Tudors - Government

• Henry VII: Council Learned in Law

  - Managed the King's assets (feudal and financial)

  - Enforced bonds and recognisances

  - Increased Crown revenue

  - Deeply unpopular as it extracted money from subjects
• Henry VII: Justices of the Peace

  - Maintained law and order in the countryside

  - Mostly consisted of local gentry who hoped for local prestige

  - Parliament Acts such as tax assessments were passed to increase the powers of JPs
• Henry VII: Privy Chamber


  - Formed after being betrayed by Lord Chamberlain Stanley, who plotted with Warbeck

  - Made up of the monarch's personal servants, granting direct access to him

  - Used for work and leisure

  - Difficult for those out of favour to ever regain the king's support
• Henry VIII: Early aims - Marriage to establish status in Europe

  - Encouraged by his councillors' desire to divert his focus from politics

  - Initially successful, and Catherine had some influence over policy

  - Eventual regret for Henry as Catherine couldn't provide a male heir
• Henry VIII: Early aims - Re-establish the nobility

  - Henry VIII restored the political power of the nobility by embracing their military culture and pursuits, allowing their sons to become close companions

  - Didn't regain political dominance as Henry favoured Wolsey's interests
• Henry VIII: Early aims - Foreign policy

  - Aimed to change his father's policies by prioritising military glory, aligning with the traditional nobility

  - Henry wasn't consistent in his governance, focusing more on pleasure than ruling
• Henry VIII: Later aims

  - Diverged from his father's legacy through warfare and lavish spending

  - Inconsistent in his governance, focusing more on pleasure than ruling

  - Oversaw statute law expansion and Parliament's importance, as well as the drastic decline in the Church's wealth

  - Ruthless in executions and impulsive in decisions, causing challenges in governance
• Henry VIII: Wolsey - Star Chamber


  - Wolsey extended its use from 1516 to provide cheap and fair justice and encouraged its use for private lawsuits

  - Set up a permanent committee to handle cases involving the poor
• Henry VIII: Wolsey - Finance

  - 'Tudor subsidy': Replaced local commissioners with a national committee headed by himself for taxpayer wealth assessment

  → Direct and realistic assessments improved the nation's revenue base

  → Raised insufficient revenue for war in France

  
  

  - Wolsey tried to raise revenue through the 1525 Amicable Grant, which led to large rebellions
• Henry VIII: Wolsey - Establishing royal supremacy

  Henry's 'Great Matter'

  - Securing a papal dispensation for the marriage annulment proved difficult for Wolsey

  
  

  - Wolsey brought a fake court to accuse HVIII of living in sin, hoping it would make the Pope grant his wish

  
  

  - However an adjourned case meant the annulment didn't go through, so Wolsey was dismissed
• Henry VIII: Cromwell's council

  - Cromwell reduced the royal household's role and elevated the importance of the secretary position

  
  

  - Issued a number of Acts which settled the marriage annulment and led to religious reform

  → Restraint of Appeals (1533) and Supremacy (1534)
• Edward VI: Somerset's council

  - Ran the Regency Council set up by Henry

  - Many within the Privy Council started to resent the protectorate, and factions started to emerge

  - Those who originally supported him were frustrated with his arrogance and dictatorial manner, as well as his policy failing and government style
• Edward VI: Northumberland's council

  - Purged the conservatives in government (Southampton, Arundel) for protection

  - Paget increasingly excluded from decision-making

  - After Somerset's execution, Northumberland became less conciliar and removed presumed enemies
• Edward VI: Northumberland's council - Succession

  - Produced a plan (Devyse) to alter the succession to prevent the catholic Mary from ascending to the throne

  - Mary and Elizabeth declared illegitimate with preparations to ratify Lady Jane Grey, however the Devyse became patently illegal after Edward's death
• Mary I: Royal government - Immediate weaknesses

  - Catholic in a kingdom of Protestants

  - Lacked political instinct due to her upbringing

  - Loyal and trusted supporters lacked serious experience in government (e.g. Rochester and Bedingfield)
• Mary I: Royal government - Relations with her council

  - Councillors included Bishop Gardiner and Lord Paget, who upheld religious conservatism

  
  

  - Lost confidence in Paget due to his opposition to her religious programme; lacked trust for Gardiner

  
  

  - Cautious cooperation between her and Parliament - many opposed the reversal of Edwardian legislation
• Mary I: Problems with succession - Spanish marriage

  - Many were hostile to the idea of Mary marrying Philip as they didn't want any foreign influence in English affairs

  
  

  - Parliament not happy with Philip's lack of time spent in England

  → Prevented his coronation in 1555 and rejected a treason bill that included him
• Mary I: Problems with succession - Succession plans

  - If childless, Protestant Elizabeth would take the throne, creating a major problem for Mary

  
  

  - Denying her succession rights would mean having to overturn the 1544 Act which brought both of them back into succession

  
  

  - The childless Mary had to eventually accept Elizabeth as her successor