Henry VII's government

Question 1

What was the council?

Answer 1

Consisted of 6-7 members and supported Henry in making key decisions but 227 men are recorded as having attended the Council during his reign

Question 2

What were the functions of the council?

Answer 2

• To advise the king
• To administer the realm on the king’s behalf
• To make legal judgements

Question 3

Who were the three main types of councillors?

Answer 3

• Nobles e.g. Lord Daubeney
• Churchmen e.g. Richard Fox- often had legal training and were excellent administrators
• Laymen- e.g. Sir Reginald Bray - either gentry or lawyers who were skilled administrators

Question 4

What are examples of non-councillors who advised the king?

Answer 4

Henry’s mother (Margaret Beaufort) acted as an unofficial advisor

Question 5

Under Henry what was the council?

Answer 5

• A permanent body with a core membership though with no established procedures
• Sometimes members met separately to discuss legal or administrative matters.

Question 6

What was the council learned?

Answer 6

An offshoot of the council that developed during the second half of Henry’s reign (under Bray)

Question 7

What was the function of the council learned?

Answer 7

To maintain the king’s revenue and to exploit his prerogative rights
It made the system of bonds and recognisances work effectively therefore helping to ensure loyalty and finance

Question 8

What was the council learned not recognised as?

Answer 8

A court of law so there was no right of appeal against and it bypassed the normal legal system

Question 9

Who were Empson and Dudley?

Answer 9

Empson = Bray’s associate in the council learned - a fiercely ambitious lawyer
After Bray’s death in 1503 Empson was joined by Dudley

Question 10

What were Empson and Dudley known for and what happened to them?

Answer 10

Known for their ruthless extraction of money from the king’s subjects - this made them unpopular and feared and created enemies out of some of the king’s other advisors
They were removed and executed after Henry’s death

Question 11

What was the royal court?

Answer 11

The centre of Government- a focus for personal monarchy, and a system in which a person’s power was determined by his relationship with the monarch. It was here that the support of the king or other influential persons could be obtained - rewards and status distributed through the court
Where ever the king was at any given time

Question 12

In 1485 what did the court comprise of?

Answer 12

The household proper and the chamber

Question 13

What was the household proper?

Answer 13

Responsible for looking after the king, courtiers and guests , supervised by the Lord Steward

Question 14

What was the chamber?

Answer 14

Presided over by the Lord Chamberlain (a powerful courtier who was also a member of the king’s council and often spoke for the monarch

Question 15

What happened in 1495 after the involvement of sir William Stanley in the Perkin Warbeck conspiracy?

Answer 15

Henry remodelled the chamber as the Privy Chamber - he could retreat into this protected by him most trusted servants - this made it more difficult for the kings favour to be gained and cut Henry off from many of the King’s traditional contacts of court

Question 16

What did parliament consist of and was it important?

Answer 16

House of Commons and the House of lords (more important)

It met infrequently so was not central to government

Question 17

Who could call parliament and how often did Henry do so?

Answer 17

Only the king could call it
Demonstrated power by calling it early November
Only called it 7 times in his reign (five in the first 10 years and only 2 in the last 14 years) - showing when Henry felt more secure parliament wasn’t needed

Question 18

What were Henry’s early parliaments largely concerned with?

Answer 18

National security- his first two parliaments passed numerous acts of attainder - individuals could be declared guilty without trial
Raising revenue - his first parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life and others granted extraordinary revenue ( one off payments - allowing king to wage war)

Question 19

How effective war parliament under Henry?

Answer 19

The king appeared to accept its decisions and operated fairly effectively but was used very little

Question 20

What were profits from feudal dues and exercise of the royal prerogative?

Answer 20

Revenue increased by reviving/extending medieval feudal dues e.g.
Profits from wardship (when property was held by a minor ( In 1487, wardships provided Henry with just £350. By 1507, with a Master of the King’s Wards in place to enforce it, wardships were earning Henry £6,000 a year.)
Dues paid by a landowner on death of a feudal tenant in chief
Feudal aid granted in 1504 (The crown’s right to impose taxes for certain services)

Question 21

How did Crown lands generate income?

Answer 21

Large proportion of ordinary revenue
Around £12,000 at the start of the reign collected by inefficient court of Exchequer - by end of reign had risen to around £42,000 per year
From 1492 administered through the chamber (like Edward previously had)

Question 22

What were some other methods used by Henry to grand revenue?

Answer 22

Customs revenue
Legal systems and profits of justice (includes fines and incomes from bonds)
Bonds and recognisances
Clerical taxes and grants
Loans and benevolences
Parliamentary grants
Pensions from other powers (Treaty of Epales in France 1492 = £5000 per annum)
Crown lands
Extraordinary revenue - Henry received over £400,000 from extraordinary taxation
Profits of Justice (including bonds) 1504-07 at least £200,000 was promised but not all was collected

Question 23

What happened following the lose of land and power during the war of roses?

Answer 23

The great magnates (wealthiest nobles) were powerful only in the north of England

Question 24

Which nobles controlled where?

Answer 24

The Stanleys controlled the north-west
The earl of Northumberland ruled the north east until 1489 until the Earl of Surrey was released from prison and sent to the north - surrey then served loyally for ten years

Question 25

How did the earl of surrey rule his area?

Answer 25

Through the council of the north - there were other councils in Wales, The Marches and Ireland

Question 26

Who did Henry prefer to rely on?

Answer 26

Lesser magnates but he trusted few and employed a spying network to ensure all the nobility remained loyal

Question 27

At a local level who did Henry gradually increase the powers of?

Answer 27

Justice of the peace (JPs) who together with the sheriff (responsible for elections to parliament and peacekeeping) were appointed to each county to maintain law and order in the countryside

Question 28

Who were JPs and what did they do?

Answer 28

They were unpaid and mostly local gentry (sense of duty or hope of advancement) - a few were royal officials
They met four times a year to deliver judgement on disputes at quarter sessions
They were responsible for routine administration e.g. tax assessment, complaints against local officials and maintenance of law and order

Question 29

Who were more serious cases heard by?

Answer 29

The courts of assize by judges appointed by the crown

Question 30

What did the Court of King’s bench deal with?

Answer 30

Appeals from the quarter sessions and courts of assize and could overturn the decisions of the lesser courts

Question 31

What are examples of other courts?

Answer 31

Church courts, manor and borough courts and king’s court

Question 32

What is example of an influential advisor holding no office?

Answer 32

Henry’s mother - Lady Margaret Beaufort

Question 33

What was the Great Council?

Answer 33

A gathering of the HoL, meeting without the HoC - it had no clearly defined functions and was an occasional rather than a permanent body (only met 5 times in total in Henry’s reign)
Usually concerned itself with issues relating to war or rebellion and was a means of biding the nobility to key decisions relating to national security

Question 34

What price did Henry’s extraordinary revenue come at?

Answer 34

Helped to provoke rebellions of 1489 and 1497
Parliament of 1504 Henry had to promise not to raise any more money by this method
Improving Henry’s revenues = at the expense of the nations landowners which is whose support Henry would rely on if his throne was threatened

Question 35

How much money did Henry leave?

Answer 35

In total, he left plate and jewels worth around £300,000 and £10,000 in cash

Question 36

What were the two main functions of parliament?

Answer 36

To pass laws and to grant taxation to the crown
It had further a subsidiary function as a means by which local issues and grievances could be passed on to the Kings officials by local MPs