Tudor Government

1500s – Power in the Tudor Period

• Under the Tudors, the monarch became more powerful as they were elevated above the aristocracy rather than being the most important noble
• The first Tudor king, Henry VII, tried to place the monarch above the nobles
  • He used royal courts to control the nobility
  • He used patronage, so the nobles depended on him for important jobs, gifts of land and other privileges
• Henry VIII built on this and took royal power to a new level when he made himself head of the Church of England
  • He appointed administrators from outside the aristocracy, although he still relied on the great nobles and rewarded loyal allies generously
  • He was ruthless in crushing his opponents
• Elizabeth I had to struggle for survival before struggling to succeed the throne
  • She then became one of England’s most successful rulers
  • She could be ruthless in crushing rebellions, like her father
  • She could intimidate nobles, refusing to accept their advice
  • However, she tried to be a more approachable monarch than her father
    • She presented herself as the kingdom’s mother
    • She controlled the nobles and parliament through charm and persuasion as much as through power or force
• In this period, the nobles’ power reduced
  • Henry VIII’s top ministers were not noblemen
  • The great nobles had to fight for a place at court to have any influence on important decisions or to be granted a high-ranking job or gifts of land
  • Henry VIII and Elizabeth kept nobles divided amongst each other but loyal to the ruler by creating rivalry for these gifts
• The nobility was still very important
  • The great families still ruled over large portions of land on behalf of the ruler, ensuring the kingdom was properly run
  • The Privy Council remained dominated by great lords
  • The nobles provided armies for wars
  • Henry VIII and Elizabeth relied on nobles to persuade parliament to accept various measures
• Parliament had grown in importance towards the end of the medieval period, and continued into the Tudors; this was mainly because of religion and money
  • Henry VIII’s decision to break with the Catholic Church was a huge step and he needed a wide base of support for the Reformation
    • He had to appeal to the gentry, so he made some of them members of parliament
  • Henry VIII and Elizabeth were both short of money
    • The government had become to expensive for the monarch to pay for themselves
    • Parliament agreed to taxes and other measures because they were being consulted on important matters

1485-1509 – Henry VII and the Political Nation

• Henry VII transformed the Political Nation by limiting the power of the great nobles
  • Decisions were made in the royal courts; nobles who didn’t attend did not decide
  • Nobles who misbehaved or challenged royal authority were disciplined in the Star Chamber
  • Nobles didn’t want to miss out on patronage, so they stayed close to his watchful eye
  • He built up the wealth of the Crown by avoiding expensive wars and by determinedly collecting taxes
  • He promoted able members of the gentry to important posts

1509-47 – Henry VIII

• Henry VIII continued many of his father’s measures to extend the power of the monarchy
• Henry VIII had an infamous portrait taken which illustrates his power, wealth, impressiveness and intimidation
• Henry Howard was descended from the Plantagenet family, which ruled England from 1155-1399
  • Howard was seen by King Henry as a potential to challenger to his son Edward
  • Howard and his father, who had helped to crush the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, were killed in January 1547
  • 26 yeas earlier, Buckingham, Howard’s grandfather had been charged with treason and executed for attempting to install himself as lord protector
• During his kingship, Henry VIII promoted ordinary men to positions of power because of their abilities
  • He had two key advisors from humble backgrounds
• Thomas Wolsey was born in 1473 to a butcher, he excelled at Oxford University, and eventually became a chaplain to Henry VII who used him on diplomatic missions
• Henry VIII made Wolsey Archbishop of York and the pope made him a cardinal
  • In 1515, he became Henry’s lord chancellor
  • He brought in effective reforms to taxation and the justice system
  • In return, he acquired land, titles and wealth
• Wolsey fell from power when he was arrested for treason in 1529 because he was unable to convince the pope to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon
• Thomas Cromwell was born in 1485 to a blacksmith, became a lawyer and a merchant, and was recruited by Wolsey in 1516
  • After Wolsey’s downfall, Cromwell became an MP and member of the Privy Council
  • He became Henry’s chief minister in 1534 where he carried out the break with the Roman Catholic Church and oversaw the creation of the Church of England
  • He also carried out the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s
  • In 1540, he became Earl of Essex, and later that year he fell from power for failing to bring the political alliance with Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves
• Cromwell was arrested and executed without trial in July 1540

