Legislation

• 1533 – The Act in Restraint of Appeals. This declared that all legal cases arising in England could be finally decided and determined in England.
• It was illegal to appeal to any outside or foreign power, such as the Pope, as Catherine was doing.
• The Restraint Act justified this by merely declaring that England was an empire not just a kingdom. This implied that appeals to Rome had always been illegal.
• 1534 – The Act of Succession. This declared that since Henry had never been married to Catherine of Aragon, Princess Mary was a bastard and could not inherit the throne.
• By contrast, since the marriage with Anne Boleyn was legitimate, then the children born to her and the king were the true heirs to the throne.
• 1534 – The Act of Supremacy. This made official what had been hinted at in the Act in Restraint of Appeals, that Henry was the Supreme Head on earth of the Church in England.
• Furthermore, the Supremacy Act declared that Kings of England had always been head of the Church, i.e. what was happening was not, officially, anything new or revolutionary.
• Cromwell immediately took steps to enforce the legislation just passed by Parliament.
• The members of both houses were required to swear an oath accepting the Act of Succession and all the King's subjects were now required to swear to the legitimacy of the marriage
• On 13 April, the London clergy accepted the oath. On the same day, the commissioners offered it to Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, both of whom refused it.
• 1534 – The Treason Act. This Act saw a major widening of the definition of treason and would be used to dispose of opposition.
• The Treason Act declared that treason could now be committed via words as well as actions. Thus it was treason to deny that the King was head of the church.
• It became treasonous to speak rebellious words against the Royal Family, or to call the King a heretic, tyrant, infidel or usurper.
• On 21 January 1535, the King appointed Cromwell Royal Vicegerent and Vicar-General, and commissioned him to organise visitations of all the country's churches, monasteries and clergy.
• In this capacity, Cromwell conducted a census in 1535 to enable the government to tax church property more effectively: the Valor Eccesiasticus