Wols+Hen

• Henry VIII


  The Renaissance Prince
• Ascended to throne


  1509
• No rival contenders – elder brother died 1502
• Catholic England


  • Acknowledged the authority of the Pope
  • Church extremely powerful
• Henry VIII


  • Strong athlete
  • Enjoyed dangerous sports e.g. jousting
  • Musician - sang, played instruments, composed
  • Educated - spoke French, Spanish and Latin
  • Social - good dancer and enjoyed entertainment
  • Very stubborn - difficult to get him to change mind
• Divine Right of Kings

  Henry believed he had been chosen by God
• Henry VIII


  • Believed no one could challenge the King and was very stubborn
  • Gave a lot of power to one key advisor e.g. Wolsey and Cromwell so he could delegate boring tasks
• Henry VIII's Strengths


  • More popular than his father
  • Handsome and regal
  • Experienced advisors
  • Little threat of rebellion
  • Strong alliance with Spain through his wife
  • No debt
• Henry VIII's Weaknesses


  • Only 18 and no experience
  • Spent lots of money on wars and banquets
  • Little interest in daily affairs of government
  • Took part in dangerous sports
  • Would not listen to advice
• 94% of the population lived in the countryside, 6% of the population lived in the towns
• The main trade in England was in wool and cloth. It was exported to countries like the Netherlands. The crown charged taxes on wool exports. 83% of cloth in Europe came from England.
• Tudor Government


  • Privy Chamber - King's closest friends – lots of influence over the King
  • Royal Household - nobles and servants who served and advised the King
  • Royal Council - nobles and churchmen who helped run the government
  • The Court - nobles who entertained the King
  • Parliament - passed laws proposed by the king and granted taxes
  • JPs - kept law and order across the country
• Wolsey


  • Not nobility – his father was a butcher
  • Very intelligent and ambitious
  • Willing to carry out the King's wishes
  • Ruthless in removing opposition
  • Known as Alter Rex – second King
• Wolsey's Positions


  • 1509 - Royal Almoner and on the council
  • 1512 - in charge of raising army for war with France
  • By 1515 - Lord Chancellor and a Cardinal. He had influence over the King and the Church
  • 1518 - Became Papal Legate – the Pope's representative in England
• Why did Wolsey rise to power?

  1. Henry didn't involve himself in day-to-day government so this increased Wolsey's power as he had to carry out the tasks Henry didn't want to do

  2. Appointment as Royal Almoner 1509 made him a member of Royal Court so had access to Henry to impress him

  3. Henry disliked many of his father's advisers so made way for Wolsey

  4. Wolsey impressed Henry 1512 by providing well-equipped and supplied army for war with France

  5. Persuasive personality and good at flattery

  6. Financially ruined his rivals to get them out the way
• Wolsey's Domestic Policies


  • Wanted fairer system of justice so rich not above law, strengthened Star Chamber (royal court), encouraged poor to being cases to court, increased court work rate
  • Enclosures - introduced fences to divide land into fields to graze sheep so owners could sell wool, reduced land available to renting farmers and poor, Wolsey enquiry in 1517 to reduce effect on poor, 260 court cases but made unpopular with landowners
  • Took back Crown lands from nobility = £15,000, forced loans from landowners in 1522 and 1523, clerical tax – gifted money from church, subsidy – tax on income - more you earn the more you pay, 1/15s (rural) and 1/10s (urban) taxes on moveable goods
  • Eltham Ordinances: tackle misspending of palaces, cut spending on meals / servants, firing unneeded servants, reducing expenses, reducing Privy Chamber from 12 to 6 men
• Amicable Grant


  Wolsey's attempt to raise taxes
• Wolsey's Aims for Foreign Policy

  • To create better relationship with France and Spain
  • To play the two countries off against each other to strengthen England's position
  • To provide Henry with military glory
  • To promote Henry was an international peacemaker
• Wolsey's Foreign Policy Timeline

