Increase of Finances Flashcards
What were Henry VII’s three financial aims?
Achieve solvency by making royal income (Get out of debt)
Decreasing expenditure (Limit spending)
Restoring the Crown’s financial strength
As a showcase of just how bad Henry VII’s financial position was - which major events at the start of his reign did he need loans for?
His coronation (Oct, 1485)
His wedding (Jan, 1486)
His Royal Progress (April, 1486)
Which two ways did Henry VII manage to achieve revenue?
Ordinary Revenue
Extraordinary Revenue
What was Ordinary Revenue?
Money that was collected regularly without the need to ask Parliament first
What was Extraordinary Revenue?
Money that was collected for emergency purposes such as war and needed Parliamentary approval first
What were the types of Ordinary Revenue Henry VII used? (5 examples)
Crown Lands
Feudal Obligations/Dues
Bonds + Recognisances
Customs Duties
Profits of Justice
Which special occasion did Henry VII use his Feudal Obligations on? How much was it?
He imposed the obligations on nobles during the Marriage of Margaret Tudor with James IV (1503)
£30,000 raised
What were Custom Duties?
Taxes used to pay for either English defences and exports (wool, leather, cloth, wine etc)
What were Profits of Justice?
Fees paid when legal proceedings start (Court costs)
What were the types of Extraordinary Revenue Henry VII used? (6 examples)
Parliamentary Grants
Loans
Benevolences
Clerical Taxes
Feudal Obligations
French Pension
What were Parliamentary Grants?
Revenue given by Parliament to help the king when the national interest is threatened
Which events did Henry VII successfully get Parliamentary Grants for? (3 examples)
The Battle of Stoke (1487)
War against the French (1489)
Defence against the Scottish invasion (1496)
How much was a Parliamentary Grant each time usually?
£30,000
What were Loans? And how much did Henry VII have during his reign?
A bundle of revenue from richer subjects during times of emergency
Around £203,000 during his reign
What were Benevolences?
Forced loans without repayment
What was an example of Henry VII using Benevolences?
1491 - Henry raised £48,500 to take his army to France during the Brittany Crisis
What were Clerical taxes? (2 examples)
Simony - selling of church positions for money
Vacant Bishops positions - kept by the king whilst vacant
What were three examples of Henry VII using Clerical Taxes?
1489 - the Convocation (Church council) gave £25,000 towards the cost of the French war
Charged Roger Sherbourne £300 for the position of Archdeacon of Buckingham
Charged £6,000 for each vacant Bishop’s land
What was an example of Henry VII using an extraordinary feudal obligation?
£30,000 for Prince Arthur’s knighting
How much revenue did the French Pension (Etaples) give Henry VII?
£159,000 in total - £5,000 annually
What was the annual income to Henry VII’s crown?
£40,000
Which two country leaders could Henry VII not match financially? What does this mean he had to do?
The Holy Roman Emperor + French King
He had to appear richer than he was to improve his security
Propaganda wise, what did Henry spend his finances on? (4 examples)
Flags/Banners
Images of the Tudor Rose
The Beaufort portcullis
Jewels + plates
How much is the estimate on Henry VII’s expenditure on jewels and plates?
Just under £300,000
What quote by Polydore Vergil sums up how the people of England were effected by Henry VII’s management of finances?
the people…
‘‘…considered they were suffering not on account of their own sins, but on account of the greed of their monarch.’’
