Government

What did the local and regional government consists of? What did they control?

Had to rely on the presence of the local nobility as particular parts of the country (distant from London) were hard to control.

Earlier Kings had built up the numbers and power of Justices of the Peace (JPs) in more settled regions

• Appointed annually from local landowners

• Responsible for public order, making sure that laws were implemented and dispensing justice to criminals brought before them

• Met 4 times a year at the Quarter sessions to try those accused of more serious crimes (expect treason)

How did Henry escalate the power of JPs?

1485 - can arrest poachers and hunters

1491 - can grant bail

1495 - can vet juries

How did Henry VII used the local and regional government to deal with the uneven control he has?

Henry didn’t attempt to create 1 system of local government, but relied on the most appropriate solution for each region

• Restored the Council of Wales and staffed it with Welsh nobles under the leadership of Jasper Tudor and the honorary control of Prince Arthur

• Allowed the Earl of Suffolk to represent the Henry VII after the Earl of Northumberland’s death in 1489 (Suffolk had no lands or strong base of support there to rival Henry)

What did the national government consists of? What did they control?

Personal government by the King and his advisors at court

Parliament had a minor role in politics

• Mainly to pass laws that the King wanted And to vote him additional taxes

• Met infrequently and usually not for more than a few weeks or months at a time

Most of the time, the King ruled directly through decrees and proclamations

How did Henry VII used the national government to deal with the uneven control he has?

Henry kept the national government the way it is

• Parliament were called to serve the interests of the monarch and keep his subjects under control, often by Acts of Attainder

Henry gathered his most trusted supporters at the Royal Council to give him advice and to take on some of the tasks of day-to-day management of the Kingdom

• Records list 227 men, but much smaller membership in practice

What are the 4 sources of ordinary income?

Ordinary revenue: money that was collected regularly, without the need to obtain the permissions of Parliament

1. Crown lands

   Henry inherited all the lands held by the Houses of York and Lancaster, the Earldoms of Richmond and Warwick, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Principality of Wales. This is further increased by attainders.

2. Feudal dues

   Traditional rights held by the Crown to demand money (the King was the sole owner of all the Kingdom’s land

3. Customs duties

   Paid on goods entering or leaving the country (15th century - traditional practice for parliament to grant these revenues for the monarch)

4. Legal dues

   Money from fines and other payments made by people appearing before King’s courts

How was the administration of the Crown lands? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Henry was less inclined to grant lands to friends and family

• Preferred to hold on to them to maximise both his influence and his income from leases and rents

Developments:

1486: Henry used the Act of Resumption to reclaim all Crown lands that had been granted away since the War of the Roses (but didn’t always act on these claims)

Potential threat to noble family could be more useful to control them than demanding for the return of the land

How was the administration of the feudal dues? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

• Relief: paid by an heir when he received his inheritance

• Marriage: the King’s right to arrange marriages of the daughters of tenants at a profit

• Wardship: control of the estate of heirs under adult age, allowing Henry to manage these lands for his own profit

• Livery: payment made by a ward on reaching adulthood and taking control of his lands

Developments:

Exploited feudal payments for financial and political purposes

• Used them to ensure good behaviour

• Benefitted from wardships in certain powerful families (e.g. the Earl of Northumberland left a 10 year old son after he died)

• Improved management of these revenues (e.g. appointed a master of the King’s wards in 1503 to administer wardships)

1487: Henry’s income from wardship and marriages was £350

By 1507: risen to £6000 per year

How was the administration of the customs duties? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Money came from tunnage - taxes on exports and poundage - taxes on imports

• Particularly on the sale of wool, wine and leather

Henry tried promote trade to maximise this type of income

Development:

Henry introduced certificates for coastal trade ad twice updates the Book of Rates - sets out the charges on imports and exports of a wide range of items

Customs duties rate from about £33000 per year at the beginning of his reign to about £40000 at the end

How was the administration of the legal dues? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Payments from both common law courts and the special courts operated by the Royal council

Development:

Henry increased the use of fines and attainders

• Very lucrative sources of income

• (E.g. the attainder of Sir William Stanley in 1495 brought an immediate payment of £9000, and £1000 per year after)

What were the 5 sources of extraordinary income?

Extraordinary revenue: for emergencies only, such as war. Parliamentary approval was need to raise it, buy it also came from other ounces as well.

1. Bonds and recognisances

   Payments made as a guarantee of good behaviour

2. Loans and benevolences

   The King’s right to ask for financial help in particular emergencies

3. Feudal dues

   Based on the same claims as in ordinary revenue, but related to single, extraordinary occasions

4. Clerical taxes

   Special taxes which the King could levy on the Church

5. Parliamentary taxes

   Special grants of taxes by Parliament to finance royal policies (e.g. military action in Europe or Scotland)

How was the administration of the bonds and recognisances? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Demanded from those loyalty was suspect

Also applied to merchants who owned customs duties

Development:

Both political and financial purposes

• Payments could be substantial (e.g. Earl of Westmorland had to pay £10000 after the Battle of Bosworth)

• An effective way of maintaining control

Henry used a special government court - the Council Learned in Law to enforce payment of these debts

How was the administration of the loans and benevolences? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Organised by the Royal Court

• Loads could be requested from both individual and institutions (e.g. town cooperations)

Development:

The Council Learned in Law was also used to enforce these payments

An irregular source of income, raised as and when the King needed funds

• (E.g. 1491: £48000 was raised for war in Brittany of which £9000 was contributed by the City of London)

How was the administration of the feudal dues (extraordinary)? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

The King was entitled to gifts for special occasions (e.g. son getting knighted or daughter getting married)

Gifts were paid by leading nobles, but the Parliament was also expects to make a grant on behalf of the people it represented

Development:

Exploited this source of income fully

• (E.g. received £30000 from Parliament in 1504 for the knighthood of Prince Arthur , who died in 1502)

• Increased his demands for payments from nobles who had tried to save money by being ‘in distraint of knighthood’ - chose not to be a knight

How was the administration of the clerical taxes? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

The clergy were exempt from paying taxes to Parliament

• This form of taxation was the only way of recurring money from the Church

• Usually came in the form of a ‘voluntary gift’

Development:

Henry used his right to appoint leading churchman to raise money by selling offices (raised £300 for the post of Archdeancon of Buckingham)

This practice, called ‘Simony’ was forbidden by the Church, but widely practised

How was the administration of the parliamentary taxes? And what were the developments under Henry VII?

Administration:

Usually voted in the form of ‘tenths’ or ‘fifteenths’ taxes on the value of moveable property

Henry tried a form of direct taxation, not unlike income tax

• Wifey resented and soon abandoned

Development:

Often unpopular, but we’re available when needed

• Triggered 2 rebellions in Henry’s reign (1489 in Yorkshire and 1497 in Cornwall)

Henry avoided parliamentary taxes as much as possible