Henry VII

• Appointments to Council after Battle of Bosworth


  Key appointments to Council and household. For example, Sir Reginald Bray as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Sir William Stanley as the Chamberlain of the Household.
• Punishments after Bosworth

  Parliamentary Acts of Attainder against Yorkists – property was forfeit to the crown, increasing royal income. 

  For example, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey – imprisoned, all land attained as his father fought for Richard III. Quelled the Yorkshire rising and rewarded by regaining some of his estate. 

  138 attainders passed, 46 reversed. 9 against nobles, 5 reversed.

   
• Warbeck - Scotland, Ireland, Downfall


  Scotland support involved the marriage to Lady Catherine Gordon, receiving £1,200 per month. 

  Fled to Cornwall in 1497, joined by 6,000 Cornish yeomen, however lacked noble support.

  Executed in 1499 alongside the Earl of Warwick after 8-9 years of imposture and £13,000; the nobility were required to pay £14,000. 
• Henry VII Council

  227 men attended the Council during Henry VII’s reign. 

  The working Council contained 6-7 members.
• Key Members of Council

  Lord Daubeney, John Morton, Richard Fox, Sir Reginald Bray
• Council Learned in the Law

  In 1509, Edmund Dudley confessed that in at least 84 cases he had extracted money illegally.

  Revenue from Bonds increased from £3,000 to £35,000 between 1493-1505.
• Royal Court/Privy Chamber

  Royal Court presided over by Lord Chamberlain 1495: Lord Chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, involved with Perkin Warbeck plot. 

  This led to the establishment of the Privy Chamber. 
• Henry VII Parliament

  Henry VII’s parliament met 7 times – 5 times within first decade of reign.

  First two parliaments passed numerous Acts of Attainder. 

  First parliament granted tonnage and poundage for life - £37,000 per year. 

  Parliamentary grants also included extraordinary revenue – fifteenths and tenths; yielded £203,000. 
• JPs Extended Power

  In 1487, JPs were given the power to grant bail to those awaiting trial.

  In 1495, JPs were given the authority to deal with juries that were tainted by loyalties to a magnate. Henry VII maintained power as the Court of the King's Bench could override any decision made at a Quarter Session and JPs only served for a year.
• Bond Example

  Bonds: Marquis of Dorset whom Henry believed to be involved in the Simnel plot and after further reports of treachery in 1491, his friends signed bonds totalling £10000 as a promise of his good behaviour, £1,000 recognisance.
• Attainder Example

  Recognisances: Henry demanded a recognisance of £10000 from the Earl of Westmorland in 1485. This system was a financial threat against potentially disloyal magnates and raised much-needed revenue for the Crown.
• Acts of Attainder

  Acts of Attainder – 138 passed, 46 reversed. 1504-09: 51 passed.

  Sir Thomas Tyrell had to pay £1,738 to have his and his father’s attainders reversed. 

  Nobility fell by ¼ due to Acts of Attainder.
• Acts against Retaining

  Acts against Retaining – 1485, 1504. Required nobles to obtain a special license from the King before they could retain large numbers of men, and imposed large fines if they didn't. 

  Lord Burgavenny fined £5/month/illegal retainer: £70,000. Henry agreed to place him under a Bond and allowed him to pay back £5,000 over ten years.
• Crown Lands

  Crown Lands – At the beginning of Henry’s reign, income dropped to £12,000 – Crown Lands income was administered by the inefficient Court of Exchequer. 

  Finances improved with the adoption of Edward IV’s system of administration through the Chamber – increased land income to £42,000. 

  Effective treasurers of the Chamber: Sir Thomas Lovell and Sir John Heron. 
• Customs Revenue

  Customs Revenue – Increased annual revenue from £34,000 to £38,000 – tonnage and poundage granted for life from First Parliament.
• Extraordinary Revenue

  Extraordinary Revenue – Generated over £400,000. However, this came at a price of provoking rebellions such as the 1489 Yorkshire and 1497 Cornish rebellions. 
• Annual Average Revenue

  Annual average revenue rose from £52,000 to £142,000. However, this did not amount to French revenue of £800,000 and HRE revenue of £1.1 million.
• Henry VII Financial Legacy

  Henry left around £300,000 and £10,000 cash in plate and jewels, and £1.5 million.
• Treaty of Redon and Treaty of Etaples

  1489 Treaty of Redon signed between the HRE, Spain and England: anti-French alliance. Bretons agreed to fund English defences, however Spain and HRE didn’t help as HRE made an alliance with France in July 1489.

  Sent 3,000 troops to Brittany. Nonetheless, Charles married Anne in 1491.

  This led Henry to send an army of 12,000 to France, besieging Bolougne. This led to the 1492 Treaty of Etaples, ending the crisis.

  Annual pension of £5,000, promise not to support pretenders. 
• Margaret of Burgundy

  Margaret of Burgundy – Richard III’s sister, pro-Yorkist. Provided support to Yorkist pretenders to the English throne. Provided Simnel2,000 German mercenaries at the 1487 Battle of Stoke, legitimised Warbeck as her nephew. 
• Burgundy Trade Embargo

  Trade embargo on Burgundy until 1496 due to Phillip and Maximilian giving hospitality to Warbeck – national security over international recognition. 

