Henry VIII: Government - Ministers - Wolsey Flashcards
Timeline of Wolsey’s main policies
• 1086
- Domesday Survey
• 1487
- Star Chamber is established
• 1512
- Wolsey entrusted with organising 1513 French expedition
• 1514
- Henry referring all major business to Wolsey
• 1515
- Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor
• 1516
- Wolsey starts using Star Chamber
• 1517
- Wolsey sets up national enquiry into enclosure
• 1518
- Further investigations into enclosure done
• 1522
- Wolsey sets up national commission into who could pay tax and how much
• 1523
- Parliament refuses to approve Amicable Grant
• 1522-23
- Gained £200,000 in forced loans after 1522 commission
• 1525
- Amicable Grant implemented
• 1526
- Eltham Ordinances
- Debasement of coinage
• 1529
- Wolsey falls from power
What were Wolsey’s main policies?
• Government
- Development of Star Chamber
- Court of Chancery
- Expulsion of the minions
- Eltham Ordinances
• Finance
- Administrating subsidies
- Amicable Grant
• Economic
- Enclosures
How did Wolsey rise to power?
• Gained patronage under Bishop Fox, one of king’s most trusted councillors to become Royal Almoner (distributed leftover food to needy outside castle daily)
- Wolsey had ability to say what the king wanted to hear at time where Henry was frustrated by cautious foreign policy of his father’s ministers
• 1512
- Henry entrusted Wolsey with organisation of 1513 expedition to France
• By 1514
- Henry referred all major business to Wolsey
• 1515
- Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor
What was the Star Chamber like prior to Wolsey?
- Established by Act of Parliament in 1487
- Staffed with members of Privy Council who dealt out justice on his behalf, often involving cases on nobility
- Only hear about a dozen cases a year
When was the Star Chamber established?
- 1487 by an Act of Parliament
How did Wolsey develop the Star Chamber?
- From 1516, Wolsey used Star Chamber to attack nobles and local officials who abused their power
- Increased number of cases heard to 120
- Wolsey known as friend to the poor
- So successful there were a backlog of cases
From what year did Wolsey use the Star Chamber?
- 1516
Court of Chancery
- Role was to apply principle of equity (fairness) rather than a strict use of common law
- Wolsey wasn’t a trained lawyer but as Lord Chancellor was responsible for overseeing Court of Chancery
- Dealt with enclosure, contracts and land left to others in wills
- So popular it became slow with a backlog of cases
Enclosure
- Wolsey believed the conversion of arable land to sheep pasture by enclosing fields destroyed village life and jobs
- In 1517, Wolsey began a national enquiry to find out how much land was enclosed and its effects
- From this, legal cases drawn up against landlords who enclosed land without proper permission
- Further investigations conducted in 1518
- Opposition from landowners in Parliament in 1523 forced Wolsey to suspend enquires until 1526
When did Wolsey set up a national enquiry into enclosure? When did he conduct further investigations and when were these suspended to?
• 1517
- Wolsey set up national enquiry
• 1518
- Further investigations conducted
• 1523
- Landowners in parliament suspend investigations until 1526
What were the minions?
- Group of young courtiers who enjoyed Henry’s personal favour and became Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber
- Wolsey never able to control them and the Privy Chamber
How did Wolsey try dealing with the minions?
- In 1519, Wolsey expelled the minions
- They were gradually reappointed and Wolsey was never able to fully control the Privy Chamber and the minions
When did Wolsey expel the minions?
- 1519
How did Wolsey change how subsidies were administrated?
- Instead of using local commissioners to assess taxpayer’s wealth (often over-generous to nobility)
- In 1522, Wolsey set up national commission to assess who could pay tax and how much
- First systematic investigation into national finances since Domesday Survey of 1086
- Gained £200,000 in forced loans in 1522-23
Amicable Grant
- Designed to be a more flexible tax to raise more money for French campaign following Francis I’s capture by Charles V at Pavia
- Demanded 1/6 of income of laymen and 1/3 of clergy
- Wasn’t approved by 1523 House of Commons and was extremely unpopular
- In 1525, Wolsey implemented it anyway
- Led to rebellion in Kent and East Anglia
- Wolsey’s first major failure and Henry VIII forced to abandon it
When did Wolsey establish a national commission? How much money did it raise and when?
- 1522
- Gained £200,000 in forced loans in 1522-23
When did Wolsey try getting Parliament’s approval for the Amicable Grant?
- 1523
When did Wolsey implement the Amicable Grant?
- 1525
What were the Eltham Ordinances?
- In 1526, Wolsey attempted to reduce the power of the Privy Chamber by reforming the finance of the Privy Council
- Wolsey claimed this was to reduce the royal household expenditure
- Secured reduction in number of Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber, the one area of government where he didn’t have control
- Secured the removal of Henry’s Groom of the Stool, Sir William Compton, replacing him with the more compliant Henry Norris
When did Wolsey introduce the Eltham Ordinances?
- 1526
What was the Groom of the Stool?
- The most intimate of an English monarch’s courtiers, who became a man in whom much confidence was placed and royal secrets were shared as a matter of course
Debasement of coinage
- Done in 1526
When did Wolsey fall from power?
- 1529
Did Wolsey make many reforms?
- No
- Some of Wolsey’s reforms of government were designed more to undermine potential political opponents, such as the minions, rather than to ensure good government
- Wolsey didn’t make many changes to structure of government
- Wolsey’s policies of enclosure and development of Star Chamber unlikely to continue after his time
