Wolsey's Fall from Power Flashcards
Reason 1 - FAILURE TO GET AN ANNULMENT - Henry became increasingly frustrated with Wolsey because of the delays and the Pope’s refusal to allow the annulment.
The Pope (Clement VII) had become a virtual prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor (Charles V) after Rome was sacked by Charles V’s army in 1529. This made it far less likely that the Pope would give the annulment from Catherine of Aragon because she was related to Charles V.
Catherine of Aragon was dignified and totally opposed to divorce. She gained a lot of sympathy and had the support of powerful men such as John Fisher, the respected Bishop of Rochester, Thomas More, adviser to the king and her nephew, Charles V.
Reason 2 - ENEMIES IN COURT - growing resentment (for two main reasons) meant there were powerful enemies waiting for Wolsey to fail.
Wolsey’s low birth and high status/huge wealth was resented by members of the aristocracy such as the Duke of Norfolk.
Wolsey attempted to control the Royal Court by introducing the Eltham Ordinances in 1526. This included reducing the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber from 12 to 6 - and included excluding people such as Thomas and George Boleyn, Sir William Compton (the Groom of the Stool) and Sir Nicholas Carew. Unfortunately, these were also Henry’s friends.
The Boleyn faction were constantly trying to undermine him because of his inability to get the annulment.
Reason 3 - HIGH-PROFILE FAILURES - meant that Henry had other reasons to get rid of his hard-working advisor.
The Amicable Grant in 1525. Despite being caused by Henry’s desire to wage wat with France, Wolsey took the blame for the failure of this attempt to tax the country directly without the approval of parliament. There was a full-scale revolt in Suffolk in May 1525 with 10,000 men meeting in Lavenham. This marked the beginning of the end for Wolsey.
Failure to forge an alliance against Charles V - in 1529, Francis I and Charles V made peace at the Treaty of Cambrai, which left England isolated.
War against France, 1522-25. The English had been promised support from Charles V and the Duke of Bourbon, but the support never cam, causing the Duke of Suffolk to retreat. When Charles V then captured Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, he failed to share any of his success with Henry. Three years of war had cost $430,000 and showed that Charles V did not see England as an equal or valued ally.
