Henry VII - Government and Finance

Question 1

What were the functions of the council?

Answer 1

advise the king
administer the realm on the Kings behalf
make legal judgements

Question 2

What were the types of councillor?

Answer 2

nobility - Lords Daubeney and Dynham, though working council, rarely included great magnates of the realm
churchmen - John Morton and Richard Fox, often had legal training and were excellent administrators
laymen - gentry or lawyers, Sir Reginald Bray and Edmund Dudley, skilled administrators

Question 3

What was personal monarchy?

Answer 3

medieval monarchy was personal, political power and influence of a person depended on relationship with the monarch

Question 4

What was the Great Council?

Answer 4

gathering of the House of Lords without the House of Commons, no clear functions, dealt with issues relating to war and rebellion

Question 5

What was the court and the household?

Answer 5

Tudors (like predecessors) relied heavily on Royal Court
Centre of government, wealth was power so had to be magnificent and generous (influenced by continental Royal Courts), found wherever the King was, focus of a personal monarchy, place for royal ceremony, where the power of the monarch was demonstrated to courtiers

Question 6

What was the Council Learned?

Answer 6

Developed during second half of reign, first under Bray
Often met in Duchy of Lancaster
Main function - to maintain the King’s revenue and exploit his prerogative rights
Made system of bonds and recognisances work effectively and trapped many of the King’s subjects
Not a recognised court of law, those summoned before it had no chance to appeal (bypassed normal legal system)
Bray’s associate was Richard Empson - when Bray died (1503) Dudley replaced him - created enemies amoung King’s other advisors and were feared and unpopular

Question 7

What were the different levels to the court?

Answer 7

Household proper - look after King, Courtiers, Guests (personal and catering requirements supervised by Lord Steward
Chamber - politically important part, presided by Lord Chamberlain
New privy chamber created - where King could retreat, protected by most intimate servants

Question 8

What were the main functions of parliament?

Answer 8

To pass laws
To grant taxation to the Crown
Further subsidiary function - local issues and grievances could be passed on to King’s officials by MPs

Question 9

What was the structure of parliament?

Answer 9

House of Lords - comprised of the Lords Spiritual (bishops and abbots) and the Lord Temporal (nobility), more important
House of Commons - comprised of two MPs for each county and borough, and representatives of the two universities (right to vote restricted to men of property in the counties

Question 10

When and why did Henry VII call parliament?

Answer 10

Only the King could call parliament
7 total in his reign
5 in first ten years, 2 in remaining fourteen
Early parliaments were for issues of national security and raising revenue

Question 11

How was the country divided for control?

Answer 11

Number of magnates reduced in last years of the Wars of the Roses - land in hands of Crown
Magnate control mainly in North - Stanleys in northwest, Earl of Northumberland then Earl of Surrey in northeast and Yorkshire (risky but paid off)
Other areas people Henry trusted - Earl of Oxford, Lord Daubeney (lacked resources of great magnates)
Other areas people Henry didn’t trust - Marquis of Dorset (Henry employed spies to report on magnates performances and imposition of bonds and recognisances)

Question 12

What were bonds and recognisances?

Answer 12

Henry forced many of his subjects to take them out, some as a result of genuine debt, some purely political, used to enforce order and obedience and defeat the law

Question 13

What were Justices of the Peace?

Answer 13

local level, maintain law and order in countryside
appointed on county-by-county basis
met four times a year to administer justice
common for royal officials to be appointed in counties where they had interest
most JPs were unpaid gentry who fulfilled tasks out of sense of duty or because they thought it would open path to greater advancement or local prestige
Power increased over time - tax assessments, alehouse regulation

Question 14

What were the different elements of the judicial system?

Answer 14

Church courts - church administration, offences by clergy, wills, marriage issues, ‘moral’ offences
Local courts: manor courts - landholding, rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, common land
Local courts: borough courts - medieval trading standards, specific judicial rights granted by royal charter
Kings courts at county level - assizes, quarter sessions, special commissions
Kings common law courts - King’s bench, common pleas, exchequer

Question 15

What were the sources of royal income?

Answer 15

crown lands
profits from feudal dues and the exercise of the royal prerogative
customs revenue
pensions from other powers
profits of justice
extraordinary revenue

Question 16

What were crown lands?

Answer 16

Henry was by far the country’s largest landowner - rental income from his property was very important
At the beginning of Henry’s reign, income dropped to £12,000 per year because of the exchequer system so Henry changed back to the chamber system in 1492 and income increased to £42,000 per year

Question 17

What was customs revenue?

Answer 17

tonnage and poundage granted for life - increased from £34,000 to £38,000

Question 18

What pensions were there?

Answer 18

Treaty of Etaples 1492 - French agreed to pay Henry a pension of £5000 per annum

Question 19

What were profits from feudal dues?

Answer 19

pursuit of King’s feudal rights was tightened, increased profits from wardship, parliament granted feudal aid in 1504

Question 20

What were profits of justice?

Answer 20

fines and income from bonds
bonds represented potential rather than actual asset - between 1504 and 1507 £200,000 promised to the King but not all collected

Question 21

What was extraordinary revenue?

Answer 21

money granted from parliament
received over £400,000 from extraordinary taxation
provoked rebellions in 1489 and 1497
Henry had to promise parliament of 1504 not to raise any more money by this method

Question 22

What was leftover at the end of Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 22

plate and jewels worth around £300,000

£10,000 cash