Henry VII Plans Flashcards
‘Henry VII’s foreign policy achieved little’. How far do you agree?
HC –> H7 came to the throne via rite of conquest after the Battle of Bosworth on the 22nd August 1485, later declaring his kingship to be from the 21st August 1485 in order to charge those who fought against him with treason, allowing him to follow up with numerous acts of resumption, tightening his grip on the throne whilst filling up the treasury.
Criteria: Henrys FP aims: Security. finance, prestige, Dynasty
Claim: Wrong, it achieved a good amount.
Para 1: Scotland. July 1486 3 year peace deal was signed, which led to the 1497 Truce of Ayton (a full peace treaty signed after the execution of Perkin Warbeck). No other peace deal signed since 1328. Also in 1503, H7 married his daughter Margaret to new James 4 to closen ties. Therefore success in security and dynasty
Para 2: France. In 1492 Henry VII asserted Henry 5 claim to the French throne whilst France was in affairs in Italy and invaded north France with 26000 men. As a result the Treaty of Etaples happened, this meant that France would drop their support for Warbeck and indemnify the cost of the Treaty of Redon and reimburse Edward IV’s pension due by the 1475 treaty. Also Treaty of Dordrecht in 1489, an alliance between HRE and England against France for the protection of Brittany. Treaty of Redon 1489 also in which 6000 troops sent to Brittany under Lord Daubeney. Therefore success for security, prestige (because Henry is now recognised by all these European monarchs with evidence being the treaties like Dordrecht)
Para 3: Spain and HRE. Treaty of Medina del Campo 1489 which meant Spain closed to pretenders and set out terms for Arthurs betrothal to COA. After Arthur died in 1502, negations started for the betrothal of Henry 8 to COA. HRE Treaty of Aachen 1502, Henry gives Max 15000 crowns towards his war with turkey in exchange for HRE to stop giving refuge to Henrys enemies like Edmund de la pole. 1496 Magnus Intercursus, which stated that Marg of Burg accepts Tudors, England would help Phillip against France and the 2 countries can have reciprocal trade.
Conclusion: statement wrong, Henry 7 achieved lots in his foreign policy, securing his dynasty through marriages, securing his country through peace treaties, whilst also having a trade deal with the HRE, this all increased his prestige by allowing him to become recognised by European monarchs.
“Paradoxically, it was his oft-derided invasion of France that caused him to attain a position of complete solvency” c.f Alexander [talking about treaty of etaples]
How effectively did Henry VII handle the nobility?
HC -> H7 came to the throne via rite of conquest by defeating Richard 3 at the Battle of Bosworth on the 22nd August 1485, later claiming his kingship started on the 21st August. When he ascended to the throne, he was met with a long line of Yorkist nobles of whom he did not trust, and of whom were traditionally used to the ‘first among equals way of ruling’ compared to salic law, a way of ruling Henry had became accustomed to during his 14 year exile in France. Therefore, in order to maintain a firm grasp on power, Henry had to restrain the nobility and their power.
Criteria: The loyalty of the nobles towards Henry, Noble involvement in dethroning Henry, Noble influence in government and Noble punishments for going against Henry
Claim: For the most part
Para 1: Banning of retaining. Through the use of the Act of Livery 1503 respectively, Henry was able to completely ban retaining, meaning that you required a licence that only he could issue to do so. If you were caught without a license, a fine of 5 pound per man would be issued. This allowed Henry to reduce the physical threat of nobles, whilst increasing the crown finance. Henry enforced to a great extent, even going as far as fining his own mother for illegal retaining. This was effective as it increased the security of the king, and his wealth, whilst decreasing noble physical threat and noble wealth, whilst still allowing those he trusted to keep an army, meaning in the eye of a rebellion, Henry could still adequately protect himself.
Para 2: Henry 7 appointed the peerage in his court, meaning the nobles had more power through influence. Throughout his reign, Henry made use of 43 peers, a number much greater than other recent kings like Richard III, showing how, in fact, the influence of the nobles actually increased. Furthermore, a very influential noble, Lord Stanley, known for his influential actions in the Battle of Bosworth, went against Henry in order to support Perkin Warbeck, a pretender, undermining Henrys authority, suggesting that the Nobles were actually not as subdues as Henry thought, however upon him being charged with treason in 1495 and eventually executed in 1504, Henry had sent a clear message to all nobles who plan on going against Henry, therefore this shows that maybe Henry did not effectively control the nobles, as they were able to have massive influence in terms of government whilst, given the chance, openly go against Henry.
