Role and Effectiveness of Tudor Chief Ministers

What roles did Wolsey have?

• 1514 - Bishop of tourney, Lincoln, and York

• 1515 - Cardinal and Lord Chancellor

• 1518 - temporary papal legate

• 1524 - permanent papal legate

When was Cardinal Wolsey Chief Minister?

1515-1529

what is the star chamber?

• A court stemming from the King’s council

• intended to supplement the judicial activities of the common-law and equity courts e.g. in cases involving influential people or matters that common law courts couldn't handle effectively

What was Wolsey’s domestic policy on law like?

• 1516 → Expanded the activities of the star chamber

  • used to challenge power of nobility

  • hopes to increase cheap and fair justice

  • encouraged the use for private lawsuits = too successful → set up ‘overflow’ tribunals

• increased the power of the Court of Chancery

  • Where Wolsey made legal decisions

  • had right to preside over court - Lord chancellor

• created ‘court of requests’

  • tried civil cases from poor

  • reputation = ‘friend of the poor’

What was Wolsey’s domestic policy on finance like?

• 1515 Act of Resumption

  • attempt to increase revenue from crown lands (decreased to £25,000 per annum)

• Subsidy tax

  • based on more accurate valuations of taxpayers wealth

  • successful → brought in £300,000 between 1513-15 and 1523

• raised £240,000 in clerical taxation

• raised £260,000 in forced loans

What limited Wolsey’s financial policies?

• Amicable Grant

  • additional tax 1525

  • fund Henry’s expedition to France

  • failure → caused rebellion in East-Anglia and widespread non-payment

• despite raising roughly £820,000, government expenditure was £1.7 million (1509-22) → income could not finance war

• attack on enclosure made him unpopular with nobility

What was Wolsey’s domestic policy on administration like?

• 1526 Eltham Ordinances

  • attempts to reform finances of the privy council

  • attempts to ensure his own political supremacy

  • reduced no. of gentlemen in privy chamber

How did Wolsey rule over the church?

• Wolsey = Papal legate → had precedence over Archbishop of Canterbury

• dissolved 30 religious houses → used money to build colleges at Oxford

• church became more centralised → more influence from crown

• said to have had ruled over the church ‘despotically”

How did Wolsey tackle enclosure?

• began legal proceedings

  • cases against 260 landowners → 188 clear verdicts

  • stirred up further hatred

What was foreign policy like under Wolsey?

• Directed foreign policy at preserving peace

  • 1518 Treaty of London → representatives from major powers agreed to perpetual peace

• Henry VIII went against Wolsey’s advice

  • invaded France 1523 → forced to withdraw

  • wanted to invade France in 1525 (couldn’t → amicable grant)

How was Wolsey’s domestic policy successful?

• Increased Work rate

  • 14 years as chancellor → 9000 cases brought before star chamber & Chancery

  • star chamber → 12 cases a year to 120 cases a year. 

• oversaw cases personally

  • sat as judge in star chamber several times a week

• improving court efficiency → Eltham ordinances

• prepared to attack abuse of power by aristocracy

  
  

How was Wolsey’s domestic policy limited in success?

• court couldn’t cope with amount of work → overflow tribunals

• opposition to reforms → enclosure, taxation etc.

• lack of reforming church

What were the reasons for the fall of Wolsey’s power?

• disliked by nobility → enclosure

• amicable grant failure → Henry’s ambitious foreign policy aims also failed

  • lead to Henry VIII to slowly lose confidence in him

• Failure to secure the annulment

  • Wolsey tasked with obtaining this annulment of the marriage of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII

  • Pope refused to give approval

  • Wolsey failed → extended Henry's growing frustration

when did Wolsey die?

• arrested for treason November 1530

• died Nov 29th 1530 on the way to his trial

What was Cromwell’s background like?

• humble origins

• no formal education

• obtained a position in Wolsey’s household

• became Cardinal’s secretary in 1520s

when was Cromwell chief minister?

• 1532-1540

What made Cromwell successful to become chief minister?

• Helped Henry get the annulment → break with Rome (see religious flashcards)

How did the no. of parliaments acts increase?

• under Cromwell, Parliament met more frequently and more laws were passed

• 1509 → 1531 - 203 Acts passed

• 1532 → 1540 - 333 Acts passed

• power of parliament increased

What was Cromwell’s domestic policy like?

• 1540 Act to abolish sanctuary

• 1536 → organised the financial department's

• 6 financial departments functioning independently

• Court of Augmentations

  • crown income increased £150,000 → £300,000

• “revolution in government”

• no. of people in the people in the privy council decreased

  • 70 served as privy councillors

  • only 20 seemed to conduct business of government

• Act of union 1536

  • Strengthened Henry’s control without major unrest

  • Modernized government administration

  • Unified the kingdom legally and politically

  • Laid foundations for a stronger English nation-state

what were the limitations/opposition to Thomas Cromwell's domestic policies?

• Pilgrimage of Grace

• enemies at the royal court

  • powerful nobles → resented his religious and economic reforms and his influence over Henry VII

• Duke of Norfolk

  • powerful noble

  • actively worked to discredit and undermine his position

What caused the downfall of Thomas Cromwell?

• Anne of Cleves Marriage

  • arranged Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves

  • intended to secure an alliance with German Protestant princes

  • marriage proved to be a disaster → Henry found Anne unattractive and alliance unnecessary

• The Pilgrimage of Grace

  • rebellion against the Reformation

  • damaged Cromwell's reputation

  • caused Henry VIII to lose confidence

• Cromwell's own ambition

  • seen as a ruthless and ambitious figure

  • made many enemies in his rise to power 

Making the Council of the North permanent:

Cromwell transformed the Council of the North, which had previously been a temporary body, into a permanent government organization to oversee the northern region of England