Early years & the dominance of Wolsey

Early years

Became king in 1509 at age 17 and was viewed as an intellectually gifted ‘renaissance prince’. He was granted a papal dispensation for him to marry Katherine as she was his brother’s widow & this remained stable for a long period of his reign. Ronald Hutton states ‘his early sense of inadequacy left him with huge ambitions and a constant desire to prove himself’.

Wolsey’s background & rise to power

He was a butcher’s son from Ipswich & was often looked down on by members of the court for his lower class. He entered the clergy in 1498, became royal chaplain in 1507 & then rapidly rose to power - was Dean of York 1513, Archbishop of York 1514 & Lord Chancellor & Cardinal 1514. He organised much of Henry’s early policies & was viewed as an ‘alter rex’. Became papal legate 1518.

How Wolsey rose to power - luck

It can be argued he was in the right place at the right time as many of Henry VII’s old ministers were elderly & being driven out of court.

How Wolsey rose to power - charm

He made the most of his opportunities to rise to power & displayed an entertaining, flattering, witty & sociable personality, making him popular. He also gave Henry presents to get what he wanted.

How Wolsey rose to power - opportunism

He had a flexible outlook & effectively used it to align with Henry’s plans. For example he initially opposed the war with France but became enthusiastic about it when it became clear Henry refused to change his mind.

How Wolsey rose to power - intelligence

He had phenomenal organisational skills & received his first degree at 15. He also recognised that a career with the church was the best route to fame & fortune if you weren’t born into privilege.

How Wolsey rose to power - industry

He had an insatiable appetite for work and was determined to serve Henry in every way he could. He was ordered to take a trip to Flanders & made it there and back in 3 days without him realising he’d even gone - Henry had to advise him to take a holiday.

Henry’s early policies - marriage & coronation

He married Katherine of Aragon within weeks of becoming king on 11th June & she became a highly educated & important political influence over him. They then had a joint coronation on June 24th.

Henry’s early policies - removal of rivals

He arrested Empson & Dudley & convicted them of treason due to their harsh treatment of the nobles. They were executed on 12th August & the Council Learned in Law was abolished. Edmund de la Pole was executed in 1513.

Henry’s early policies - wars

He declared war on France in 1512 & won the Battle of the Spurs in 1513. Katherine also won against James IV in the Battle of Flodden.

Henry’s different ways of governing to his father

Where his father was calculating & subtle, he was brash, extroverted & recklessly extravagant. He perceived the role of a monarch differently as he wanted to be popular & prioritised glory & chivalry - got on well with the nobles. He was much less interested in the detail of day to day government than his father, creating periods of his reign where it can be argued others like Wolsey were in charge.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - Eltham Ordinances & the Star Chamber

He introduced the Eltham Ordinances to reduce the influence of others at court & to reorganise finances of the privy chamber while also promoting himself. He also began to use the Star Chamber more frequently to attack nobles & local officials abusing their power. However these only really antagonised the nobility & didn’t improve the government.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - help of the people

He became known as a ‘friend’ of the poor as he encouraged commoners to bring complaints to the court & increased the number of complaints heard a year to 120. He also used the court of requests as it was low cost and reached decisions quickly in an attempt to improve the slow & unfair delivery of justice.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - tax

He organised a national survey in 1522 which assessed who could pay tax & how much - gained £200,00 from it. He also proposed the subsidy which was a more flexible tax to overcome inflation & expensive foreign policy. It was based on income over property but didn’t raise as much as hoped.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - Amicable Grant

Was an idea he proposed to take away money from the church & ordinary taxpayers based on property. It was based on a sixth to a tenth of the value of goods & a third for the clergy. It resulted in the only significant rebellion in the first half of Henry’s reign.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - enclosure enquiry

He launched a national enquiry into enclosure & it’s effects in 1517 & used the results to create commissions & cases against landlords who’d enclosed land without permission. However, failed to fully deal with the issue.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - parliament

He attempted to rule without it - it was only called in 1515 & 1523 which was a big contrast to the later parts of Henry’s reign - it became marginalised. However, this created a dictational style of government & a questionable moral view of him by others. His attempts at legal reform also antagonised lawyers as he lacked legal training.

Wolsey’s domestic policies - improvement of economic issues

Economic problems from foreign policy & trade embargoes arose which disrupted the cloth trade & coincided with one of the worst harvests of the season in 1527 - caused mass unemployment. Wolsey undertook a recoinage & increased the number of coins in circulation. This stimulated exports but ultimately created a rise in prices as coins were seen as worthless. Expenditure also became too high (£1.7 mil) & an economic depression occurred in the 1520s.