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Topic 8- Henry VIII, government and parliament: - Coggle Diagram
Topic 8- Henry VIII, government and parliament:
A. Henry VIII's early govt
Henry preferred to delegate the day to day administration
Henry rarely used parliament in the beginning of his reign, mainly as he only used parliament at this time for extraordinary revenue, and Wolsey was reluctant tor rely on p'lament for the business of govt
Early conciliar government (1509-1514)
came to an end for a few reasons:
many of the councillors did not support war with france (angered Henry),
He surrounded himself with young like-minded individuals which created an echo chamber around Henry (leaving council out),
he was impressed by the work of Wolsey
Wolsey was organised and dedicated, and had effectively managed the campaign in france
Wolsey was personally close to the king which helped him achieved dominance
B. Wolsey's government (1514-1529)
Court of chancery: as lord chancellor he used the court to dispense fair justice
Court of Star chamber used more frequently from 1516 to deliver cheap and fair justice over legal disputes
was so popular he was forced to set up 'overflow tribunals' suggests it was successful
financial policy:
relied on extroadinary revenue but also raised subsidies (the 'Tudor subsidy')
he established a national committee (that he headed) which dealt with the assessment of taxpayers wealth
led to more direct and realistic assessments of wealth- which was more efficient and was used by Wolsey to raise extraordinary wealth for war with france
also tried to raise unparliamentary taxation through the amicable grant 1525- deeply unpopular which almost amounted to rebellion
Eltham Ordinances 1526: an attempt to reform the privy council's finances. In the guise of reducing household expenditure, Wolsey secured a reduction in the number of the Gentlemen of the privy chamber
privy chamber was an area Wolsey had little control over - most importantly he secure the removal of henrys groom of the stool, Sir William Compton, replacing him with the more compliant Henry norris
C. Establishing royal supremacy
The 'Kings great matter':
By the mid 1520s Henry was dissatisfied with his marriage- he had no male heir and he even considered legitimising his bastard Henry fitzroy- he had also fallen madly in love with Anne Boleyn
Henry required Wolsey to seek papal dispensation for the annulment of his marriage and was a major problem for Wolsey
Henry himself found biblical justification for the annulment, based on the book of Leviticus which contained a prohibition on a man marrying his brothers wife
claimed in gods eyes the marriage was illegal
however the marriage between Catherine and Arthur had never been consummated and so the biblical ban did not apply
May 1527 Wolsey used the power as the personal representative of the pope to bring Henry before a fake court to 'accuse' him of living in sin with his wife
Henry readily admitted, though CofA denied and in accordance with canon law appealed to the pope
fall of Wolsey:
after two years of diplomacy the pope sent an envoy- cardinal campeggio, to hear the case
the case was heard in London in June 1529- the case was adjourned on 30th July, which seemed Wolseys fate
October 1529- Wolsey is charged with praemunire and surrendered himself alongside all his possessions. He is arrested in November but dies before trial
praemunire= refers to a 14th C law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction in England
Tactics to pressure the pope/Catholic Church (as decided by Bishop Cranmer and Cromwell)
1531: The clergy were charged with praemunire and forced to pay £100,000
1532: The supplication against the ordinaries- accused bishops of abuse
1532; Act in conditional restraint of annates
1532: Official submission of the clergy (triggered resignation of More)
D. Cromwell's government (1534-1540)
Acts of Parliament (1533-1534)
Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533- drafted by Cromwell and declared that the monarch had imperial jurisdiction which was not subject to any foreign power
The Act of Supremacy 1534: made the king supreme head of the church
The Treason Act 1534- tightened the law so that treason could be committed by spoken word as well as by deed or writing- it was treason to describe the King as a heretic or tyrant for example
The Act of Succession 1534- succession was vested in the children of Anne and Henry, and denying the validity of the marriage was treasonable- an oath was to be taken to affirm individual acceptance of the marriage
fall of Cromwell:
by 1540 his influence was declining, but the catalyst was his falure to manage the marital status of the king effectively
Cromwell tried to reconcile Henry with the league of schmalkalden (organisation of German princes and free cities in the HRE) by arranging a marriage with German princess Anne of Cleeves (a protestant)
it was an unhappy partnership as Anne was unsuitable to Henry personally, and the marriage had become unpopular politically- the marriage was quickly annulled destroying Cromwells credibility with the king
gave Norfolk (his enemy at court) the chance to bring his downfall, and he was aided by his niece Catherine Howard at court
Cromwell was accused of heresy and treason at a council meeting and was executed in July 1540 (Henry and Catherine H married on the same day
two days later Henry had three protestants burned for heresy, reinforcing that the reformation was in tatters- he then maintained composure by executing three catholic priests on the same day
E. Govt In Henry VIII's last years (1540-1547):
in 1540 power lay with the conservatives in the council such as Norfolk and Gardiner- it was the troubles of henrys marital issues which helped shift the balance of power
Execution of Catherine H
in his eagerness to benefit politically, Norfolk had overlooked that his niece was already sexually experienced- there were also rumours of an affair between Catherine H and Thomas Culpepper
Catherine was executed alongside the lady of her bedchamber in Feb 1542 (it disgraced Catherines relatives)
Norfolk managed to extricate himself from the situation, but he was wounded politically- made worse by henrys marraige to Katherine P, who was a protestant (Norfolk tried unsuccessfully to embroil her in accusations of heresy)
Political rivalries and the death of Henry VIII
as henrys health worsened, rivalries intensified as whoever was most influential in the kings last months would likely dominate under his successor
Edward Seymour could play his trump card as the uncle of the heir to the throne
Norfolk was compromised by his over ambitious son, the Earl of Surrey, who threatened the kings throne and was executed for treason
Henry consented to Norfolks death, but Norfolk was spared the axe by the Kings death on 28th Jan 1547- the council did not want the new reign to start with bloodshed