Henry VII Government Flashcards
Justice of Peaces
It was Henry’s best interest to have people who obeyed the law and kept order throughout the kingdom to work for the government - JP’s were his key to success in area with an average of 18 JP’s per county appointed by local landowners. Henry began to appoint lesser landowners, to weaken the larger landowners powers.
He widened the responsibilities of JP’s:
From 1485, they could question / arrest poachers or hunters in disguise.
From 1487, they could grant bail to those awaiting trial.
From 1495, they could replace juries who had been suspected of being bribed.
Privy council
The privy council existed to advise the king over matters of state, to administer law and order and to act in judicial capacity. The council had over 240 people, but only 6 or 7 were in regular attendance in meetings, such as Lovell, Daubeney and Dudley, ensuring they all had legal backgrounds to insist on the Kings Rights.
Henrys council was divided into subcommittees, such as the ‘council learned in law’ of 1495 to defend the Kings position as feudal landlord.
The council operated without a jury, and Henry used it to supervise the collection of bonds & recognisances.
There were five meetings of the Great council…
*1485, for the announcement of Henrys marriage to Liz. of York,
*1491 to go to war against France,
*1496 to grant a loan of £120,000 for war in Scotland.
Control of the magnates
When Henry VII became king, he faced the problem of restraining individual nobles in the provinces. He stopped individuals building up too much power and he always insisted on their absolute loyalty to the Tudor dynasty.
Although the Stanley family were allowed to enhance its authority and to continue in charge of south Lancashire and Cheshire, the control of the south-west was taken away from Marquees of Dorset.
in 1489, Henry used the fact that the Percy heir was a minor to replace him with Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, who had neither land nor influence in the northern counties.
In 1501, northern families were overlooked when Surrey was replaced by a council under the Archbishop of York.
Parliament
Parliament met seven times during Henry VII’s reign, mostly at the beginning, recognising his title to the throne, passing attainders and voting on taxes. There were several reasons for these infrequent meetings:
- Henry didn’t ask for war taxes often as his foreign policies avoided expensive campaigns abroad
- Parliaments judicial function was being replaced by subsidiary courts, such as the ‘council learned in law’.
Acts of parliaments were passed concerning responsibilities of JP’s and social discipline. An act of 1504 forbade corporations from making regulations without the kings approval.
An act of 1495 laid out maximum wages and minimum hours of work, while another act instructed vagabonds to be put in stocks and returned to their original place of birth.
