Henry VIII’s government

• Thomas Cromwell served as Henry VIII’s chief minister from 1535 to 1540 and helped implement the Henrician Reformation.
• After Wolsey's fall, Cromwell gained favor with King Henry VIII and played a key role in the dissolution of monasteries and the establishment of the Church of England.
• Cromwell was born into a poor family, but he rose through the ranks of the church and became an influential advisor to Cardinal Wolsey.
• The Submission of the Clergy (1532) gave the monarch control over the clergy
• Cromwell also oversaw the passage of laws that strengthened royal power and increased the king's control over Parliament.
• 1509-14: Conciliar government
• 1514-29: chief minister wolsey
• 1529-30; conciliar government
• 1530-40; cromwell is minister
• 1540-47; conciliar government
• First part of the reign, Pariliament was used to collect revenue
• Second part, Cromwell saw Parliament as a way to pass laws to ensure Henry’s divorce and religious change
• Henry did not share his fathers dedication to the government, so he tended to delegate power to his Chief Ministers
• Giving ministers power, it encouraged what his father largely avoided - factionalism at court.