Henry VII - Parliament

Question 1

What did Parliament comprise of?

Answer 1

House of Commons
House of Lords

Question 2

Parliament has existed since what century?

Answer 2

Thirteenth century

Question 3

Was parliament central to the system of government?

Answer 3

No, it only met occasionally

Question 4

What were parliament’s two main functions?

Answer 4

To pass laws
To grant taxation to the Crown

Question 5

Parliament had a further subsidiary function, what did this mean?

Answer 5

Local issues and grievances could be passed on to the king’s officials by local members of Parlaiment, MP’s

Question 6

What did the House of Lords comprise of?

Answer 6

The Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal

Question 7

Who did the Lords Spiritual comprise of?

Answer 7

Bishops and abbots of major religious houses.

Question 8

Who did the Lords Temporal compose of?

Answer 8

The nobility

Question 9

The House of Commons comprised of how many MP’s for each county

Answer 9

Two

Question 10

The House of Commons composed of how many MP’s for each borough?

Answer 10

Two

Question 11

The House of Commons had representatives of the two universities, what were they?

Answer 11

Oxford and Cambridge

Question 12

The right to vote was mainly restricted to whom?

Answer 12

Men of property, ‘forty shilling freeholders’ in the counties and through the precise voting qualification varied in boroughs

Question 13

Who was the only person who could call Parliament?

Answer 13

The King

Question 14

How many Parliaments did Henry call throughout his reign?

Answer 14

7

Question 15

How many Parliaments did Henry call in the first ten years of his reign?

Answer 15

5

Question 16

Henry’s early parliaments were mainly concerned with what?

Answer 16

Issues of national security

Question 17

Henry’s first two parliaments passed what?

Answer 17

Numerous Acts of Attainder

Question 18

What did the Acts of Attainder do?

Answer 18

Declared individuals guilty without having to go through the inconvenience of trial if they were still alive.

Question 19

Henry’s first parliament granted what?

Answer 19

Tonnage and poundage (customs revenues) for life

Question 20

Many parliaments granted Henry extraordinary revenue through taxation, why?

Answer 20

To finance any wars that the King wanted to fight.

Question 21

What did Henry’s final parliament in 1504 manage to do?

Answer 21

Limit the demand for extraordinary revenue and received an undertaking that the king would not seek more revenue by this means

Question 22

There were a number of private acts passed by parliament during Henry’s reign, why?

Answer 22

In response to local demands for improvements.