Section B: The rise of Wolsey and his policies

• when did thomas wolsey become england's most senior official?

  during the first half of henry viii's reign
• when was wolsey appointed lord chancellor?

  1515
• what does becoming lord chancellor mean?

  he was henry's chief minister and main advisor
• what other jobs does wolsey have?

  he was archbishop of york, cardinal, papal legate?
• what is the papal legate?

  representative of the pope in a foreign country
• wolsey was a son...

  of a butcher
• when did wolsey gain his degree?

  at 15 years old
• when did wolsey get appointed royal almoner?

  in 1509
• what is royal almoner?

  in charge of giving charity to the poor
• what does becoming royal almoner mean?

  a member of the royal council
• what was wolsey's 'big break'?

  in 1512, henry needed someone to organise an army for way with france. wolsey worked hard and developed a well equipped and well supplied army to france in 1513. this persuaded henry to give him a lot more power
• what was wolsey also referred as?

  alter rex
• what does alter rex mean?

  second king
• what happened to wolsey's opponents?

  they could be jailed in the tower of london, or financially ruined through expensive lawsuits
• what was wolsey's income as archbishop of york?

  £3000 a year
• what was his position in terms of wealth?

  ten times richer than his nearest rival, and second only to the king in terms of wealth
• what did wolsey build himself?

  york house, and hampton court.
• how was the legal system of england flawed?

  it was slow, expensive, and often unfair
• why was the legal system of england unfair?

  it favoured those with money and influence
• how did wolsey make it clear that no one was above the law?

  in 1516, henry percy earl of northumberland, a hero from the 1513 battle of the spurs, was sent to prison for breaking the law
• how did wolsey strengthen the court of the star chamber?

  1. increased the court's work rate (from 12 cases a year to 120)
  2. oversaw many cases in person
  3. made the reasons for his decisions in person
  4. encouraged poor people to bring cases to this court
  5. supported the cases of the poor against the rich
• what was the court of the star chamber?

  the royal court set up by henry vii to give out justice on the king's behalf
• why was wolsey still criticised after his reforms to the legal system?

  some felt that his main motivation was to get revenge on the upper classes, who treated him badly because of his humble origins
• what was it henry wanted that caused wolsey to improve the finance of england?

  henry wanted to follow an aggressive foreign policy but itwas expensive, and henry's normal average yearly income was £110,000, which was not enough to win wars
• what was direct taxation?

  where each community had to pay the crown a percentage of their movable goods.
• what was the percentage to be payed for moveable goods?

  one fifteenth of the value in rural areas, and one tenth in urban areas
• what was wolsey's solution to improve the system of direct taxation?

  with the subsidy.
• what was the subsidy?

  it was an additional tax based on an up to date assessment of a person's income. (the greater a person's income the more tax that person paid)
• how much did the subsidy raise between 1513 and 1516?

  £170,000
• how many subsidies did wolsey collect during his time as lord chancellor?

  four
• how much was spent on fighting wars between 1511 and 1525?

  £1.4 million
• what is enclosure?

  the practice of individual landowners fencing off land for profitable sheep rearing, and was blamed for poverty in rural areas
• what could enclosure lead to?

  farmers being forced off their land and the removal of common land where villagers could graze animals
• what did wolsey do to solve enclosure?

  in 1517. he set up an enquiry to investigate where land had been enclosed without proper permission.
• what did the enquiry that wolsey lead to?

  over 260 court cases being brought against landowners
• in what year did the angry landowners in parliament forced wolsey to call a halt to an investigation into enclosed land?

  1523
• how long was the eltham ordinances?

  79 chapters
• what rules did the eltham ordinances contain?

  1. servants who were sick, or not needed were laid off
  2. the number of people who were allowed expenses for things like food, drink, fuel, and lodgings was cut
  3. meals were at set times, instead of constant
  4. dogs were banned to promote cleanliness, although the ladies were still allowed to keep small spaniels
• what did wolsey do to the gentlemen of the chamber?

  he reduced it from 12 men to 6 men. he did this to save money, but to also sideline is political rivals
• what were the reasons for the amicable grant?

  1. the king of france was defeated by charles V and captured in 1525. henry wanted to seize the opportunity to invade france while its vulnerable
  2. england had used up most of its money in failed invasion of france in 1523, so it needed to raise money
  3. wolsey had aleady demanded forced loans and subsidies 1522-24, so he needed new ways
  4. his solution = was to impose a new direct tax without gaining the approval of parliament. this risked rebellion.