCCESS
Eventual peace with France
Secured pension from Charles VIII
French support for the pretender Warbeck withdrawn
His agent network was proven to have correct information
FAILURE
English troops marooned in Brittany
Extraordinary revenue used
Maximillian lost interest in Henry and his foreign dealings
Invasion of France risked resuming the Hundred Years War
What was the holy roman empire?
approx. 300 states
- include Germany, Austria, northern Italy, Czech republic
never achieved political unification
Emperor elected but by the late 1400s it was usually a member of the Habsburg dynasty
emperor crowed by pope until 1500
Who was Margret Duchess of Burgundy?
(aka Margret of York )
Widow of Charles the Bold (now owner of his estate)
sister of Edward IV and Richard III
Step-mother-in-law to Emperor Maximilian
Sought the help of Maximilian who passed jurisdiction of the Netherlands to his sixteen-year-old son Philip in 1494
Why was the trade embargo put in place?
What was the impact?
Bulk of English exports went through Dutch ports: Antwerp and Bruges (under Burgundy’s jurisdiction)
Anglo-Burgundian relations deteriorated due to Maximilian and Philip’s hospitality towards pretender Perkin Warbeck
Henry put an embargo on English trade with Burgundy
What is Intercursus Magnus in 1496 ?
ending the embargo and resuming normal trade
What is 1506 Intercursus Malus ?
Henry demanded stronger position for English merchants in the Netherlands (treaty never enforced)
How did relations between Anglo-Burgundian relations improve?
Philip and Maximilian agreed to hand over the Earl of Suffolk (Yorkist fugitive) whom Henry imprisoned in the Tower
Anglo-Burgundian relations ultimately improved England’s trading position and the security of the dynasty
How successful was Henry’s foreign policy in terms of establishing his dynasty?
BURGUNDY
SUCCESS
Imprison earl of Suffolk
- consolidate power
- henry assert claim
Perkin Warbeck leaves Burgundy
- improve relations
- IMag , IMal - respect from phillip
FALIURE
IMag - exchange
IMal - pushing trade and tension
How successful was Henry’s foreign policy in terms of protecting trade interests?
BURGUNDY
SUCCESS
IMag - embargo end
Imal - pushing trade, end tension
FALIURE
Embargo with biggest exports
sacrifice trade
How successful was Henry’s foreign policy in terms of national security?
BURGUNDY
SUCCESS
Remove embargo
- IMag reduce pension
- reduce tension
Good relations with neighbour + powerful country
Remove pretenders
FALIURE
Embargo
- cause tension
- lost alliances
Perkin Warbeck - threat to country
MOB
What was Spain’s position in Europe?
Spain was a powerful state so Henry hoped to develop good relations
1469: Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married
Created a façade of unity between the two kingdoms
Who was Ferdinand the second?
King of Sicily (1486-1516)
King of Aragon (1479-1516)
King of Castile and León (via his wife and as Ferdinand V, 1474-1504)
Became King of Naples after defeating France in 1504 – reuniting it with Sicily
Married Isabella of Castile in 1469 – “uniting” Spain
What was the treaty of Madina del Campo?
When was it signed?
Mutual protection in the event of attack
Agreed not to harbour rebels or pretenders
Marriage alliance between Arthur (Henry’s son) and Catherine, (Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter)
Reduction of tariffs between England and Spain (would increase trade)
It was signed in1489
What was the problems of the treaty of Madina del Campo?
the marriage arrangement didn’t go smoothly
was reluctant to the marriage as he believed Henry dynasty was at risk because of Perkin Warbeck
Arguments over Catherine’s dowry
When did Arthur and Catherine get married?
agreed in 1499
Marriage took place in 1501
However Arthur died in 1502, bringing complications to Anglo-Spanish relations
What happened to Anglo-Spanish Relations after Arthur’s Death?
Henry suggested she marry his other son Henry 8
However, Ferdinand reluctant and Marriage would require a papal dispensation (permission required from the Pope, but at a price
1504: Henry lost enthusiasm for the marriage as the death of Isabella made Ferdinand a less significant figure
Henry supported Ferdinand’s rival for the succession: Juana (Catherine’s sister)
1506: Juana and husband Philip of Burgundy forced to take refuge in England after their ship was wrecked on route to Spain
