Henry VII: Government - Ordinary Revenue Flashcards
1
Q
Definition of Ordinary Revenue
A
- Money gained from outside of parliament that came in annually
- Crown lands
- Feudal dues
- Custom duties
- Legal dues
2
Q
Crown Lands
A
- Most important source of revenue
- Henry VII had more land than previous monarchs from attainders and escheats (reversion of land to King if tenant died without an heir)
- Sir Reginald Bray developed techniques for estate management
- Henry was less inclined to grant land to family and friends than Edward IV - kept land to maximise influence and income
- In 1486, Henry used the Act of Resumption to reclaim all Crown lands that had been granted away since the start of the War of the Roses
- Did not always act on these claims - potential threat could be used to control a noble family
- Henry increased the money from these lands from £29,000 in 1485 to £42,000 in 1509
3
Q
Feudal Dues: Explanation & Examples
A
- These were derived from the King’s historical role as the landowner who granted lands to his tenants-in-chief
- A tenant-in-chief had to pay relief to inherit lands on the death of his father
- If the tenant-in-chief died without an heir, the land reverted (or escheated) to the Crown. This had to be paid for in escheats
- If the heir was a minor, the King had right to all income from the land
as wardship - When the heir came of age he had to pay livery to the King before he recovered the lands
- If there was an heiress, the King had a right to agree to her marriage as marriage dues
- All tenants-in-chief were obliged to pay an aid to the King on the knighting of his eldest son and marriage of his eldest daughter
4
Q
Feudal Dues: Improvements/Developments Under Henry VII
A
- He set up the office of the Surveyor of the King’s Prerogative under Sir Edward Belknap
- Sir John Hussey was appointed Master of the King’s Wards
- The Counsel Learned in the Law also made great efforts to chase these profitable dues
- The King’s annual income from wardship rose:
1487: under £350
1507: £6,000
5
Q
Custom Duties: Explanation & Examples
A
- Paid on goods entering or leaving the country
- By the fifteenth century it was traditional practice for Parliament to grant these revenues to a monarch for life
- Tunnage - taxes on exports
- Poundage - taxes on imports
- Particularly on the sale of wool, wine and leather
6
Q
Custom Duties: Improvements/Developments Under Henry VII
A
- Henry VII promoted trade to maximise this type of income
- Henry VII twice updated the Book of Rates, which set out the charges on imports and exports of a wide range of items
- Customs duties rose from about £33,000 per year at the beginning of his reign to about £40,000 at the end
7
Q
Legal Dues: Explanation
A
- Money from fines and other payments made by people appearing before the King’s courts
- All court actions started with the issuing of royal writs and letters which had to be paid for in fees
- Any fines imposed by the King’s courts had to be paid directly to the crown
8
Q
Legal Dues: Improvements/Developments Under Henry VII
A
- Henry increased the use of fines and attainders - these could be very lucrative sources of income
- The attainder of Sir William Stanley in 1495 brought an immediate payment of £9,000 and £1,000 per year thereafter
- The sums varied and many were not recorded in accounts so historians cannot estimate the income from these profits
- They were, however, unlikely to have been a significant part of ordinary royal revenue