  The embargo led to riots in London – 80 men involved; unemployed due to the embargo. 
• Magnus Intercursus

  Magnus Intercursus 1496 ended the trade embargo under the statement that Margaret of Burgundy would be deprived of her estate if she harboured Warbeck.
• Malus Intercursus

  Malus Intercursus 1506 – Trade with Burgundy to be free; Phillip would not impose duties on sales of English Cloth. Earl of Suffolk to be returned to England (John de la Pole’s brother, nephew of Yorkist Kings), executed in 1513 as HVII promised not to execute. 
• Treaty of Medina del Campo

  Treaty of Medina del Campo 1489 – marriage between Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon. Arthur’s 1502 death left the Treaty endangered, leading Prince Henry to be betrothed to Catherine instead. Mutual reduction in trade tariffs, dowry of £200,000.
• Castilian Crisis

  Relations deteriorated after 1504 due to the Castilian Crisis (disunity of Castile and Aragon with Isabella of Castile’s death), leading Ferdinand of Spain to ally France, marrying Louis XII’s niece. With Philip of Burgundy’s 1506 death, Ferdinand took back Castile, inheriting immense power, thus not needing an alliance. 
• Scotland and Warbeck


  King James IV came of age and offered hospitality to Warbeck in 1495. Stayed 2 years at the Scottish court, gaining an aristocratic marriage to the King’s cousin, Lady Catherine Gordon. Gained an annual pension of £1,500.
• Truce of Ayton and Treaty of Perpetual Peace

  1497 Truce of Ayton agreed a 7-year-long truce, secured the marriage of James IV of Scotland to Princess Margaret; first Treaty with Scotland since 1328. Led to 1499 execution of Warbeck. 

  This led to the 1502 Treaty of Perpetual Peace - Finalised marriage between James IV and Princess Margaret in 1503. Promised perpetual peace. 
• Ireland Earl of Kildare

  Dominant figure was the Earl of Kildare (leader of Geraldines) – Yorkist sympathies - provided support for Simnel but crowning him the King of Ireland in 1486. Supported Warbeck in 1491: recognised as the true King of England. 
• Geraldine Family

  In 1485, the Geraldine family held many important government positions including Lord Deputy and Chancellor of Ireland; stripped the Geraldine family of their posts due to support of pretenders. 
• Governmental Control in Ireland

  Some attempt at governmental control of Ireland - Henry appointed Prince Henry as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The position of Lord Deputy was given to Sir Edward Poynings; trusted advisor.
• Poyning’s Law

  Law passed in England automatically applied to Ireland; 'Poyning's Law' - remove any independent authority of Irish government and reinforce the authority of the king.
• Dominated landownership.

  Peerage comprised 50-60 men.

  Only trusted Lancastrian military commanders – Earl of Oxford, Lord Daubeney – had political influence.1486 – oath against illegal retaining > 1487 law against retaining > 1504 licences could be sought. 

  ·       Lord Burgavenny fined £5/month/illegal retainer: £70,000. Henry agreed to place him under a Bond and allowed him to pay back £5,000 over ten years.

  ·       37 Knights of the Garter created. For example, Earl of Oxford.
• Nobility

  Dominated landownership. Peerage comprised 50-60 men.

  Only trusted Lancastrian military commanders – Earl of Oxford, Lord Daubeney – had political influence.

  1486 – oath against illegal retaining > 1487 law against retaining > 1504 licences could be sought. 

  Lord Burgavenny fined £5/month/illegal retainer: £70,000. Henry agreed to place him under a Bond and allowed him to pay back £5,000 over ten years.

  37 Knights of the Garter created. For example, Earl of Oxford.
• Owned 15-20% of land. However, Henry owned 5x more land than Henry VI, in his later years. 1490 – 500 knights. 

  1% of the population. 


  Gentry
• Churchmen

  Henry appointed men who had legal training and whose administrative competence > spirituality. Reluctance to appoint men whose background was aristocratic. 

  Roman Catholic dominated,

  10,000 clergy – 35,000 secular clergy.

  John Morton, Richard Fox: most important. 
• Commoners

  By 1500, 2 million.

  ½ lived below the poverty line. Feudal system – structuring society around holding of land in exchange for labour (stratified society). 

  95% of people lived off land. 

  Black death killed 20-40% of population. 
• Regional Divisions

  Londoners looked down upon ‘savage’ northerners. Northerners despised southern riches.

  Agricultural divide: Teesmouth – Dorset: ¾ of population lived below the line, whereby mixed farming predominated in densely population counties: Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent. Sparsely populated areas – North, West: pastoral farming predominated (rearing of sheep, cattle, horses). 
• Enclosure

  Meant that tenant farmers lost trips of land; common land enclosed – unrest as villagers claimed customary rights.

  1489 Anti-Enclosure Act; little practical effect – biggest issue in Midlands, however less than 3% land enclosed.
• Yorkshire Rebellion 1489

  Caused by the Great Tax of £100,000 to support Brittany, only £27,000 raised.

  Rebels murdered the Earl of Northumberland.

  Composed of 5,000 rebels.

  The rebellion was put down by the Earl of Surrey, however Henry – careful regarding taxation – didn’t impose until 1497.  
• Simnel Rebellion 1487

  Lambert Simnel Rebellion; passed as the Earl of Warwick – crowned as King Edward in Ireland, May 1487.

  Led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln – potential Yorkist claimant. 

  Margaret of Burgundy provided 2000 German mercenaries to invade England; raised very little support in the North.

  Led to the Battle of Stoke Field, 1487: rebels had an army of 8,000 against the Royal army of 15,000. 

  John de la Pole killed in Battle.