Henry VII's Government Flashcards
1
Q
Councils and the Court
A
- The King ruled with advisers who supported him in making decisions.
- Around 227 men are recorded as having attended council with Henry during his reign.
- In practice, there was usually only 6 or 7 men.
2
Q
The Council’s Functions
A
- Advise the king
- Administer the realm on the king’s behalf
- Make legal judgements
3
Q
Three Types of Councillor
A
- Members of the nobility
- Members of the Church e.g. Morton and Fox
- Laymen - gentry or lawyers who were skilled administrators e.g. Reginald Bray
4
Q
Council during Henry’s Rule
A
- No rules or procedures
- Permanent body with a core membership.
- Members could meet separately to deal with administrative and legal concerns when the King wasn’t present e.g. Bray and Dudley often met in London.
- Importance of council depended on the members and its offshoot (Council Learned)
- It was not essential to hold office to advise the king - Margaret Beaufort influential.
5
Q
Council Learned
A
- Developed during second half of reign.
- Often met in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster where it formed as a ‘specialist board’.
- It’s function = maintain king’s revenue and exploit prerogative rights.
- It made the system of bonds and recognisances work so effectively and entrap king’s subjects.
- Not a recognised court of law and those summoned couldn’t appeal - caused fear, frustration and anger.
6
Q
Prerogative Rights
A
rights or powers which the monarch could exercise without requiring the consent of Parliament.
7
Q
Empson and the Council Learned
A
- Empson = a lawyer and bureaucrat
- His ruthless approach defined the behaviour of the Council Leaned.
- He was joined by Dudley in 1503.
- Pair was a feared combination - extracted money very easily.
- Their enemies Bishop Fox and Sir Thomas Lovell had them executed after Henry’s death - brought rejoicing in the street.
8
Q
Court and Household
A
- Relied heavily on royal court - centre of government.
- Wealth = power - royal court was magnificent and generous - inspired by courts in Burgundy and France.
- Royal court always found with king - focus of personal monarchy and place for royal ceremony.
- Power of king demonstrated to courtiers - rewards and status distributed.
- Courtiers enjoyed paid positions - could attain advancement and obtain influential people.
9
Q
Personal Monarchy
A
- Political power and influence depended on relationship with the monarch not on any specific office they held.
- Access to the king demonstrated power - court allowed people to gain access.
10
Q
Different levels
A
- Household proper - looked after the king, courtiers, guests and others - supervised by Lord Steward.
- Chamber - presided over by Lord Chamberlain. LC and senior household officials were influential courtiers. Position of LC was both powerful and matter of trust.
11
Q
Privy Chamber
A
- Lord Chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, was involved in a treasonable plot.
- Henry remodelled the Chamber by creating the Privy Chamber - king could retreat protected by his most intimate servants.
- Changed character of court making it difficult for those out of favour to regain king’s support.
12
Q
Parliament
A
- Met occasionally and had 2 main functions - pass laws and grant taxation to crown - local issues and grievances passed on to king’s officials by MPs.
- Only king called parliament - called 7 in his reign (5 in first 10 years).
- Early parliaments focused on national security and raising of revenue - passed Acts of Attainder.
- 1st Parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life - others granted extraordinary revenue.
- Parliament = effective, king respected decisions and private acts were passed.
13
Q
Acts of Attainder
A
Declared individuals guilty without going through trial if they were alive. If they were dead, their property would be forfeit to the crown.
14
Q
Extraordinary Revenue
A
- Money raised by the king from additional sources such as one-off payments when he faced an emergency. The most usual form = fifteenths and tenths.
- Final parliament in 1504 managed to limit the demand for extraordinary revenue - received undertaking that the king would stop using it.
15
Q
Fifteenths and Tenths
A
- Standard form of taxation paid by towns and boroughs to the town.
- Made in 1487, 1489-90,1491-92 and 1497 yielding £203,000.
16
Q
Justices and the Maintenance of Order
A
- Maintenance of law and order = responsibility of king - could lead to rebellions.
- King relied on nobility - make sure they didn’t become too powerful.
17
Q
Magnates
A
- Edward IV - divided country into spheres of influence each controlled by a noble (magnate).
- No. of magnates reduced and their land fell into hands of the Crown - magnate control mainly in the north.
- Earl of Northumberland murdered in 1489 - replaced by Yorkist Earl of Surrey who was released from the Tower.
- Henry didn’t trust others e.g. Earl of Oxford and Lord Daubeney - Henry employed spying networks and imposed bonds and recognisances.
18
Q
Justices of the peace (JPs)
A
- Henry relied on JPs to maintain law and order in the countryside.
- Appointed on a county-to-county basis and met 4 times a year to administer justice.
- Usually royal officials - most = local gentry who fulfilled unpaid tasks out of sense of duty.
- Acts of Parliament passed to increase power and responsibilities of JPs responsible for routine administration.
19
Q
Bonds and Recognisances
A
- Restored law and order by forcing subjects to take out bonds and recognisances.
- Some were result of genuine debts however many were purely political.
- Edmund Dudley - the king wished “to have many persons in danger at his pleasure.”
- King used it to enforce order and obedience and defeat the law.
20
Q
The Judicial System
A
- Church courts: church admin, offences committed by clergy
- Local Courts/Manor Courts/Borough Courts
- King’s court at county level
- King’s common law courts
- Chancery and other equity courts
21
Q
King’s Court at county level
A
- Assizes: held twice a year - deal with major criminal and civil cases
- Quarter sessions: held 4 times a year, presided over by JPs to deal with less important criminal cases.
- Special commissions: set up on and ad hoc basis to deal with major issues such as rebellion.
22
Q
Sources of Royal Income
A
There were a number of sources of royal income:
• Crown lands
• profits from feudal dues and the exercise of royal prerogative.
• Customs revenue
• pensions from other powers
• profits of justice
• extraordinary revenue
23
Q
Royal Finance
A
- People believed Henry was a miserly king who hated throwing money away.
- Some people think he transformed the royal finances by leaving his son money.
- There has been research which found that Henry wasted his money on things e.g. a welsh man that makes rhymes.
24
Q
Crown Lands
A
- Beginning of his reign, income dropped by £12,000 p/y.
- Income was collected through inefficient Court of the Exchequer.
- 1492 - Henry reverted to system of admin through Chamber.
- Finance improved - income increased to around £42,000 per year.
25
Q
Profits from feudal dues and the exercise of royal prerogative
A
- Increased profits from wardship (gain profits from property held by a minor).
- Parliament granted feudal aid in 1504.
- Obligations payable on the death of a feudal tenant-in-chief became additional source of income.
- Statutes of Uses (1489) - prevented property being turned into trusts - form of tax avoidance.
26
Q
Other sources of Revenue
A
- Customs Revenue - tonnage and poundage granted for life.
- Pensions e.g. from Treaty of Etaples
- Profits of Justice - fines and incomes from bonds
- Extraordinary Revenue - Henry received over £400,000 however it came at a price - taxation sometimes resulted in rebellions e.g. Cornish.
27
Q
Finance in total
A
- Henry left plate and jewels worth around £300,000 and £10,000 in cash.
- The main victims of Henry’s policies were the nation’s landowners - people who would support him if his throne was threatened.
- Henry’s policies were therefore quite dangerous.
