• Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and despite his weak claim to the throne he went on to rule until his death in 1509.
• Although Henry was the only male Lancastrian heir to the throne, his claim was weak and he would likely face many threats, particularly Yorkist after the death of Richard III.

Problems of the Nobility:

• Many nobles had been able to gain land during the 1450's and still had large amount when Henry came to power (e.g. Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland etc.) and as land=power, Henry had to make sure to control them. This was made more difficult by the fact that many had been Richard III supporters, and having been in exile for the majority of his life, Henry desperately needed their support and advice to govern.
• They were also a group which could provide leadership and support to rebellion, as well as recruiting followers, as seen through Lord Lovell.

Controlling the Nobility:

• Henry managed to control the power of the nobles by limiting the number he created, only creating 3 new Earls during his reign, compared to 9 under Edward IV.
• He also issued a proclamation in 1504 limiting retainers making it illegal to recruit support without a licence**.
• However, his 2 main methods used was the concept of 'the carrot' and 'the stick'. This is the idea that supporting nobles were rewarded (carrot) while those who went against him were punished (stick).
• Henry used more modern methods of rewards rather than giving out excess amounts of land, which ultimately diminished the wealth of the crown. For example, he created the Order of the Garter, which was made up of 37 knights and was a huge honour, while managing to give prestige to nobles without giving power and land.
• Henry did still use more traditional rewards such as patronage, but limited the amount given out so that it was highly valued.
  

Key People:

• Edmund Dudley: Lawyer, employed to execute Henry's financial policies. President of the Council. Accused of treason by Henry and executed.
• Richard Foxe: Appointed Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State after Bosworth. Active statesman and diplomat, especially in negotiation for Treaty of Estaples, Magnus Intercursus and marriage negotiations. (Was also a patron to Wolsey.)
• John Morton: Active in the enforcement of Henry's policy of financial benevolence
  

Ordinary Revenue:

• The most important revenue from ordinary revenue was crown lands. Henry not only maximised his income from existing lands but also increased the amount of land the crown held so that it is estimated to be 5X larger at the end of his reign than under Henry VI.
• This was achieved through 1486 Act of Resumption and seizure of land from those declared traitors (attained). As a result income from crown lands rose from £29,000 at the end of Richards reign to £42,000 by 1509.
• However, in order to avoid antagonising the Nobility, Henry did not claim back all the land which he was entitled.
• Perhaps the most successful area of this is the Duchy of Lancaster as Henry was able to increase its income tenfold.

Ordinary Revenue:

• Not all Henry's financial policies were a success as income from trade relied relations with European powers, which Henry was unable to control.
• The profits from justice varied from year to year, but Henry did do his best to exploit the system, causing some to claim after his death that he charged some subjects with crimes simply to be able to fine them.
• However, even if this wasn't true Henry was still more likely to fine someone than imprison them e.g. Earl of Northumberland was fined £10,000 for raping a royal ward.
• Income from feudal dues rose dramatically during Henry's reign and he was determined to fully exploit Wardship, which was when a child inherited land it was placed under the protection of the monarch, meaning the crown ran the estates and took the income.
• This resulted in feudal dues income rising from £350 per year in 1487 to £6000 a year in 1507.
• Bonds and recognisance's were also exploited to their full potential.

Extraordinary Revenue:

• The most frequent source of extraordinary revenue income came from parliamentary taxation and although Henry was determined to increase his revenue he did not misuse this.
• He asked for money from parliament only in exceptional circumstances, e.g. defeating Simnel. However, the amount collected varied and Henry never successfully tapped on the wealth of the country.
• Henry also sometimes used loans from wealthy subjects, which he had to pay back. However, benevolences were different as they were loans subjects were forced to pay to show their loyalty, where there was no repayment. This was effective but not used often as it could cause resentment.

Extraordinary Revenue:

• Henry was also able to raise money from the church is several ways, for example when parliament had granted the king money for the French exhibition the church raised £25,000.
• However Henry also used less justifiable methods, such as selling church offices and leaving Bishoprics vacant so he could claim the revenue.
• Feudal aided was levied on special occasions such as Arthur's knighting.
• The French pension also helped with Royal finances and brought in an annual income of £5000.
• Overall, Henry was effective n restoring royal fiances, however he did spend a lot of money on maintaining a lavish lifestyle and he did exploit some of the methods used to gain more money.