Tudors Chapter 2 - Localities Flashcards
Who became head of the Council of Wales in 1490?
Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford
Which heirs were sent to the Wales to establish a royal presence?
Prince Arthur 1501.
Princess Mary 1525.
When and why did Henry VII make Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey a Lieutenant in the North?
Yorkshire tax revolt 1489 - Northumberland killed. However, lost power in 1499.
Who was Henry Fitzroy and what was his brief role?
6 y/o illegitimate son of Henry VIII. Made president of the Council of the North 1525. Died 1536.
When was the first Law in Wales Act?
What did it do?
1535.
Wales now made up of 12 English-style counties.
English-style governance.
2 MPs per county and town.
Ended power of marcher lords.
When was the second Law in Wales Act?
What did it do?
1542.
Introduced English system of law.
Council of Wales became a more formal body.
Very little unrest following these changes.
When and why was the Council of the North re-established?
1537 - a response to the Pilgrimage of Grace.
What powers were given to the Council of the North when re-established?
Given much wider powers across the North.
Presidents were typically from the South - impartial over local issues. e.g. the Bishop of Llandaff.
Councillors also appointed as JPs.
What were the impacts of the re-establishment of the Council of the North?
Council could hear on cases of trespass and felony.
Traditional northern families lost power: Dacres, Percies, Nevilles.
Elizabeth tried to insert more southerners, causing resentments.
1572 - Henry Hastings, Huntingdon made president.
How did the number of MPs change from the start to the end of the Tudor era?
296 to 462
What was the proportion of true townsmen in the Reformation Parliament?
Half = townsmen. Half = gentry who didn’t live where they represented.
By 1601, what percentage of MPs were actually townsmen, according to Jennifer Loach?
14%
How much did it cost each town to fund an MP during the Reformation Parliament?
£70
What did Sir Edmund Rowse do in Dunwich?
Rowse was prepared to cover own expenses if elected as an MP. Dunwich avoided the financial burden and Rowse could pursue a career in London.
How did Henry VIII manipulate elections to increase control?
He ensured that Norfolk had 3 clients elected to Parliament.
How did illiteracy rates change 1550-1600? And according to whom?
Men: 80% - 72%
Women: 98% - 92%
David Cressey
What was the role of JPs under Henry VII? Give examples.
Usurper - needed trusted people in charge - Thomas Lovell = JP in Yorkshire and Sussex.
1495 Act of Parl - JPs can act on suspects without jury.
How many JPs were on county benches under Henry VIII?
20-35
How and when did Wolsey monitor the JPs?
1526 - sent out a 21-section questionnaire on law and order in their region.
How did JPs gain religious responsibilities under Henry VIII and Edward VI?
Cromwell expected them to enforce the Reformation.
1552, E6, enforced Second Prayer Book.
What size were county benches by 1603?
40 to 90 JPs
Why did William Cecil fear corruption among the JPs and how was this prevented?
Becoming a JP was considered a gateway to political power among the gentry.
From 1585, Lord Lieutenants were appointed to county benches.
How many Acts of Parliament placed responsibilities on JPs by 1603?
309 Acts
What’s the difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ revenue?
Ordinary: came from royal lands.
Extraordinary: tax granted by Parliament in special circumstances.
How did ‘fifteenths and tenths’ work? How much was each expected to make?
In countryside, communities expected to pay 1/15th of the value of their property.
Boroughs had to pay 1/10th.
Meant to yield £29,500.
Why were ‘tenths and fifteenths’ bad for everyone?
Based on a 150-y/o system.
Inflation - money had higher value in 1334.
Based on communities, so wealthier people could avoid paying tax, forcing the poorer to take burden.
Why was the 1513 Subsidy necessary for Wolsey to create?
Henry wanted war against France.
1509-1520, £1 million spent on war effort.
Yet prior to this only £25,000 a year generated.
What were the 3 most important aspects of the 1513 Subsidy? A ton avis.
-Now based on individuals ability to pay, rather than communities as a whole.
-Gave increased powers to JPs - less corrupt system, and curried favour of local officials.
-The higher the rank of a noble, the more tax they paid.
How much did the 1513 Subsidy raise between 1513-23?
over £300,000
Why did the 1534 Subsidy cause backlash?
Levied during peacetime.
Angers in the North - PofG.
How did the amount raised by the Subsidy under Elizabeth change and what does reflect about wider attitudes?
Started at £140,000 but had dropped to £80,000 by end of reign.
Shows that parliament and taxpayers were increasingly resistant to the new tax.
How did the 1513 Subsidy fail Wolsey in 1523?
Parl refused to grant him £800,000. Paid lesser sum over instalments.
Led to ‘Amicable Grant’ in 1525.
Why did Elizabeth’s caution limit the efficacy of the Subsidy?
She allowed the rates to become fixed, and thus due to inflation, govt. slowly generated less and less income.
How did the tax system become corrupt under Elizabeth? Use Cecil as an example.
From 1563, taxpayer’s own assessment of wealth accepted as accurate. William Cecil claimed to earn less than £200 a year despite actually making £4000. He paid less tax as a result.
What was the result of tax record not being updated? Use Suffolk as an example.
