How well did Wolsey serve Henry VIII

Created by: Dan
Created on: 15-05-13 15:21

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How well did Wolsey serve his king?
- Wealth of the crown
  - Act of resumption (1515)
    - Returned land lost by the nobility in the civil wars of the previous century.
    - It was bitterly opposed by some of the noblemen
  - Subsidy tax 1513 and 1523
    - Added onto fifteenths and tenths
    - Raised £325,000
    - Wolsey asked for 4 shillings per pound but only got 2
  - Forced loans 1522-23
    - Introduced it to pay for the war, raised £240,000
    - Very unpopular, everyone knew that they would not be getting their money back
  - The amicable grant (1525)
    - Even though it was Henry's idea, Wolsey took the blame for it, protecting king and country
      - It was Henry's idea so to some extent embarrassed him
    - In Suffolk 10,000 peopled rebeled
      - It was considered too much after all the other taxes and forced loans
    - Wolsey bypassed parliament which was not poplular
  - Wolsey's personal wealth
    - Wolsey's wealth as a servant of the king perhaps reflected well on Henry
    - Wolsey's court could awe domestic rivals
    - Wolsey's wealth made him a strong target from opponents
      - He was prepared to steal e.g the earl of Derby
        Wolsey's personal wealth
        Wolsey's wealth as a servant of the king perhaps reflected well on Henry
        
        Wolsey's court could awe domestic rivals
        
        Wolsey's wealth made him a strong target from opponents
        He was prepared to steal e.g the earl of Derby
- Order and Administration
  - Centralization of power
    - By centralizing the power he helped create a nation free from foreign interference
    - appointed Justices of peace to reduce the power of English nobles
    - Wolsey was more interested in maintaining his own power e.g he expelled minions from the court because of their influence
  - Eltham ordinances (1526)
    - Unnecessary jobs were eliminated
      - 12 gentlemen of the privy chamber was cut to six
      - Access to the king was reduced
        Just another attempt by Wolsey to gain more power
        12 gentlemen of the privy chamber was cut to six
        
        Removed specific opponents such as the Boleyn brothers
        Once he completed these he lost interest in reform
  - Relations with Parliment
    - He expected Parliament to merely rubber stamp his and Henry's polocies
    - Ran the country without their advice
  - Relations with the Nobility
    - They had a mutual toleration
    - Did not wish to break the nobility just bend it to to the kings will
    - They had a degree of hostility
      - e.g blamed for the Duke of Buckinghams execution
- Law
  - Court of the of the star chamber
    - Wolsey believed in impartial justice for all people
    - Wolsey sat in the court for several times a week meaning 10* the amount of cases that it had dealt with before
      - e.g Henry Percy 5th earl of Northumberland
      - Strengthen the crowns authority
        e.g Henry Percy 5th earl of Northumberland
  - Court of Chancery and the Court of requests
    - Poor people were able to get their cases heard quicker and more cheaply
    - Wolsey's reforms did not go far enough, he only slightly tinkered with it
  - Wolsey had a genuine interest in the law and justice, he increased the workload and made it easier for poor people to get help
    - Often waved fees that the poor owed him. Tried to fix prices to stop exploitation e.g 1518 the just price mechanism
  - Wolsey was quite happy to trample poor peoples rights when it suited him. He often used it as a means of control
    - MP Robert Sheffield imprisoned on an unjust charge for speaking out against the church
- Enclosures
  - Wolsey made effort to stop greedy land owners enclosing common land
    - In 1517 he launched a successful campaign to prosecute 222 landowners out of a total of 260 charged
  - Wolsey failed to stop the practice of enclosures, he abandoned the effort in 1523 in a deal with parliament in return for the taxes for Henry's second French war
- Spiritual Matters-control and management of tne church
  - Wolsey's control of the Church and treatment of the Pope
    - Wolsey's only master was Henry VIII
      - This gave Henry De Facto control over the church and centralization of power in England
    - Wolsey gained Legate powers temporarily in 1518 and permanently
      - This gave Henry De Facto control over the church and centralization of power in England
    - Wolsey blocked the Popes attempt to get a general European peace treaty and a crusade against the Ottoman empire
      - Then hijacked the treaty and organised one himself
        Makes Henry look good
    - Once he had his legate powers he largely ignored the Pope
      - Come back to bite him when Henry wanted an annulment
  - Wolsey's jobs and abuses of the church
    - In 1523 Wolsey and his allies controlled 13 of the 23 bishoprics
      - Henry gained clear control over the church and the power of the Pope was reduced
    - Wolsey's own conduct was full of abuses
      - Used church funds to pay for his extravagant lifestyle
        Gave church positions to Tomas winter his illegitimate son
      - He had far too many church positions
        He was Archbishop of York and Bishop of Durham despite not setting foot in either areas (absenteeism)
  - Church Reforms, Tackling heresy and the dissolution of 30 minor monistaries
    - Church reform: improved priests education by forming the Cardinal's college in oxford in 1525 and a grammar school in Ipswich .
      - Came up with other ideas such as increasing the number of bishoprics and reforming the corrupt monasteries e.g the unruly abbey of Thame
      - Banned Lutheran books in 1521 and later arresting suspected heretics
      - Dissolution of the minor monasteries, aroused little opposition because they were considered unfit for purpose
    - Made no serious attempts to make the church a better organisation, milked it for everything he could
      - Was look warm about tackling heresy as he did not care for religion
      - Used money from the dissolution to build his oxford college rather than giving it to the crown

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How well did Wolsey serve Henry VIII

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