Wolsey’s Domestic Policies Flashcards
When was Wolsey a dominant political from and to?
Mid-1510s until his fall in 1529
What was his best known failure?
Failure to secure Henry’s annulment from cath of Aragon.
What does his domestic policy reflect?
A blend of personal ambition, administrative innovation and political realism.
When was he appointed as LC?
1515-central role in secular governance,
Enhance royal authority but also build a personal reputation as a reformer and protector of the common people.
When was he appointed papal legate?
1518
How many cases did Wolsey hear over during his tenure?
1200
What cases does the court of star chamber deal with?
Land disputes, illegal enclosure, intimidation and corruption were frequent cases.
He used the court to challenge the traditional expectation that local magnates could dominate their shires with impunity
What image did Wolsey adopt?
The great leveller- one who punished the powerful and protected the weak but some nobles saw it as a political attack on their status.
Problems of the star chamber?
Cases depended on his presence and attention, creating administrative bottleneck and clogged up cases. Some critics noted that Wolsey often used the Kurt to settle personal feuds or to assert his own dominance in regional power structures.
Court of chancery
He offered a more flexible, equitable form of justice. But caused delays and reliance on Wolsey’s judgement rather than systemic reform meant that these improvements lacked permanence.
The subsidy reform
Tudor subsidy
Unlike the outdated system of fifteenths and tenths, the subsidy [first introduced in 1513] was assessed on the real wealth of taxpayers, more progressive and equitable tax burden.
Sig increased crowns income but overuse-particularly in the 1520s, as Henry sought to revive campaigns in France- created resentment
Amicable grant 1525
Forced loan
Rebellions broke out in east anglia and London.
Failure was a political humiliation for Wolsey, exposing both the limits of his authority and the dangers of overreaching without parliamentary consent . Lao weakened his standing w/king who distanced himself and allowed Wolsey to take the blame.
How did enclosure enhance Wolsey’s image as protector of the poor?
Conversion of arable land into pasture for sheep farming, which had displaced tenants and created widespread rural poverty.
After he launched a national enclosure enquiry in 1517, over the next 4 yrs, over 260 landowners were persecuted.
But the opposition from landowners forced Wolsey to suspend the campaign, shows the entrenched power of the landed elite and the structural limitations of early Tudor govt severely constrained what could be achieved.
Monastic reform and patronage
Papal legate from 1518
Closed around two dozen monastic houses, using their revenues to fund cardinal college, oxford and a grammar skl in Ipswich.
He also tried to address abuses within the clergy, such as pluralism, non-residence, and poor standards of education. But many critics view Wolsey himself as a symbol of clerical corruption: he held multiple sees in York and Winchester, lived in a palatial splendour , and fathered illegitimate children.
However, driven more by personal ambition than a systemic desire to renew the church. Also failed to anticipate or respond to the deeper currents of religious reform- particularly the spread of Lutheran ideas and growing anticlerical sentiment in the 1520s.
Relationship with parl
Viewed it as a source of obstruction rather than cooperation, and summoned it only twice: in 1515, and again in 1523 to fund war.
Increased use of JPs, reinforcement of royal authority in the council of the north and commissions to investigate lawlessness and regional corruption. Reflected his ambition to increase the authority of the crown and reduce the influence of the nobility in regional governance.
