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STRENGTHENING ROYAL GOVERNMENT Henry VII (Problems facing Henry VII in…
STRENGTHENING ROYAL GOVERNMENT Henry VII
Problems facing Henry VII in England
Nobles
Nobles with wealth and territorial power who posed a threat as rivals to the crown. Often they had a relatively large force of men at their disposal too
Nobles who had supported Richard were weary of Henry and some still believed they could usurp him
Poor finances which arisen from wars at home and abroad
Uneven control, especially weak in the borderlands since there was no system of local administration
Henry's approach
Henry preferred to deal with these problems himself rather than delegate to his advisors
He often acted firmly and sometimes harshly due to his anxiety and suspicions around rivals, giving him a cruel reputation
Local and regional governement
Some areas of the country were controlled more by the nobility there than the crown
JPs
Earlier kings had created
JPs
(Justice of the Peace) who were responsible for public order, implementing laws and dispensing justice to criminals
They were appointed annually from the local land owners, with several per county. Usually second tier as Henry didn't want the magnates becoming too powerful
They met 4 times a year to try those accused of more serious crimes, except treason which was left to the crown
They did not receive an income for their work as it was felt that part of the responsibility of being a land owner was to maintain law and order and social order. It was also believed that being a JP was honour enough.
They only served for one year and then put up for reappointment. This meant henry had power over them as if they they failed to get reappointed then they were viewed as incompetent and damaged tier reputation. Therefore they had an incentive to do well and enforce henry's laws
As control varied so much from region to region, Henry didn't create one system of local government but instead relied on the most appropriate solution for each region
National Government
Parliament
Henry used parliament sparingly and on occasion when he did it was only to serve his own interests
Their main role was to approve Henry's rise in taxes and petition the crown
They met infrequently and only for short periods of time
Local representatives
Coucils chosen by Henry
Royal Council
The main development of Henry's reign was the emergence of committees that were offshoots from the RC and dealt with specific matters of policy for instance, the Council Learned in the Law and the Star Chamber
This was where Henry gathered his most trusted supporters to give him advice and take care of the day to day running of the kingdom
Court of the Star Chamber
The star court dealt with anyone who behaved in a lawless manner, during his reign Henry issued two tribunals, neither of which survived beyond his death
Tribunal 1495
This dealt with cases of perjury (the offence of wilfully telling an untruth or making a misrepresentation under oath)
Tribunal 1487
This dealt with laws against rioters etc.
Predominantly, the King ruled directly through decrees and proclamations
How did Henry improve the royal finances?
Henry took a more personal interest in national finances and dealt with the administration in the private rooms of his palace - the Chamber and Privy Chamber
He avoided aggressive foreign policy as this lead to war
He created a Surveyor of King's Wards to investigate where wardships owed him money and a
Court of Audit
to monitor government spending
He exploited his legal right to claim special payments from his nobles, which he often did harshly. He did this to expand the Crown's finances and remind them of his control