1509-47 – Henry VIII and Parliament

• Henry VIII’s parliament was made up of the House of Lords (50 nobles) and the House of Commons (300-350 gentry)
• Henry did not sit in parliament, instead he used his close allies and increased the significance of parliament
• Henry needed money because he was always eager to start wars to show dominance
  • He fought expensive battles against the French and the Scots
  • He spent large sums on building alliances to increase England’s status
  • Wolsey and Cromwell were effective in raising money, but all taxes had to be approved by parliament, making it more important
• Henry VIII’s reign was challenged during his clash with the Catholic Church
  • Because the pope refused to annul his marriage, Henry established and headed the Church of England, but he had to persuade parliament to be able to do so
  • The Act of Supremacy was passed in 1534, making Henry head of the new, independent Church of England
  • Henry increasingly began to seek parliament’s approval for significant measures as it became evident that he could not pass a law on his own
• Henry widened the Political Nation, and he had to rely on parliament to help him do so
  • By passing the Acts of Attainder, parliament helped Henry to crush some of his enemies among the nobles
  • Henry clashed with parliament regularly, but he usually reached a compromise
  • The authority of the king increased with the authority of parliament, through co-operation

1509-47 – Henry VIII and the Nobles

• Henry curbed the power of nobles by passing laws to restrict the number of retainers noblemen could have and by promoting men who were not nobles to positions of power
• Despite the increasing influence of parliament and men from lower social classes, nobles were still extremely powerful because Henry needed them for war, security, communications, and the Privy Council
  • Henry could only fight wars if the nobles were willing to assemble their armies and finance the wars
  • Henry relied on forces commanded by nobles during rebellions
  • Henry was forced to rely on nobles to spread messages to distant parts of the country
  • Henry’s closest advisers in the Privy Council were all nobles, and they had key roles
• In parliament, the House of Lords had the most influence
• Additionally, Henry listened to powerful nobles; such as the Duke of Norfolk who persuaded Henry to get rid of Wolsey and Cromwell

1558-1603 – Elizabeth I

• Elizabeth faced challenges of accession, religion, rebellions and marriage during her reign
• In 1558, Elizabeth became queen of an unstable country and made an immediate positive impression from the day of her coronation
  • Elizabeth was Protestant, but her sister Queen Mary was Catholic, so Mary imprisoned Elizabeth
    • Elizabeth ensured she did nothing against her half-sister
    • Generally, she always took advice of counsellors – even frustrating them by dithering over important decisions
    • However, she ignored advice if she knew she was right
  • Elizabeth believed in divine right, so all the tribulations proved she was chosen; therefore, she believed that har final decision should not be challenged
• Elizabeth faced the problem of what religious standpoint to take for the country
  • Although Henry had broken with the Catholic Church in 1534 and established the Protestant Church of England, many religious practices remained the same.
  • Edward VI was also Protestant, but he introduced changes that many were unhappy with
  • The protestant Lady Jane Grey was chosen as Edward’s heir, but Queen Mary claimed it instead
  • Mary was a devout Catholic so reversed her brother’s changes and burnt Protestants at the stake
• Elizabeth had a dilemma and there were sound reasons for a Catholic and a Protestant England
  • Politically, it would’ve been easy for Elizabeth to continue with the Catholic faith as the two European powers would’ve deemed Protestantism a threat
  • In England, Puritans wanted radical religious change, but most nobles, along with Elizabeth, hoped for a moderate form of the faith
  • In May 1559, she announced the country would be Protestant once again
  • Unlike Mary who persecuted Protestants, Elizabeth did not directly prosecute Catholics
    • She introduced a recusancy fine which impoverished several Catholic families, however they could’ve chosen to attend Church of England services to avoid the fines
• Catholic France and Spain were a threat to England and there were serious plots and rebellions by Catholics in England
  • The Spanish Armada of 1588 illustrated this
  • The Spanish helped Irish lords in a rebellion against Elizabeth in the 1590s
  • Elizabeth and her ministers spread negative propaganda about Catholics in France and Spain, making people suspicious of English Catholics
  • In 1569, Elizabeth faced the Northern Rebellion where the leading northern nobles, Westmoreland and Northumberland, hatched a plot to put Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne in place of Elizabeth
    • Elizabeth executed all 750 people involved with the event but still resisted any suggestions of harsh laws against Catholics
  • Mary was imprisoned until 1586, when it was discovered she had been writing letters to a Catholic plotter, so Elizabeth executed her
• Throughout her reign, Elizabeth came under immense pressure to get married
  • The men who made up the majority of the Political Nation felt uncomfortable being ruled by a woman; so, if she married, her husband would be the real influence
  • Elizabeth could’ve secured a strong political alliance through a foreign marriage
  • It was important that she had an heir to rule after her death
• However, Elizabeth chose not to marry
  • Elizabeth came close to marrying Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester in the 1560s, but her Privy Council persuaded her not to
  • Elizabeth claimed she was married to her people, and her utter devotion lay with the country, boosting her status
  • Elizabeth was proposed to by foreign princes and all the great nobles pretended to be in love with her
  • Elizabeth did not have an heir and ignored encouragement to appoint one; it was a failure of her duty to provide a stable succession however, she probably wanted to avoid plots against a future monarch

