Section 2- the character and aims of Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Question 1

What were Henry VIII’s initial main aims as king of England ? List

Answer 1

• marriage o Cathrine of Aragon
• re establishing the nobility
• execution of Edmund de La pole ( the white rose and the earl of Suffolk)
• wolsley’s acceptance into the council
• arrest and execution of empson and dudley
• abolition of the council learned in law

Question 2

Why did Henry VIII arrest and execute empson and Dudley ?

Answer 2

• wanted to distance himself from the negative and largely disliked elements of his father Henry VIII’s reign in order to secure himself support and popularity amongst members of the general public
• indicate the end of the reign of Henry VII
  -paves the way to help to re establish a better relationship with the nobility

Question 3

When were empson and Dudley executed?

Answer 3

17th august 1910

Question 4

Why did Henry ViII marry Cathrine of Aragon ?

Answer 4

• wanted to secure and alliance with Spain in the event of invasion / war with the French or Scottish as a result of the Auld alliance. Spain was also a extremely powerful European power who was not yet in the Holy Roman Empire (HRE)
• helped to secure his lineage theoraterically if he could produce a male heir and a spare
• dynastic security
• in the bible it was said that since Catherine’s previous marriage to prince Arthur had ended in 1502 and hadn’t been consummated that it was his brother ( Henry VIII’s responsibility to marry her

Question 5

When did Henry VIII marry Cathrine of Aragon ?

Answer 5

11th June 1509

Question 6

When did Henry VIII become king of England?

Answer 6

1509 and was corrinated on the 24th of June 1509
His reign lasted from 1509 to 1547

Question 7

Why did Henry VIII abolish the council learned in law ?

Answer 7

• distabces himself from the negative aspects of the reign of Henry VII
• helps to secure popularity amongst the nobility who had previously been frozen out of political influence during the reign of Henry VII.
• council learned in law was largely hated and feared amongst the nobility as it could give out and enforce bonds and recognises
• redistributed patronage to the nobility
• had a more secure claim to the throne and therefore wasn’t as worried about the power and influence of the nobility

Question 8

When was the council learned in law abolished ?

Answer 8

January 1510 by a parliamentary act

Question 9

Why did Henry VIII re establish the nobility ?

Answer 9

• Henry VIII shared the tastes and dominant military culture of the upper classes / aristocracy ( wanted to become a warrior king and was much less concerned with the day to day runnings of parliament / government and often apppointed highly powerful advisors to oversee these responsibilities on his behalf )
• aligned himself with the nobility as he often played sports such as jousting and hunting with the sons who were of a similar age to him of wealthy noblemen, in an attempt to gain the support of the nobility as a class should he need them to support him in a war eg. His future repeated battles in France which were largely ineffective at achieving their objectives

Question 10

Why did Henry VIII appoint councillors / advisors to oversee the day to day runnings of parliament / government ?

Answer 10

• Henry VIII was much less involved in the day to day runnings of government than his father because he found the paperwork and debated tedious and irritating and therefore favoured a much less hands on form of government than that of his father.
• preferred to delegate the powers to his chief advisors such as cardinal Thomas wolsley who served him from 1515 and 1529 and Thomas Cromwell who served from 1532-1540
• could be seen as a severe lapse of judgement as he was taught from an early age not to rely on lazy councillors to run the country on his behalf however for Henry VIII this model was a positive way of running government as it gave him more time to spend on his own personal interests

Question 11

Why did Henry VIII order for the execution of Edmund de la pole, the earl of Suffolk ( the white rose) ?

Answer 11

• was the last remaining yorkist pretender / claimant to the throne who had posed a threat to his father for around 6 years until he was detained under the treaty of Windsor in 1506
• demonstration of ruthlessness and power to other yorkist claimants to the throne that he won’t tolerate opposition - starting as he means to go on
• getting rid of the figurehead of any potential rebellions although he hasn’t actually posed any threat to Henry VIII himself .