  1. 1512 – England and Spain form anti-French Alliance

  2. 1512-14– Henry's first war with France – Battle of the Spurs

  3. 1518 – Treaty of London

  4. 1520 – Henry and Francis I meet at the 'Field of the Cloth of Gold'

  5. 1521 – Treaty of Bruges

  6. 1522-25 – Henry's second war with France

  7. 1525 – French defeated at Battle of Pavia, Francis I taken prisoner

  8. 1525-29– Anglo-French Alliance

  9. 1528 – England and France declare war on Charles V

  10. 1529 – Treaty of Cambrai
• Successes of Wolsey's Foreign Policy

  • 1514 – The Battle of the Spurs – final battle that gave Henry the victory
  • 1518 – Treaty of London – promised universal peace by proposing each state followed a non-aggressive foreign policy to not attack each other. If one did attack, all the others attack back. Signed by 20 European leaders and Pope. Made Henry look good as peacemaker. Prevented war for 3 years.
  • 1520 – Field of the Cloth of Gold - Francis I and Henry meet. Nothing decided or agreed at meeting but made them both look good
• Failures of Wolsey's Foreign Policy

  • 1522 – 1525 – Treaty of Bruges – French war and alliance with Charles V failed because Wolsey's support for Charles V against France in Treaty of Bruges. Based on idea Charles would help seize French land and give Henry French throne. Didn't happen.
  • 1525 – Battle of Pavia – Charles ignores Henry's decision to divide France and Henry get the throne. Instead he releases Francis I from captivity. War cost £430,000 = very unpopular!
  • 1925-1929 Anglo-French Alliance against Spain – failed as French defeated and Henry didn't send much support so looked bad
  • 1529 – Treaty of Cambrai – Francis I made peace with Charles V but left Wolsey and Henry out of negotiations.
• Catherine of Aragon


  Henry VIII's wife
• Catherine was pregnant at least 6 times between 1509-1520 but only one child survived, Mary. She was 6 years older than Henry so by 1527 at 42yrs was unlikely to get pregnant again
• Threatened the succession


  No male heir would encourage others to claim the throne which could lead to invasion / civil war
• Henry blamed her for not giving him a healthy son


  He had a son with a mistress so obviously couldn't be his fault!
• Henry thought he was being punished by God for marrying his dead brother's wife


  Bible = if this happens they will be childless
• Catherine didn't want annulment as it would make her a mistress and Mary, her daughter, would lose claim to the throne
• Reasons for Henry's annulment


  • Reasons to stay married: Henry loved Catherine, She had been a successful regent during the wars with France, It provided an alliance with Spain
  • Reasons for annulment: She had been pregnant six times but had only one daughter Mary, and no sons, By 1527 she is 42 and unlikely to have any more children, Henry had an illegitimate son so he was not at fault, Henry had turned his attention to Anne Boleyn, Henry believed God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife (Leviticus)
• Attempts to achieve the annulment


  Henry needed the Pope to grant him an annulment. This would upset Catherine's nephew Charles V who controlled the Pope at this time. Catherine appealed against the annulment. Henry put Wolsey in charge.
• Reasons for Wolsey's Downfall

  • Failure of the Amicable Grant
  • Made lots of enemies at court with his reforms in taxation, enclosures and the Eltham ordinances e.g. the Boleyn family
  • Wolsey's foreign policy made England look weak against France and Spain
  • Wolsey failed to get the Pope to grant the annulment
  • Anne Boleyn influenced Henry and persuaded him that Wolsey was on Catherine's side
• Why Wolsey's Domestic Policy Failed

  One reason was the Eltham Ordinances, where Wolsey introduced a reform that tackled the wasteful spending going on within the government. This upset the nobles within the government, other men who had the King's ear and were very influential. They were upset at having their expenses cut and servants reduced, and at Wolsey's attempt to limit their influence by reducing the size of the Privy Council. As a result he made many enemies, and others looked for ways to remove him from the King's favour.