Para 3: Henry used acts of attainder, in order to punish nobles who were not loyal. This involved a loss of land and titles if convicted of treason. However, if the nobles showed loyalty to Henry, these could be retracted, encouraging loyalty to the king. In fact, towards the end of Henrys reign, the amount of Acts of Attainder issued by Henry rose significantly, showing how towards the end of his reign, when they might of perceived Henry at his weakest, the amount of noble threat increased, showing how he potentially never controlled the nobles completely. Other incentivised way to encourage loyalty utilised by Henry 7 is that of the Order of the Garter.
Para 4: Henry used fines to punish nobles when he couldn’t prove treason these were bonds and recognisances. These were enforced by Empson and Dudley in the council learned. The nobility had been influential under Henry’s predecessors, in guiding policy in exchange for patronage. Henry changed this by giving key positions to a number of the emerging, educated middle classes, thus limiting the power and influence the nobles traditionally had in his court and creating a new generation of royal administrators who owed their position (and loyalty) to him. Eg lawyers like Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley headed Council Learned, mixing with more traditional courtier administrators eg Thomas Lovell, (began his career dressing the king and became head of the Chamber of Finance). He also appointed able clerical administrators to key positions, men like Warham and Foxe were excellent choices to negotiate commercial treaties – this ensured the loyalty of the Church and excellent administration
“The Council Learned was involved in drawing up Bonds and Recognizances, in effect keeping a check on the nobility” c.f. Lockyer
“In 1504, Henry required those noblemen that retained men to apply for a license. However, Henry VII never attempted to outlaw retaining entirely as, in the absence of a permanent army, retaining provided him with much needed men in times of crisis” c.f. Lockyer
“Henry VII’s whole reign was a prolonged exercise in deliberately stripping away the independence of the nobility” c.f. Meyer
“the undue domination of the nobles set aside to make room for the growing influence of the mighty middle class” c.f. W. Campbell
How successfully did Henry VII deal with the domestic problems he faced?
HC -> Henry 7 came to the throne via rite of conquest after defeating Richard 3 in the BoB on the 22nd August 1485, later declaring his kingship to be the 21st August in order to charge those who fought against him with treason. After taking the throne, Henry 7 was plagued with domestic problems that he had to solve in order to tighten his grasp on the throne.
Criteria: Henrys Domestic Problems: Nobility, Pretenders/Rivals to the throne/Rebellions, Low finance, Weak Lineage
Claim: Very Successful
Para 1: Pretenders/Rivals to the throne etc. 1486 Lovell and Stafford Rebellion, Henry quickly caught wind via his spies and squashed the rebellion, which had little support to begin with. In 1487 Lambert Simnel pretended to be the Earl of Warwick. This was more serious and had the support of John De La Pole with support from the Irish and Germanic Mercenaries. Henry then took the real Earl of Warwick out of the tower and paraded him around, nullifying much support and basis for the rebellion. This eventually culminated in the Battle of Stoke 1487, in which Henry won. In 1491, a Perkin Warbeck claiming to be Richard Duke of York came along and in 1495 attempted an invasion, this failed, resulting in Warbeck being captured. He escaped custody in 1498, returning in 1499 for another invasion in the South, this failed again, having little support, as a result he was threw in the tower of London where he supposedly conspired to escape with the Earl of Warwick, this led to both of them being executed. This meant all pretenders had been squashed, and the Earl of Warwick, who had the greatest claim to the throne was now dead. Furthermore, in 1506, Edmund de La pole was imprisoned in the Tower of London, now all of Henry’s challengers to the throne was no captured/defeated. This however did damage finances.
Para 2: Nobility. Nobility had lots of power and Henry needed to reduce this. One way he done this was by threatening non loyal nobles with acts of attainders, in which those nobles accused of treason could lose their wealth of titles. If the nobles proved their loyalty to Henry, he would rescind this, using it as an incentive to increase their loyalty. Also in 1503 the Act of Livery which made retaining illegal, with a fine of 5 pound per man. This reduced the physical power of the nobles, despite Henry allowing some nobles to keep their private armies in case he needed men in a time of crisis. He also shifted to start giving high administrative jobs not to nobles, but to educated middle classes, as this would mean all their power hanged onto Henry therefore they would owe their allegiance, and if they were not loyal Henry could easily get rid of them. e.g. Thomas Lovell.
