Henry VIII and Government Flashcards
Early use of Parliament
Before 1529, Henry VIII only called Parliament twice. The first was in 1515 for the Hunne Case. Richard Hunne refused to pay the Church fees of his baby’s burial. After being arrested, Hunne was murdered. This was an incident that clearly exposed anti-clericalism in parliament. The second time was in 1523 when Parliament needed to agree to greater taxation.
Parliament and the Henrician Reform
Parliament passed legislation such as the Act of Supremacy and the Treason Act in 1534. Henry VIII and Cromwell had relied on Parliament to pass the necessary legislation. This was new ground because:
> It gave Parliament a role in changing the country’s religion.
> It acknowledged the need for parliamentary agreement to secure such important changes. A precedent had been set.
Parliament’s pressure on the clergy
In 1531 Henry VIII pardoned the clergy of crimes against him. But he also forced them to recognise him as the lawmaker and head of the Church. The Supplication Against the Ordinaries in March 1532 demanded that the king deal with the corruption of the clergy. The Submission of the Clergy in May 1532 stated that Henry VIII could make decisions on Church laws without the Pope. In January 1533, Cranmer married Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in secret.
Parliament’s pressure on the Pope
In January 1532, Parliament passed the First Act of Annates. This meant annates (payments to Rome from the clergy when taking up a new post) were suspended. In August 1532 Henry VIII asked the Pope to choose Cranmer (who had Protestant sympathies) to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1533, parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals. This meant no appeals could be made to the Pope on decisions taken in English courts.
Wolsey’s rise to Chief Minister
Wolsey was very influential between 1510 and 1529. Wolsey was intelligent, worked tirelessly and served Henry well. Wolsey overcame rivals at court. The Gentlemen of the Bedchamber, for example, were purged in 1519 and reduced under the Eltham Ordinances. Wolsey quickly rose through the Church’s ranks. By 1518 he was a Papal Legate (meaning he could act on the Pope’s behalf).
Wolsey and the Church
When Wolsey was Chief Minister, the Reformation was happening in Europe. Wolsey tried to reform the Church. He promoted education and wanted the quality of the clergy to improve. As a Catholic and Papal Legate, Wolsey was opposed to the ideas of Protestantism. But Henry VIII was at odds with the Church because he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon (The Great Matter).
The King’s Great Matter
During the late 1520s, Wolsey tried to protect the Church from the King as Henry VIII was frustrated by the Pope over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Henry was concerned his royal prerogative was being undermined. Wolsey assured him it was not. Henry wanted Wolsey, as both chief minister and Papal Legate, to influence the Pope. Wolsey failed and the Church came under attack.
Wolsey’s fall
Wolsey’s first failing was the Amicable Grant in 1525. Wolsey introduced the grant to fund Henry VIII’s war with France. It resulted in rebellion and Henry VIII was forced to pull out of the war. Failing to resolve Henry’s ‘Great Matter’, Henry VIII questioned his loyalty (believing he was serving the Pope before him).
Cromwell’s religious sympathy
In the mid-1530s, Cromwell encouraged preachers to spread Protestant messages.
Cromwell played a main role in the dissolution of monasteries in 1536. By the end of the 1530s, Cromwell was dissatisfied with the level of reform. He believed more Protestant reforms could be made. This desire contributed to his downfall.
Cromwell and Henry VIII’s divorce
In September 1530, Thomas Cranmer and Edward Foxe gave the king their book Collectanea Satis Copiosa (‘The Sufficiently Abundant Collection’). It provided legal grounds for Henry to have an annulment of his marriage. Cromwell used parliament to attack the Church until, in 1534, the Royal Supremacy confirmed on Henry the power of king and pope.
Cromwell’s governance reforms
The Royal Council became the Privy Council. This was smaller and more professional. Cromwell became the Principal Secretary.
Parliament lasted seven years under Cromwell, with a wider scope than ever before.
Cromwell’s administrative reforms
Cromwell oversaw bureaucratic change as well religious change. Cromwell developed the Court of Augmentations, Court of First Fruits and the Court of Wards. This centralised and professionalised Crown finance.
Cromwell’s fall
Cromwell was Henry VIII’s last chief minister. Cromwell was part of dangerous court politics. For example, he had orchestrated Anne Boleyn’s downfall. The humiliating failure of Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves was pinned on Cromwell by the Duke of Norfolk and his niece, Catherine Howard.
Accusations of Cromwell’s treason
Cromwell was accused of treason and heresy by the Duke of Norfolk. An Act of Attainder was passed against him and he was accused of failing to properly enforce the Act of the Six Articles. Cromwell was executed in July 1540, the day Henry married Catherine Howard.
The law
From 1516 the court of the Star Chamber became more important. Wolsey used it to root out corruption, especially where justice favoured the upper classes. Wolsey’s Star Chamber investigated and punished abuses of power by the King’s councillors, corrupt JPs and local landowners, including the nobility. Cases rose tenfold, resulting in a massive backlog of cases.