1558-1603 – Elizabeth I and Parliament

• On the whole, Elizabeth had a good relationship with parliament because she consulted them on all issues
• Sometimes, when she knew she was right she would ignore advice, but when she was unsure of a course of action, she would spend time dithering
• Elizabeth was often reliant on her privy council to inform the rest of the Commons; they were encouraged to raise questions to Elizabeth, prompting her to consider all sorts of actions; marrying, Church reform and the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots
• MPs were able to voice concerns, so therefore they were more likely to accept new policies
• The Queen and parliament had a good working relationship, they met 18 times in her 44-year reign
• The majority favoured her moderate stance on religion and defence and encouraged her to attempt to build up trade and colonies overseas
• However, some MPs raised controversial issues which the queen dealt with effectively by imprisoning them
  • In 1593, Peter Wentworth raised the issue of the succession; he was imprisoned in the Tower of London until his death three years later

1558-1603 – Elizabeth I and the Nobles

• The nobles continued to be a significant force during Elizabeth’s reign
• Elizabeth’s privy council was made up of nobles, and she also had the Council of the North and a Council of the Marches, run by the powerful nobles in the areas bordering Wales
• Elizabeth kept the same courts as her father, including the Star Chamber
• Queen Elizabeth also relied on great nobles in war to build up forces
• The nobles competed amongst each other for the most important roles and pieces of land
  • The queen’s single status helped her to balance the wants of the nobles
• On most occasions, the Queen was able to balance the rivalries, however she favoured the Cecil family
• In January 1601, the Earl of Essex claimed he was trying to free the Queen from the evil influence of the Cecil’s however, he didn’t have much support and was quickly captured and executed

1485-1603 – Parliament and the Tudors

• The key changes in this period were in parliament’s authority and value rather than its structure
• Parliament usually only met when summoned by the monarch, usually when money was needed, or an important law had to be passed
• Parliament’s structure and membership stayed the same
  • The main decisions were still made by the monarch and the Privy Council
  • The Speaker was in charge of the House of Commons and made sure MPs obeyed the rules
  • MPs sat in the House of Commons and represented counties or large towns and there was no standard way of choosing MPs
  • The types of people changed as the population was growing and prospering so more people were eligible to choose MPs
• In Henry VII’s parliament there were 250-300 MPs
  • Henry VII used Acts of Attainder to reduce the power of the nobles
    • They accused an individual of treason and parliament voted him guilty or not
• By the end of Henry VIII’s reign, there were 343 MPs
  • In Henry VIII’s reign, parliament became even more important because of his constant need to raise taxes and the break with Rome
    • The partnership increased parliament’s prestige and it was consulted about important changes
• By then end of Elizabeth’s reign, there were 462 MPs
  • Elizabeth did not call parliament often however she consulted them on important measures
• During the period, the Commons gained important privileges
  • Freedom of speech for MPs
  • Freedom from arrest whilst in parliament
  • The Speaker could speak to the monarch when needed

How important was religion in helping Henry VIII and Elizabeth I rule? [14]

What was the most serious challenge facing monarchs in the Tudor period? [14]