Para 3: Low finance. Wanted to make the crown financially independent from parliament and solvent. Money was low due to lots of domestic rebellions. Acts of Attainder was a way to absorb the wealth of disloyal nobles. Also Acts of resumption in 1486 allowed Henry to regain lost land from the War of the Roses. He also collected forced loans. He owned the custom duties on wool exports to the HRE. He also got a big dowry from Ferdinand of Spain for the marriage of Arthur to COA. Also enforced ‘reliefs’, this was when any noble inheriting land from their father had to pay Henry a tax. Henry was also very administrative, “He was astute, cautious, prudent, patient” c.f. Chrimes and he even checked the account books himself and even changed his signature from time to time to avoid fraud. He also used the star chamber to impose fines on the nobles. Also the treaty of etaples 1492 give him 100000 “paradoxically it was his oft-derided invasion of France that caused him to attain a position of complete solvency” c.f. Alexander By his death, he increased national income from 50,000 to 140,000
Para 4: Weak Lineage: The Titulus Regius issued in 1484, which stated that Edward IV marriage to Elizabeth Woodvile was invalid, was ordered to be destroyed by Henry 7. Increased his standing by uniting both the Yorkshire and Lancashire house with the marriage to Elizabeth of York in 1486. Henry also increased the standing of his lineage by fabricating his family tree, whilst defeating every other that had a claim to the throne, establishing himself as the right ruler of England.
Conclusion: Henry was very successful in solving his domestic problems.
“His dynasty was secure and was accepted by others” c.f. Rogers
“He ensured the financial stability of the crown and consolidated royal authority in almost every aspect of english life.” c.f. Grummet
“He was astute, cautious, prudent, patient” c.f Chrimes
“paradoxically it was his oft-derided invasion of France that caused him to attain a position of complete solvency” c.f. Alexander
How successful was Henry VII in strengthening royal finances?
HC -> Henry 7 came to the throne via rite of conquest after defeating Richard III in the BoB on the 22nd August 1485, later declaring his kingship to be on the 21st August. Henry inherited a crown with a damaged treasury due to the destruction that the Wars of Roses had.
Criteria: The annual income of the crown overall, treasury amount upon his death, wealth of those around him (nobles), dependency on parliamentary grants, (maybe exchange one of these for the income of the crown lands)
Claim: Very successful
Para 1: Crown lands. Henry crowned himself one day before the battle of Bosworth, meaning he could attain all who fought against him, increasing the amount of crown lands. Also the act of resumption in 1486 done this. Also used escheats, this was Henrys right to absorb land and wealth from noble families that had died out. This increase in crown lands, meant that the financial yield from these lands were increased significantly. As a result, income from crown lands were increased by 30 percent during his reign showing success.
Para 2: Feudal dues. These were paid by people who held land from the king in return for military service. They included wardship (king took control of the assets of minors until they came of age, they had to pay to get them back), fees for the crown to arrange marriages of unmarried heirs, and ‘relief’, payment made so that the crown recognised the inheritance of land rather than it getting absorbed. By 1507, the annual income from feudal dues was over 6000 pound, compared to the 350 pound in 1487. Henry also increased the punishment of fines in the judicial system, whilst used bonds and recognisances, enforced by Empson and Dudley from the Council Learned to increase wealth from nobles, conversely lowering their wealth making him richer.
Para 3: Loans and benevolences. This was the kings ability to get loans from his richer subjects in times of emergency, these were impossible to decline. He also underwent in feudal obligations, in which nobles were obligated to donate Henry money in times of celebration e.g. the knighting of his eldest son. Furthermore, Treaty of Etaples in 1492 also made the French pay England an indemnity of 159 000.
Para 4: Henry also had income from the clergy and the church. The convocation would usually offer money at the kings request from a parliamentary request. A parliamentary request was an Extraordinary revenue was money which came to the crow on particular occasions and therefore with no regularity. It arose from the obligation of the king’s subjects to help him when the national interest was threatened. It was received, by the king requesting for the parliamentary consent. The usual type of tax levied was a national assessment. Also Malus and Magnus intercursus which bolsted trade with the HRE
Conclusion: Henry was successful. By his death, he increased national income from 50,000 to 140,000
“[Wolsey} instrument of the King’s will” c.f. Ackroyd
“He ensured the financial stability of the crown and consolidated royal authority in almost every aspect of english life.” c.f. Grummet
