Section C

• Government problems:

  -it was difficult for kings to control the distant parts of the kingdom

  -Ireland was a backdoor for foreign invasion of England

  -Wales retained its own laws and language

  -the north was run by Northern nobility with great power

  -running of government was done by the royal council but it was not well run as decisions were not officially recorded and it was often dominated by one man (previously wolsey)
• government reforms:

  -in Ireland Cromwell established a permanent military force -in Wales the 1536 act of union said that Welsh laws would be replaced by English laws -Wales was divided into counties which sent MP's to English government and English became the official language of Wales -Cromwell reorganised the council of the north and gave it greater responsibility for law and order to improve royal security -Cromwell created a new and simpler version of the royal council known as the privvy council made up of 20 advisors and a clerk to record decisions
• finance problems:

  -Henry needed to maintain magnificent court and defend England from invasion

  -in the 1530's Henry received big windfall from the dissolution of the monasteries and this needed to be organised

  -the kings chamber kept track of henrys income and expenditure but accounts were not properly kept and Henry's lack of interest meant it was badly organised
• finance reforms:

  -court of augmentations in 1536 to handle money from dissolution of the monasteries

  -it had central staff and regional offices to make sure the maximum income was obtained

  -the court of first fruit and tenths in 1540 collected a tax from clergy that had previously been sent to Rome

  -start of modern bureaucracy, as each department was staffed by well trained officers and was routinely checked
• parliament problems:

  -at the station of Henry's reign parliament was only called occasionally to raise money for wars or approve new laws

  -this changed in the 1530's as Henry and Cromwell needed parliament to pass laws changing the countries religion and establish king as the supreme head of the church

  -there was a danger that parliament would express opposition to Henry's policy's
• parliament reforms:

  -in 1532 Cromwell and Henry forced the house of commons to divide (vote) for the first time

  -this put them under pressure to vote for what the king wanted them to

  -in 1533 Cromwell was managing (interfering with) elections with bribery and threats so that the MP's supported Henry's reforms and this was not new but very effective

  -im members of the house of Lords disagreed with royal policy. they were told that they 'need not attend'

  -Cromwell wrote propaganda in the form of pamphlets outlining new laws for MP's to read in advance