New taxpayers or dead ones weren’t added to records. In Suffolk, 1523-1563, number of taxpayers dropped 10,000.
How did Elizabeth’s indifference to the flawed tax system affect the 1590s?
Increased corruption caused political tensions. However, never faced a popular tax revolt.
What were the population changes across the Tudor period?
1525: 2.3 million.
1551: 3 million
1601: 4.1 million
What did the 1531 Poor Law do?
Vagrants to be whipped.
JPs could license the impotent poor, allowing them to beg.
What did the 1547 Vagrancy Act and 1552 Poor Law do?
VA: defined what a vagrant was and outlined excessively harsh punishments for vagrancy.
PL: replaced the harshness of the Vagrancy Act - registered impotent poor - priests to place more pressure on locals to contribute to alms.
How did the population change 1551-1561? Why did this occur?
3.01 million down to 2.98 million
Poor weather, bad harvests, influenza epidemic.
What were the consequences of the 1550s population crisis?
Lack of food = high prices
Increased poverty and vagrancy
Wages rose, employer profits drop
What were, a ton avis, the 4 most important terms of the Statute of Artificers?
-All wages to be set by JPs annually.
-Aged 12-60, unemployed forced to work on the land.
-JPs could force all able people to farm during harvest time - were allowed to punish disobedience.
-Apprenticeships = 7 years.
Why wasn’t/was the Statty Art as significant as expected?
-More of a central response to local trends - since 1530s crisis, wage capping had been increasingly encouraged locally.
-Further legislations needed afterwards to resolve other issues.
-However, the govt. working for social order demonstrates increased partnership between centre and localities.
-Placed great powers on JPs.
How did the Stat. of Art. fail in Kent?
Assessed wages never changed between 1563-88 due to JP negligence. Wages only increased due to increased hardships in 1590s.
Why was the Statue of Artificers naive?
Assumed work would always be available. Increased migration around harvest time.
What did the 1563 Poor Law do?
JPs appointed special alms collectors, refusing to contribute to alms could lead to imprisonment.
What did the 1572 Poor Law do?
encouraged parishes to build ‘houses of correction’ for vagrants and beggars
Why was there a severe social and economic crisis 1594-98?
Crop failures and famine due to cold weather.
Wages fell as prices rose.
Plague outbreaks.
Food riots in London 1596.
Why was the 1598 Poor Law significant?
-First time there was a national system of poor relief.
-Made contributions to the poor fully compulsory.
-Lasted until 1834
What did the 1598 Poor Law do?
-JPs supervised the unpaid overseer of the poor for each parish - these assed how much poor relief was needed.
-Combined with 1598 Vagabonds Act - vagrants banished
-Building of hospitals and houses of correction provided for.
How did Henry VII’s distrust affect number of noble families?
No. representatives dropped from 55 to 42 during reign.
How was the Earl of Surrey treated by Henry VII?
-Imprisoned due to involvement at Bosworth.
-Rewarded for not joining Simnel rebellion.
-Given back earldom but not made Duke of Norfolk
-Sent to North - entirely reliant on Henry
-Made a councillor 1501.
Who was Charles Brandon?
A lifelong friend of H8.
Made Duke of Suffolk and given estates in East Anglia.
After PofG, he was given estates in Lincolnshire
Why did the Crown control the Percy estates 1537-57?
Henry Percy (Northumberland) was forced to make Henry VIII his heir.
How did patronage fail under Henry VIII?
Factions began to rise.
Seymour = reformer vs. Norfolk = conservative.
Seymour was able to bypass Henry’s will.
What made both Henries’ use of patronage successful?
they increased loyalties to the monarchy and weakened the traditional military power of nobility.
How did Elizabeth’s patronage with Dudley benefit her?
He was a favourite courtier of Liz.
Became a Privy councillor 1562
Given significant lands in Denbigh in Wales - trusted to be Queen’s eyes and ears.
Created a rivalry in networks of patronage between Cecil and Dudley.
How did Elizabeth’s patronage in the North lead to rebellion?
Russel, Earl of Bedford, was made Warden of the East March.
Percy lost his wardenship of the Middle March.
Resentments.
How did Elizabeth use patronage to restore order in North?
Appointed her cousin, Huntingdon, as President of the Councl
Explain the Cecil/Essex rivalry.
Robert Cecil vs Earl of Essex.
Cecils had amassed lots of power; Essex entirely reliant on Queen for power.
Essex led a failed rebellion in 1601 - not enough support.
How may have Henry VIII’s progresses contributed to resentments in North and the PofG?
He didn’t travel to the North - rebels felt the govt. was neglecting them and too south-focussed.
How did Elizabeth uses progresses?
Save money.
Strengthen bonds of loyalty with leading councillors.
Enhanced trust overall.
What’s the absolutely sexy line of analysis you came up with about JPs craving further powers?
The political repression of Henry VII’s reign - in which, as David Loades describes, local Nobility lost their roles as ‘Provincial Magnates’, becoming mere ‘Service Nobility’ - led all local officials in the following decades to crave any and all attainments of greater powers.
What should the opening line of any Localities essay discussing the extension of royal power/control/etc. be?
Tudor monarchs continually faced the challenge of nationwide instability, prompting numerous actions to be taken throughout the era to [KWQ].
