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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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