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HVIII government and parliament - Coggle Diagram
HVIII government and parliament
overview
happy to let others do the work for him
varied style of government
two main functions of parliament remained - grant extraordinary revenue and to pass laws
first minister Wolsey regarded parliament with distaste
first part of reign followed pattern of his father - rarely used parliament
Cromwell exploited parliaments legislative policies
Wolsey and end of government by councils
conciliar approach adopted at start lasted until 1514
Henry became disenchanted with the reluctance of some of his fathers senior councillors to start the war with France
Henry surrounded himself with like-minded young courtiers who reinforced his suspicions of the old guard
he became impressed with the organisational skills of Wolsey who had the ability to give the king precisely what he wanted or to convince the king of what he assumed he wanted
Wolseys influence derived from the closeness of his relationship with Henry - his main concerns were domestic policy and political decision making
privy chamber
an area of gov that before 1519 lay outside of Wolseys control
role extended when Henry's minions (a group of young courtiers who enjoyed his personal favour) became Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber - it transformed their status and the privy chamber
the minions distrusted Wolsey - in 1519 he secured the removal of the minions and relpaced them with his own supporters but most of the minions were able to regain their place
domestic policy under Wolsey
court of chancery
Wolsey, as Lord Chancellor, was responsible for overseeing the legal system
had the right to preside over the court of chancery and tried to use it to uphold fair justice - eg he used the courts to deal with problems of enclosure, contracts, and land left to others in wills.
the main problem with the CofC is that it became too popular and justice was slow as it became clogged up with too many cases
star chamber
Wolseys most distinctive legal distribution came through the operation of the court of the star chamber
was established by an act of parliament in 1487 and became the centre of both justice and government under Wolsey
Wolsey's motive of extending the use of the star chamber was to increase cheap and fair justice - he heard cases of alleged misconduct by people who were dominant in their own localities
also encouraged the use of the star chamber for private lawsuits - it proved too successful and was forced to set up a series of 'overflow tribunals' to deal with the pressure of business
a permanent committee set up in 1519 became the ancestor of later court requests whose job was to deal with cases involving the poor
finance
it was expected that taxpayers would provide extraordinary revenue when required
Wolsey did not invent the subsidy but he made a substantial change in the way subsidies were collected - instead of using local commissars to access taxpayers wealth, Wolsey set up a national committee which assessed the wealth of taxpayers
by doing this Wolsey expected to be able to fund the war with France but the amount was insufficient and attempted the 'amicable grant' of 1525 which led to widespread resistance and amounting to an almost rebellion
many historians believe he did not manage parliament well - parliament grumbled about his financial demands
Eltham ordinances - 1526 Wolsey introduced these to reform the finances of the privy council. Wolsey secured a reduction in the number of Gentlemen of the Privy and most importantly, secured the removal of Henry's groom of the stool Sir William Compton and replaced him with the more compliant Henry Norris
the kings great matter
by mid 1520s - Henry was dissatisfied with the state of his marriage
Catherine had not produced a male heir and was past the child-bearing age - only one child had survived infancy (princess Mary)
Henry considered legitimising his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy
Henry had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, the niece of Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk - she was unwilling to become his mistress as her own sister had
Henry required Wolsey to grant a papal dispensation for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine - this posed a major problem for Wolsey
Biblical justification
- it was probably Henry who found this himself - the Book of Leviticus contained a prohibition on a man marrying his brothers wife so Henry argued that the papal dispensation granted by Julius II was invalid. he claimed that in God's eyes his marriage was illegal and that he was therefore free to marry Anne -
this argument posed a problem as Catherine argued that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated and therefore the biblical ban did not apply
in may 1527 - Wolsey used his power as the personal representative of the pope to bring Henry before a fake court to accuse him of living in sin with his supposed wife however Catherine of Aragon refused the courts final verdict and in accordance with cannon law, appealed to the pope
the fall of Wolsey
Wolsey was aware his fate rested on securing an annulment
after 2 years of fruitless diplomacy, the pope sent an envoy, Cardinal Campeggio, to hear the case - the hearing opened on 15th June 1529 but campeggio adjourned it on 30th July therefore sealing the fate of Wolsey who failed to get the dispensation
Wolseys fall, although sudden, was not unexpected - he was already unpopular for the amicable grant of 1525
in October 1529 he was charged with praemunire (being loyal to both church and king) and surrendered himself and his possessions - on November 4th 1530 he was arrested and the intention was for him to be tried and executed but he died at Leicester Abbey on 29th November
domestic policies under Cromwell
conciliar government continued for 3 years after the fall of Wolsey
Cromwell rose swiftly as he suggested that Henry should make a break with Rome and place himself as the head of the church -
by 1532 he was the kings chief minister
Cromwell didn't have the same influence as Wolsey but he came to dominate royal government
historian Geoffrey Elton has suggested that he brought a 'Tudor revolution in government' - the role of the royal household diminished, his own position as secretary within the household was given new status as Cromwell placed himself at the head of developing a new state bureaucracy. the privy council assumed a new significance
parliaments role in government developed during 1529-1536 when the 'reformation parliament' was in session - all attention was turned to Henry and the split from Rome