How effectively did Henry VII govern the realm?

Question 1

Managing the Nobility

How did Henry use punishment to control his nobles?

4 points

Answer 1

1. Executed William Catesby (one of Richard’s greatest supporters) three days after the battle of Boswoth without trial.
2. Following the oath MPs had to vow in 1487 to not retain illegaly, Henry fined Lord Burgaveny £70,000 in 1506 and the Earl of Oxford £15,000 for illegal retaining.
3. He had parliment pass Acts of Attainder against 139 people, including 9 nobles.
4. He locked the Earl of Surrey, Thomas Howard, (who fought against Henry at Bosworth) in the tower of London for three years, as well as using attainder to strip him of his lands and titles.

Question 2

Managing the nobility

How did Henry strengthen his position at the expense of the nobility?

4 points

Answer 2

1. Act of Resumption (1486) - returned all royal land given away by kings during the WotR, by 1509 Henry had five times more land than Henry VI, swallowed up estates of Clarence, Gloucester and Warwick.
2. Rarely rewared nobility with land; e.g. not giving Earl of Surrey lands in the north after giving him wardenship of the north so he wouldn’t become too powerful.
3. Henry only granted 3 new peerages (as oposed to Edward’s 9), throughout his reign this reduced the number of nobles from 50 to 35 due to natural wastage. He didn’t give any peeragers to William Stanely, which perhaps lost him his loyalty.
4. Only agreed to marriages if they did not link great estates - avoids some of the problems Edward had with Warwick’s daughters and his brothers.

Question 3

Managing the nobility

How did Henry use Bonds and Recognisances to manage the Nobility?

3 points

Answer 3

1. He issued them to nobles who had displeased him and those who hadn’t done anything wrong to keep them under his control.
2. They were loans that could be paid back in time if a subject was loyal.
3. By 1509, 36 out of 65 noble families were caught in the loans, the worst of which was the Marques of Dorest, who was under a £10,000 bond.

Question 4

Managing the Nobility

How did Henry use Patronage to Control the Nobility?

3 points

Answer 4

1. Henry reversed 5 acts of attainder for nobles who had good behavior. One example of this is the Earl of Surrey, who didn’t escape from the tower when given the chance. He got his lands back, as well as being given wardenship of the North.
2. He pardoned most Yorkist supporters after Bosworth. E.g. Earl of Northumberland and Earl of Sussex both released from prison in 1485 and 1489; they both remained loyal.
3. Some nobility were made members of the King’s council.

Question 5

Administration and government

Who made up Henry’s King’s Council?

3 points

Answer 5

1. The Lord Chancellor, John Morton and the Privy Seal, Richard Fox (members of the clergy, made up 50% of all of Henry’s councils).
2. Nobles: John de Vere, Earl of Oxford; Great Chamberlain, Jasper Tudor; Duke of Bedford; Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby
3. New men (from the gentry, based off merit): Sir Thomas Lovell, Sir Richard Empson, Sir Edmund Dudley

Question 6

Administration and government

What was the Council Learned in Law, and who had power in it?

Answer 6

It was a council that came together in 1495 to protect the King’s rights as a feudal landlord. Later on, Empson and Dudley (two of Henry’s new men) gained a lot of control within it, and used it as an instument of extortion.

Question 7

What was Henry’s approach to regional councils?

Answer 7

1. He placed his most trusted men in positions of most power. E.g. Jasper tudor head of council in Wales, Earl of Oxford in East Anglia, Thomas Stanley in the north-west.
2. He didn’t allows yorkist nobles to form hegemonies. E.g. Herny Percy was allowed to continue as lord lieutenant of the north, but his powers were restricted, he couldn’t gain any more territoy and when he died he was replaced by a trusted southerner, Thomas Howard, Lord Surrey.

Question 8

Finances

What are some examples of Henry using extraordinary revenue to raise funds?

3 points

Answer 8

1. Treaty of Etaples - France had to pay England a yearly sum of £5,000, total paid was £159,000.
2. Benevolences - forced loans where subjects were asked to contribute as a sign of good will. Henry raised £48,500 in 1491 to fight the French with them.
3. Parliamentary Grants - these were raised by parliament to help the king when national interest was threatened. Some problems: the burden often fell on the people, who didn’t like being taxed, Henry would be seen as weak if he used them too often and parliamnet could make demands on him in exchange for them. Henry used one to raise £30,000 against France in 1489.

Question 9

Finances

What are some examples of Henry using ordinary revenue to raise funds?

3 points

Answer 9

1. Crown Lands - Act of Resumption greatly increased the crown’s lands, by 1509 their income was £42,000 a year.
2. Bonds and Recognisances - also good means of control, £35,000 yearly by 1505.
3. Customs Duties - to pay for English defences; e.g. Calais garrison. Taxes on imports and exports (i.e. wool), £40,000 per annum.