Britain 1487-1509
In depth study into Britain 1483-1529.
This section is on
- Foreign policy
- Domestic policy
- Domestic Industry
- The nobility and controlling the nobility
- Government and Parliament
- The Counsel and Counsel Committees
- The Court
- Justices of Peace
- The Church, Papacy and pre-reformation
- Finance including ordinary and extraordinary revenue
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- Created by: ArtisicBiscuit
- Created on: 24-05-10 14:35
The Nobility
Nobles
- Nobles were drawn into central government work
- Henry VII, however, relied heavily upon his royal servants and counsel which suggests he was somewhat anti-noble
- This is due to the fact that royal servants and members of the counsel were low-born and not members of the nobility by birth
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The Nobility
Controlling the nobles
- Henry VII was reluctant to grant titles and give land as rewards
- He developed Order of the Garter instead, which placed prestige on nobles without taking off the crown
- Acts of attainders and financial sanctions such as bonds and recognisances were a way of controlling the nobility
- The nobles were under close surveillance too
- Star Chamber over saw charges against nobles and punished them accordingly
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Institutions
Government
- Henry VII was closely involved in government
- He developed already existing institutions and relationships more effectively
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Institutions
Court
- The English court was a source of patronage
- It grew in size and importance during Henry VII's reign
- Henry VII lived at court along with those who served him
- There was three sections to the court:
- Service departments (Kitchen, scullery, etc.)
- Privy Chamber (Formal reception areas)
- Chamber (The King's quaters) - The Chamber was overseen by the Chamberlain
(NOTE: Patronage = land, titles officer, salaries given to royal servants who worked at the court)
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Institutions
The Counsel
- Henry VII ruled through his counsel
- The counsel advised Henry VII and acted as a court of law
- Despite the counsel's power, it had few procedures or formal rules
- When the King went on a progress, the counsel ran the day-to-day country
- 227 men have been recorded attending the counsel but Henry VII only consulted six or seven loyal, close advisors
- The counsel was the link between the King and government
- It was also the link between the local governments and the central government
- Messages, orders, reports were sent between the main counsel and the JP's
(NOTE: JP's = Justices of peace who controlled the localities)
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Institutions
Counsel Committees
- Counsel committees took specialist work from the counsel
- The first counsel committee was the Court of Star Chamber in 1487
- It dealt with complaints of maintenance, riots and abuses of privileges
- However, Star Chamber wasn't successful but other counsel committees such as counsel learned in the law, in 1495, was effective
- This counsel dealt with the King as a feudal landlord, managing feudal income
- It also collected debts such as bonds and recognisances
- Sir Reginald Bray was put in charge of this committee
- Empson and Dudley then took over upon Bray's death in 1509
- Henry VII also set up a counsel under Prince Arthur to run the North of England
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Institutions
Parliament
- Parliament was made of of the Commons and Lords
- It was called by the King to deal with legislation and to grant tax
- Henry VII called only seven parliaments during his reign
- He legislated though parliament to strengthen royal authority
- Parliament ensured law across the realm
- It emphasise that there was one ruler in England
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Institutions
JP's
- Justices of peace controlled the localities
- Their duties included:
- Controlling riots
- Controlling illegal retaining
- Controlling gambling/ unlawful games - Henry VII increased their work load to limit power of sheriffs
- JP's were amateurs; unpaid, crown appointed, crown controlled, crown rewarded
- Henry VII always anxious about how efficient the JP's were
- Low performance could result in a JP's suspension for the following year
- The JP's were a social mix
- Magnates
- Churchmen
- Lawyers
- Gentry
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Institutions
The Church
- Henry VII was Roman Catholic
- Through out his reign, Henry VII kept tight control over church appointments
- Loyal, well educated churchmen were employed for important roles
- The church strengthened royal control in England
- Henry VII was lenient towards Richard III's churchmen
- They were allowed to keep their positions if they could prove their loyalty
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The Church
Papacy
- There were 3 Pope's during Henry VII's reign
- Henry VII did not have disputes with any of these pope's
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The Church
Pre-Reformations
- The Lloard organisation were heretics during the late 15th century
- Out of 73 heretics Henry VII capture, only 3 were burned at the stake since the remaining 70 retracted their heresy
- Leading reformists of Henry VIII's reign were already in positions of high importance under Henry VII
- The building blocks for the reformation were already put in place
