Henry VII - Parliament Flashcards
What did Parliament comprise of?
House of Commons
House of Lords
Parliament has existed since what century?
Thirteenth century
Was parliament central to the system of government?
No, it only met occasionally
What were parliament’s two main functions?
To pass laws
To grant taxation to the Crown
Parliament had a further subsidiary function, what did this mean?
Local issues and grievances could be passed on to the king’s officials by local members of Parlaiment, MP’s
What did the House of Lords comprise of?
The Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal
Who did the Lords Spiritual comprise of?
Bishops and abbots of major religious houses.
Who did the Lords Temporal compose of?
The nobility
The House of Commons comprised of how many MP’s for each county
Two
The House of Commons composed of how many MP’s for each borough?
Two
The House of Commons had representatives of the two universities, what were they?
Oxford and Cambridge
The right to vote was mainly restricted to whom?
Men of property, ‘forty shilling freeholders’ in the counties and through the precise voting qualification varied in boroughs
Who was the only person who could call Parliament?
The King
How many Parliaments did Henry call throughout his reign?
7
How many Parliaments did Henry call in the first ten years of his reign?
5
Henry’s early parliaments were mainly concerned with what?
Issues of national security
Henry’s first two parliaments passed what?
Numerous Acts of Attainder
What did the Acts of Attainder do?
Declared individuals guilty without having to go through the inconvenience of trial if they were still alive.
Henry’s first parliament granted what?
Tonnage and poundage (customs revenues) for life
Many parliaments granted Henry extraordinary revenue through taxation, why?
To finance any wars that the King wanted to fight.
What did Henry’s final parliament in 1504 manage to do?
Limit the demand for extraordinary revenue and received an undertaking that the king would not seek more revenue by this means
There were a number of private acts passed by parliament during Henry’s reign, why?
In response to local demands for improvements.
