Wolsey's Domestic Reforms Flashcards
Star Chamber
A court set up to give out royal justice to all levels of society not just the rich.
Wolsey increased the courts work from 12 to 120 cases per year.
Protests
Wolsey cared about the poor but used this as an excuse to attack the rich too.
Limits of the subsidies
Didn’t raise enough money for wars.
Henry spent £1.4 million on war between 1511 and 1521 and the taxes were very unpopular.
The Eltham Ordinances
Money was spent inefficiently.
Wolsey introduces reform called Eltham Ordinances to improve court efficiency.
What were the Eltham Ordinances?
Remove unnecessary jobs and firing sick workers.
Reduce spending by cutting people’s expenses and having meals at sat times.
Banning dogs to keep things clean.
In total it was 79 chapters long.
Wolsey manipulating the Eltham Ordinances
Was used to remove political opponents.
Save money but in reality just removed rivals.
Once this was done Wolsey stopped any further reforms.
Amicable Grant 1525
Reasons behind it
Henry wanted to take advantage of France’s defeat by Charles V in 1525 and invaded France while it was vulnerable, but this would cost a lot of money.
Introducing Amicable Grant
Wolsey decided to introduce a new direct tax to raise money for war with France but didn’t get approval from parliament.
Responses to Amicable Grant
People refused to pay and this led to rebellion in Suffolk in May 1525, where 10,000 men protested.
Impact of the Grant on Wolsey
Henry blamed Wolsey and cancelled the tax claiming he didn’t know about it.
Wolsey became very unpopular with the public and Henry began to doubt him.
He had to abandon plans for war.
