Henry VII Finances Flashcards
Crown lands - ordinary revenue
The main method Henry used to increase his ordinary revenue was maximising income from crown lands. At the end of the WOTR, Henry inherited lands belonging to the Houses of York and Lancaster.
The annual income from crown lands increased from £29000 on the death of Richard III, to £42000 in 1509. Henry recognised the importance of his lands from the start, thus passing the Act of Resumption, recovering all properties granted away since 1455.
Custom duties - ordinary revenue
In the late fifteen century, the custom duties levied were on leather, cloth, wool & wine. Under Edward IV, annual yield had increased due to his encouragement of trade and tighter administration, which Henry followed.
In 1487, merchants carrying merchandise from one English port to another, were required to produce a certificate specifying duties paid from the first port. In 1496, Henry reduced privileges from foreign merchants eg. They now had to pay English taxation.
Average annual receipts were £33000 for the first 10 years of Henrys reign, and £40000 afterwards.
Feudal dues - ordinary revenue
Feudal dues were paid by those who held land from the king in return for avoiding military service. As the greatest feudal lord, the king was owed certain obligations by his tenants in chief, like wardship, marriage, livery and the fine known as ‘relief’.
Henry was determined to enforce these traditional rights to the fullest and extract the maximum income possible from them. Initially, the dues from wardship and marriage were small, accounting to only £350 in 1487, but in 1503, a special officer was appointed to supervise them, and in 1507, annual income rose to £6000.
Parliamentary grants - extraordinary revenue
The main form of extraordinary revenue was a sum of money granted by parliament, but Henry was reluctant to tax unless necessary.
This was because Lancastrian Kings had difficulties with parliament due to their bargaining power, demanding restrictions on the Kings power in exchange for grants of money.
However, Henry did request financial assistance in 1487 for the Battle of Stoke, in 1489 to go to war against the French, and in 1496 to defend the throne from the Scots and Perkin Warbeck.
Clerical taxes - extraordinary revenue
Henry received large sums from the church, after increasing taxation on the clergy through benevolences and forced loans.
Henry also made money from simony, charging £300 from the Archdeaconry of Buckingham on one occasion. The king kept bishoprics vacant for many months before making new appointments to pocket revenue in the meantime.
Due to a series of deaths in the bishops during the last years of his reign, Henry received over £6000 annually.
French pension - extraordinary revenue
As part of the Treaty of Étaples in 1492, Henry negotiated a pension from the king of France - the pensions were a bribe offered by their French counterparts so English armies would be removed from French soil.
Henry was promised a sum of £159000 to compensate him for the cost of the war, a sum to be paid in £5000 per annum.
