How successfully did Henry VI restore royal finances? Flashcards
the importance of strong finances
They would allow him to raise forces to put down unrest and on his death, provide his son with the resources to fight any challenger
How attempted to achieve strong royal finances
Reorganise financial administration
Exploit sources of ordinary revenue
Increase income from extraordinary revenue
difficulties associated with such policies;
(Reorganise financial administration
Exploit sources of ordinary revenue
Increase income from extraordinary revenue)
most notably,
attempts to increase income would face opposition from those who were
forced to pay, particularly as the king was expected to ‘live off his own’
This difficulty had already been exposed in the Yorkshire and Cornish tax
Rebellions
Evidence that changes had to
be made
in the first year of his reign he received only €11,700 from his
lands, whereas Richard lIl had received £29,000. Such was the poor financial
situation that he had to take out loans to pay for his coronation and
marriage and in 1487 there was not enough money to pay for celebrations at
Windsor for the feast of St George
Middle ages Exchequer
monarchs had used the Exchequer to administer
crown finance; its role had been to receive and pay out money and audit
accounts. However, it was slow in both collecting money and auditing
accounts. Edward IV had replaced it with the Chamber system, which was
more flexible and informal and had allowed him to exert greater control
over finance
Henry and the exchequer
he had reverted back to the
Exchequer, but by 1487 he had realised its limitations and began to restore
the use of the Chamber system, so that by the 1490s it had returned to its
central role
Chamber system managed what
crown lands
feudal dues
# profits from justice
The French pension.
This meant that it handled all income except customs duties, which
remained under the Exchequer
Reversion to chamber system impact on Privy Chamber
increased importance for the Treasurer
of the Chamber and officials such as the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber.
As a result of these developments Henry had a much closer control of his
finances.
Ordinary revenue
came in yearly from crown lands, customs and profits
from justice and feudal dues, although the amounts varied
extraordinary revenue
was not regular and was usually raised only in times of
need from taxation, or in times of emergency from borrowing
Crown lands (ordinary revenue)
most important source of ordinary revenue was crown lands. Henry
not only maximised his income from existing lands, but also increased the
amount of land the crown
held so that estimates have suggested it was five
times larger at the end of his reign than under Henry VI. This was achieved
through the 1486 Act of Resumption and seizure of land from those declared
traitors (attainted). As a result, income from crown lands rose from £29,000
on the death of Richard to £42,000 by 1509
How did Henry avoid antagonising the nobility with his crownlands policy (ordinary revenue)
did not take back all the land to which
he was entitled
Greatest success with crownlands (ordinary revenue)
Duchy
of Lancaster as Henry was able to use skilful management to increase the
income from its lands ten-fold.
Unsuccessful finance policies (ordinary revenue)
Under Edward IV
custom duties had brought in about £70,000 per annum and, although by the
end of his reign they were still providing a third of the ordinary revenue, the
average income had dropped to £40,000. Henry did try to imitate Edward’s
methods, but smuggling was a problem and the income from trade depended
heavily upon the relationship between European powers, which Henry was
unable to control
The profits from justice (ordinary revenue)
varied from year to year, but Henry certainly
did his best to exploit the system, causing some to claim after his death
that he charged some subjects with crimes merely to be able to fine them.
However, even if this was not true, the king often punished by fines rather
than imprisonment
Example of punishing by fines rather
than imprisonment (ordinary revenue)
the Cornish rebels or the Earl of
Northumberland, who was fined £10,000 for raping a royal ward
Income from feudal dues (ordinary revenue)
rose dramatically during Henry’s reign. He was
determined to enforce these rights and fully exploited income from wardship
and marriage, livery and the fine of relief. The consequence was that income
rose from under £350 per annum in 1487 to over £6000 in 1507
bonds and recognisances (ordinary revenue)
also exploited to their full
The most frequent source of extraordinary income
parliamentary taxation
parliamentary taxation
did not misuse this source or means of raising money. The
Yorkshire and Cornish Rebellions showed how unpopular taxation was and
Henry was therefore cautious in his demands. He asked for money from
parliament only in exceptional circumstances, such as for defeating Simnel
or resisting the Scottish invasion in support of Warbeck
Failure of parliamentary taxation
the amount collected varied and, because the sums levied were based on out of
date assessments of wealth, they did not bring in the amounts they should
have done. As a result, Henry never successfully tapped the wealth of the
country.
Emergency loans (extraordinary revenue)
Henry could ask his wealthy subjects for loans
and, although it is estimated that this brought in £203,000 during his
reign, he had little choice but to repay those who he owed. However,
benevolences were slightly different as these were forced loans where there
was no repayment. On these occasions subjects were asked to help the king
as a sign of their support at a time of crisis and was used in 1491 to raise
money for an expedition against France, bringing in £48,500. Although it
was effective, the method could not be used on a regular basis as it would
provoke resentment
Raise money from the Church (extraordinary revenue)
The Church would often make a contribution when parliament had granted
the king money and this happened in 1489 when the Church raised £25,000
towards the expedition to France. However, Henry also used less justifiable
methods to extract money: he sold church offices, charging £300 for the
archdeaconry of Buckingham, and towards the end of his reign left bishoprics
vacant so that he could claim the revenue, making over £6000 per annum
from this
Feudal aid ER
the result of the king being the chief feudal lord, was
levied on special occasions and this was done on the knighting of Prince
Arthur, which brought in €30,000, and on the marriage of his daughter
Margaret to James IV of Scotland