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Finance
Crown expenses
- Henry VII had inherited a bankrupt throne
- Fortunately, Henry VII was well practiced in managing little money since he was penniless in exile
- Henry VII's main aims for fiance were:
- To fund both ordinary and extraordinary expenses
- Continue centralisation of power and discipline - Ordinary expenses had to be funded by ordinary revenue
- Extraordinary expenses had to funded by extraordinary revenue
- Both types of revenue were collected by specialised collectors who were atched and rewarded by the King
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Finance
Ordinary Revenue
- Customs Duties
- The tax on imported and exported goods - Crown Lands
- Income generated from the extensive lands owned by the crown - Feudal Dues
- Tennants-in-chief had to pay a relief to inherit land
- If no heir was available land was given to the crown along with a payment from the deceased's fortunes
- If the heir was a minor, the King took wardship of the land including all profits from it until the heir came of age - Profits from Justice
- Fees to have cases heard in court
- Money from fines issued to criminals by the courts
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Finance
Extraordinary Revenue
- Parliamentary subsidies
- Fifteenths and Tenths - Loans
- From rich nobles and subjects - Benevolences
- Forced loans
- Not repaid - Bond and recognisances
- Payments if a behaviour was not as agreed (i.e. loyalty) - Feudal aids
- Tennants-in-cheif obliged to pay aid to the King
- Were no repaid - Clerical Taxes
- Paid by the church assembly
- Matched the amount raised by the Parliamentary subsidy - French Pension
- Income paid by the King of France
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Finance
The Exchequer and Chamber
- Yorkist King's had used a Chamber system to deal with finances
- This system had collapsed with the Yorkist dynasty
- Therefore, at the start of Henry VII's reign the Exchequer system was used to organise finances at first
- The Exchequer system was then used to keep accurate accounts
- Gradually, the Chamber system was reintroduced and raised revenue more effectively
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Domestic industry
Main industries in England
- Wool and cloth trade
- Tin mining
- Lead mining
- Coal mining
- Metal working
- Ship building
- Paper making
Industry
- 90% of English trade was internal
- Traders used rivers and coast to move goods
Coastal trade therefore was massive - Little advance in Henry VII's reign
- Henry VII didn't appear to have much involvement in trade
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Domestic industry
Main exports from England
- Wool
- Cloth
- Barley
- Malt
Main imports to England
- Wine (France)
- Wood (France)
- Iron (Spain)
- Cod (Scandinavia)
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Domestic industry
Agriculture
- England was an agricultural country
- Enclosures were beginning to replace open fields
- Enclosures:
- More effective
- Generated a bigger profit
- Generated more produce
- Depopulated rural areas - The wealth and health of the country depended upon harvests
- Prices of food and exports depended upon the harvests
- The size of the population depended upon the harvests
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Domestic industry
Wool and cloth trade
- Industry was dominated by the wool and cloth trade
- It took place on individual farms
- Cloth and wool merchants brought about capitalist production and helped increase exports
- The Merchant Adventurers, who exported cloth from London, grew
- Merchants of the Staple, who exported raw wool, declined though
- The Hanseatic league continued to thrive until Henry VII took away their majority on English precious metal exports in 1489
- This was soon reviewed when Henry VII needed the Hanseatic league's support
- The Merchant Adventurers undermined the Hanseatic league anyway
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Domestic industry
Cloth trade and Burgundy
- Burgundy was the primary source for English trade
- This was due to the fact that the majority of English exports were cloth and wool and Burgundy was the centre from cloth trading in Europe
- Trade was a bargaining chip between the two countries
- The Trade Embargo in 1493 but political pressure on Burgundy to not support pretenders
- It was resolved in 1496 by the Intercursus Magnus restored trade but it's terms were negotiated later in the Intercursus Malus
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Domestic Industry
Trade with France
- Both countries used trade as a political bargaining chip, stopping trade to adjust political alliances:
- 1487 - France stopped trade due to Henry VII support against France
- 1492 - Treaty of Etaples reduced trade restrictions
- 1495 - France ended all trade restrictions to ensure English neutrality over the Italian wars
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Trade
Overseas trade
- Increased during Henry VII's reign
- Still wasn't the primary source of crown income
- Generated about £40'000 per year
- Foreign relations were linked with trade
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Finance
Currency
- 1485
- Henry VII introduced a new coin system for political and financial reasons
- He introduced a shilling with the first monarch portrait
- This was an example of Tudor propaganda
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