Wolsey and Domestic Policy Flashcards
What were his domestic policy aims?
1/ Maintain law and order
2/ Raise taxes when necessary
3/ Live ‘of his own’
4/ Administer county efficiently but not intervene in everyday life
What had changed by 1514?
1/ Population increasing - caused economic and social problems.
2/ Food prices increased leading to poverty in countryside.
3/ Influence of Renaissance + Northern European humanism meant increased expectation from educated to improve lots of poor + quality of administrative and legal affairs.
Wolsey and legal reforms:
1/ Used law to attack personal enemies eg. Sir Paulet
2/ A focus on civil law over common law
3/ Established committees to deal with poor
4/ Court of Star Chamber - often against Wolsey’s enemies
5/ Local magnates and JP’s had to swear oath to King
Wolsey and legal reforms:
1/ Used law to attack personal enemies eg. Sir Paulet
2/ A focus on civil law over common law
3/ Established committees to deal with poor in 1519
4/ Court of Star Chamber - often against Wolsey’s enemies
5/ Local magnates and JP’s had to swear oath to King
Were Wolsey’s legal reforms a failure?
Yes -
1/ Abandoned cases where power threatened
2/ Only small increase in cases brought to court
3/ Caseload led to a collapse in 1529 of Star Chamber
4/ Did not deal with Benefit of the Clergy
Wolsey and Financial Reforms:
1/ 260 cases against landowners for re-enclosure
2/ Fixed poultry prices in London 1518 + investigated the scarcity of meat
3/ 1520 - grain dealers charged with profiteering
4/ Subsidies in 1513-1515 and 1522/23 - raised £300,000
Was Wolsey’s financial reforms a failure?
1/ Campaign against enclosure abandoned to raise subsidy for war with France
2/ Subsidy unpopular + Amicable Grant resulted in rebellion
3/ Act of Resumption in 1515 to gain crown land was unpopular
Wolsey and Social Reforms:
1/ Star Chamber- more cases for poor + aim to provide fair and cheap justice for all
2/ Investigation into enclosure in 1517
3/ Criticised excessive prices of traders and merchants
Was Wolsey’s Social Reforms a failure?
1/ Amicable Grant was failure and unpopular
2/ Lack of understanding of enclosure limits his popularity for it
3/ Fails to take action over traders and merchants
Wolsey and Administrative Reforms:
1/ Used his household to train King’s servants
2/ Eltham Ordinances - twelve to six in PC in 1526
3/ Replaces Compton with Norris as Groom of the Stool
4/ Ensured King’s Council of 20 advisors were often away
Why were Wolsey’s Administrative Reforms a failure?
1/ Boosted Wolsey’s control but no actual reform
2/ Refused to use parliament - only for grants and war
Wolsey and the Nobility:
1/ Duke of Buckingham executed
2/ Made clear that nobility should not consider themselves above the law eg. sent Northumberland to prison
Why was Wolsey and the nobility a failure?
1/ Sour relations ultimately led to his downfall
2/ The minions
Wolsey and the Church:
1/ Dissolved thirty religious houses 1524-29 + used money to build colleges at Oxford and Ipswich
2/ Removed four inappropriate monastic heads
3/ Visited sixty institutions and issues new constitutions
Why was Wolsey and the Church a failure?
1/ Did not remove benefit of the clergy in 1515 when it was up for renewal
2/ Limited reform to clergy
3/ Wolsey represents many abuses of the Church
4/ Often used money for himself rather than the good
