Henry VIII

Question 1

What was good about finance after 1536?

Answer 1

• Church land + property seized
• Dissolution of the Monasteries = £1million
• Parliament granted taxes in 1530s and 1540s to finance war with France + Scotland

Question 2

What was bad about finance after 1536?

Answer 2

• As threat of Catholic invasion grew, more was spent on coastal defence
• War against France and Scotland cost loads too
• Monastic lands sold, not rented
• Debasement meant that by 1547, coins had 50% less gold and silver

Question 3

How did Cromwell reform finance?

Answer 3

• Created independent departments, outside royal household
• Appointed people who knew something about their jobs, particularly in finance
• Added more bureaucracy

Question 4

Why did Cromwell fall from power?

Answer 4

• Faction fighting:
• Conservative Norfolk suppressed P of G
• Failure of Cleves marriage - Henry not interested in a new wife, and alliance between Protestant Cleves family no longer needed
• Conservatives hated those of ‘lower birth’ rising through the ranks
• Cromwell’s faith - seen as a Protestant sympathiser (particuarly after he appeared to support Robert Barnes) + Henry becoming more conservative

Question 5

What administrative changes did Cromwell make?

Answer 5

• Increased usage of King-in-Parliament - this in turn reduced the idea of Rex Solus (king alone)
• Organised a bureaucratic system of administration, which included:
• an inner council: the Privy Council
• departments of state that could function without the King, if necessary

Question 6

In what ways did royal power increase in Henry’s reign?

Answer 6

Religion - Henry supreme head of church
King-in-Parliament
Economic - wealth of church acquired - royal finance reorganised by Cromwell
Local government strengthened by JPs and Councils of North and Wales
Fear - PofG brutally supressed - Henry’s temper
Iconography of Henry’s image - Bible!

Question 7

In what ways did royal power not increase in Henry’s reign?

Answer 7

War - bankrupted monarchy - debasement made it worse
Lack of Cromwell in 1540s
Religious change - too much for Conservatives, too little for reformers
Succession - Mary basterdized and Edward only a boy

Question 8

What was the Privy Council?

Answer 8

Group of 19, 13 of whom were leading office holders

Bureaucracy - kept an agenda, regular meetings, etc.

Question 9

What was the name of the Protestant who Cromwell sympathised with, ultimately leading to his own downfall?

Answer 9

Robert Barnes