Extent of Henry VII's Success During his Reign

• Establishing Authority: Success

  Pre-dated his reign to 21st Aug 1485

  Married Elizabeth of York after his coronation and united the two Houses.

  Fathered two sons very quickly,securing his succession

  Gained control of nobles through bonds and recognizances and patronages.

  Put down threats and rebellions fairly easily.
• Establishing Authority: Failure

  Eldest son and heir to the throne Arthur died unexpectedly at age 13 and second son Henry was not raised to be King.

  Henry never felt safe and become increasingly paranoid later on in his reign, plots against him from within e.g William Stanley and the Perkin Warbeck imposture
• Henry's reform of Government: Success

  Council Learned helped massively to raise the Crowns's finance through Bonds and Recognizances.

  Court of Star Chamber was established 1487, which dealt with cases of common law involving nobles.

  Passes 138 attainders, giving him more power, money and land.

  Met with his Privy Council regularly.

  Worked cooperatively with the Church.

  Improved communication with regions through his councils

  Improved law and order through is establishment of local law and order, e.g JP's.
• Henry's reform of Government: Failure

  Council Learned were hated, especially Empson and Dudley.

  Parliament did not always grant Henry the money he requested.

  He relied on nobles and JP's to keep law and order, giving them increased power.

  There were 227 council members and they did not all meet at the same time.

  He was distant from nobles and the traditional contacts around the King, nobles felt misunderstood and forgotten.
• Foreign Policy: Success

  Henry pursued a peaceful, diplomatic policy with intentions to avoid war as much as possible for the sake of the Kingdom.

  Arranged the Medina Del Campo (1489) marriage treaty.

  Made peace with Scotland through treaties of Ayton 1489 and Perpetual Peace 1502.

  Poynings Law in Ireland meant that Henry had reasonable control over Irish laws.

  Good fishing spots were found in the Newfoundlands.

  Issues settled with Burgundy.

  He didn't have to fight with France AND got a pension of 50,000 crowns per annum.
• Foreign Policy: Failure

  Couldn't save Brittany from French conquest.

  Threats from Warbeck and Simnel jeopardized foreign relations as they gained foreign support.

  Trade embargos with Burgundy caused unemployment and loss of income.

  He upset the Hanseatic League with his Navigation Acts and didn't manage to break them up.

  Ferdinand of Aragon allied with France in his new marriage 1505.
• Economy: Success

  Increased annual Crown land income from £12,000 to £42,000.

  742,000 crowns payable at 50,000 a year from Etaples.

  Henry was actively involved in the Crown's finances.

  Henry VII is believed to have left behind £1.8 million on his death in 1509.

  He managed to raise over £400,000 from extraordinary taxation
• Economy:Failure

  He gained a reputation for being a miser King and only interested in money.

  His income was much less than the King of France and Holy Roman Emperor.

  Parliament did not always give him the revenue he requested, he only got £45,000 not £90,000 in 1491

  The actions he took to obtain extraordinary revenue were less than savory and seen as immoral and shady.
• Society:Success

  Henry successfully overcame 5 rebellions.

  He limited the number of nobles.

  He appointed trusted people as regional heads, like Jasper Tudor.

  England became more stable with the end of the War of the Roses.
• Society: Failure

  Henry had dealt with 5 rebellions which could've been disastrous.

  The people were not pleased with the raised taxations.

  Enclosures caused poverty and unemployment for people.

  Engrossing of farms sent some people into poverty.

  Trade embargo also caused unemployment.