Government

Question 1

main functions of the privy council

Answer 1

Advise the king on matters of the state
Administer law and order on his behalf
Act in a judicial capacity in the prosecution of nobles

Question 2

how many councillors did Henry have

Answer 2

227 but his working council was much smaller with six or seven members

Question 3

members of his working council

Answer 3

Reginald Bray
Thomas Lovell
Richard Fox
John Morton

Question 4

what was the main offshoot of the privy council

Answer 4

The council learned in law, created in 1485

Question 5

functions of the council learned in law

Answer 5

Maintain the king’s revenue and his prerogative rights

Question 6

parliament

Answer 6

It was not central to the system of government as it met occasionally, only met on 7 occasions in 24 years. It had two main functions - to pass laws and attainders and to grant taxation to the crown. Henry’s early parliament were largely concerned with issues to do with securing his position as king and five times parliament was called in the first decade of his reign. Henry’s first two parliaments passed numerous Acts of Attainders, granted customs revenues, and other parliaments granted extraordinary revenue and taxation for the king to go to war, however, parliament in 1504 managed to limit the demand for extraordinary revenue

Question 7

star chamber

Answer 7

set up in 1487, a sub committee who had the power to deal with anyone who behaved in a rebellious and lawless manner, the royal council sat on this to make judgements and it was used as a court of appeal

Question 8

local government

Answer 8

The king relied on members of the nobility to exercise power on his behalf, they managed issues to do with law and order, especially in rebellious areas like the north, they were controlled by sheriffs and JPs

Question 9

JPs

Answer 9

At a local level, Henry relied on JPs to maintain law and order in the countryside. They were appointed annually by local landowners and most of them were local gentry who fulfilled their unpaid role either out of a sense of duty or because they perceived that doing so might open the path to greater advancement or local prestige. JPs were responsible for routine administration like collecting tax, granting bail, dispensing justice to criminals and implementing law and order. Their responsibility grew under Henry VII and the average in each country was 18

Question 10

why did Henry VII need to raise royal finances

Answer 10

Henry needed to raise royal finances as wealth could be used to reward loyal service, bribe potential opponents, fund armies, enable the heir with money to retain the throne, consolidate power

Question 11

privy chamber

Answer 11

The king’s privy chamber was made up of his household servants who took over the administration of the royal household and took care of Henry’s private expenditure

Question 12

what was sources of income under Henry divided into

Answer 12

Extraordinary Revenue and Ordinary Revenue

Question 13

what was extraordinary revenue

Answer 13

Money that came to the crown on particular occasions and not regularly

Question 14

types of extraordinary revenue

Answer 14

Bonds and recognisances
Parliamentary Grants
Loans
Clerical Taxes
Feudal Dues
Pension from other powers

Question 15

Bonds and recognisances

Answer 15

Bonds - People promised good behaviour but made payments if they failed to carry out the promise
Recognisances - A way of ensuring the payments of legal debt owed to the crown. B&R were demanded from those whose loyalty was suspect such as Yorkist supporters and merchants who owed custom duties. They were used by Henry for political and financial purposes and payments could be substantial. The Earl of Westmoreland had to pay £10,000 after the battle of Bosworth, it was also an effective way of maintaining control. The council learned in law was used to enforce payment

Question 16

parliamentary grants

Answer 16

Special grants of taxes by parliament to finance military action and war. They were usually voted on in the form of tenths or fifteenths taxes on the value of a moveable property. Parliamentary taxes were available but were often unpopular and triggered two rebellions in 1489 and 1497, he had to promise parliament he would not raise money in that way again

Question 17

Loans

Answer 17

The king had the right to ask for financial help in particular emergencies, it was organised by the privy council and loans could be requested from both individuals and institutions. In 1496 he asked for extra cash from the nobles and subjects to defeat the Scots and Warbeck. This was agreed and Henry always paid back in full. In 1491, £48,000 was raised for war in Brittany of which £9000 was contributed by the city of London

Question 18

clerical taxes

Answer 18

Sums of money taken from the church. Henry made money from simony - which was using his right to appoint leading churchmen to raise money by selling offices and he earned £300 for the post of Archdeacon of Buckingham. Henry kept bishoprics vacant for 12 months so he could profit from the land and revenue of their houses. He earned £5000 at the deaths of lots of bishops

Question 19

feudal dues

Answer 19

As a feudal chief lord, Henry VII had the right to demand feudal aid on special occasions. Which was the right by which the crown could impose a tax on their tenants for the knighting of the eldest son, the marriage of the eldest or to a random a lord. This was a skilful way in which Henry revived old forms of raising revenue, and much to the irritation of the land0wnder, Henry exploited this source of income fully. He received £30,000 in 1504 for the knighthood of prince Arthur who died in 1502

Question 20

pensions from other powers

Answer 20

He received the French pension of £5000 per annum at the treaty of etaples 1492

Question 21

how much did Henry receive overall in extraordinary revenue

Answer 21

£400,000

Question 22

forms of ordinary revenue

Answer 22

Crown lands
Custom Duties
Legal Dues

Question 23

crown lands

Answer 23

Henry VII was the country’s largest landowner as he inherited all the lands held by noble houses which was further increased by attainders. Henry adopted Edward’s system of administration, through the chamber after income had dropped to £12,000 per year because it was managed by the court of the exchequer. In 1486 Henry used the Act of Resumption to reclaim all crown lands that had been granted away since the War of the Roses. Finances improved and income from land increased by the end of the reigh to £42,000

Question 24

what act did Henry use to deal with crown lands

Answer 24

In 1486 Henry used the Act of Resumption to reclaim all crown lands that had been granted away since the War of the Roses.

Question 25

legal dues

Answer 25

Money from fines and other payments made by people appearing before the King’s courts, payments came from both common law courts and the royal courts. The attainder of William Stanley in 1495 brought an immediate payment of £9,000 and £1,000 per year thereafter.

Question 26

custom duties

Answer 26

Money paid on goods entering or leaving the country. The money came mostly from tunnage (taxes on exports) and poundage (taxes on imports), particularly on the sale of wool, wine and leather. Henry updated the book of rates twice which set out the charges on imports and exports of a wide range of items. Customs duties rose from £33,000 a year at the beginning of his reign to £40,000 at the end.

Question 27

Henry’s financial policy was good

Answer 27

His financial policy was cautious and realistic. He understood that foreign wars had been the biggest reason for the poverty of earlier kings so he avoided an aggressive foreign policy. He exploited his legal rights to claim special payments from his nobles, both to swell his treasury and to remind them of his control of them but he was prepared to overlook claims when he needed to gain support. It was clear from his extraordinary revenue that he was keen to enforce his feudal prerogatives and that he stretched them beyond what could be considered reasonable. Edmund Dudley cited 84 cases where he believed people had been unjustly forced to pay.

Question 28

Henry’s financial policy was not good

Answer 28

To some, Henry was a miser, obsessed with hoarding more and more money, though in some cases he spent extraordinarily when it was necessary to enhance the image of his kingship. He left plates and jewels worth £300,000 and £10,000 in cash. Henry’s policies were dangerous with a political price, though he was ruthlessly efficient he treated his subjects in a way that made them threaten the crown and caused dissatisfaction from the nobility

Question 29

nobility and trusted areas - overlordships

Answer 29

North and North East - Henry Percy later Thomas Howard
North Midlands - Lord Hastings
South East - The King
Lancashire and North Wales - Thomas Stanley
Wales - Jasper Tudor
West Mids - George Talbot
South West - Edward Coutenay