How far do you agree that the 1513 subsidy marked the most significant improvement in the government of the localities in the years 1485-1603?

Question 1

1513 Subsidy: short-term financial cooperation + limited administrative legacy

Answer 1

• 1513 subsidy = clear break from older 15ths + 10ths taxation system
• introduced direct income assessments => individuals were taxed based on actual earnings , not fixed quotas + this required active cooperation from local commissioners + JPs
• extent of involvement = considerable - subsidy relied on local men to conduct assessments + explain the logic of royal taxations to their communities
• initially effective, raised over £300k 1513-23 + funded military campaigns
• but sustainability = questionable, Amicable Grant 1525 = limits of public cooperation + by later period, assessments = outdated + manipulated; failed to reflect growing wealth of gentry class
• breadth of impact - reach = national but administrative influence declined significantly under Elizabeth bc taxation returned to older, less effective methods
  => important in short-term, lacked structural endurance to be seen as the most significant improvement in gov

Question 2

JP expansion enduring institutional improvement across whole period

Answer 2

• more transformative was the consistent expansion of JPs - came to dominate Tudor model of local governance
• powers grew from simple judicial oversight in late 1400s to wide-ranging responsibilities over social regulation, religious enforcement, wage fixing, poor relief + criminal law by end of 1603
• extent of involvement - JPs embedded in every locality + by 1603 numbers doubled since Wolsey’s time w/ 50-60 per county
• effectiveness in maintaining order = critical esp in times of instability e.g. 1590s when they prevented widespread unrest by overseeing grain distribution + administering local poor relief
• breadth of impact = national + continuous, ensured crown’s will enforced across all counties
• created consistent administrative infrastructure - outlasted financial experiments like the subsidy + became fundamental to tudor local gov

Question 3

Laws in Wales Acts: total political + legal restructuring of a region

Answer 3

• subsidy refined single aspect in governance (taxation) LiWA transformed entire region’s political identity
• introduced by Henry VIII, marked fundamental shift in crown-local relations
• Wales prev dominated by marcher lordship; powerful nobles e.g. Duke of Buckingham exercised near-autonomous control => undermined the crown
• acts abolished marcher territories, established eng-style counties + introduced sheriffs, coroners + JPs appointed by the crown
• also gave Welsh counties right to elect MPs to parliament => integrating W. legally, administratively + politically into E system
• extent of involvement - full scale transformation of regional governance
• highly effective in maintaining order - rebellions in W declined significantly after acts, w/o major insurrections emanating from W after Western Rebellion of 1549
• breadth of impact - deep + lasting; W became integrated part of Tudor state + remained throughout period - set precedent for centralisation + uniformity elsewhere
• W moved from semi-independence to full political integration including MP representation
• comp to subsidy (altered 1 administrative function temporarily) LiW permanently refined local governance in entire nation