Wolsey's Domestic Policies
- Created by: RachelMarie22
- Created on: 20-05-21 11:43
1. Administration - Summary
Wolsey tried to manage access to Henry VIII to his own political advantage
Focussed on court, fellow councillors, Privy Chamber
Bogged down by huge volume of work
1. Administration - Strengths / Limits
Strengths:
- Local government more efficient – royal servants placed into key county positions, outsiders used for commissions
- Dealt with problems left by death of Henry VII
- General Surveyors’ (auditors of royal land) role formalized – previously unofficial
Limits: In his interest to remove potential opponents from being close to Henry VIII
- No major structural reform of administration – two occasions to improve but these were self-serving
- 1519: expulsion of the minions in the name of reform and economy. Reform programme dropped 1520 then used as ambassadors/ military posts
- 1526 Eltham Ordinances – motivated by politics (removing opponents/rivals) not efficiency
- Halved Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to 6
- Replaced Groom of the Stool William Compton with Henry Norris (politically neutral)
2. Legal Reforms - Summary
Wolsey made Lord Chancellor in 1515 - ultimately in charge of the legal system in England
Active in Court of Chancery and Star Chamber: > heard over 9000 cases - active in his role
Tried to make justice accessible and fairer to lower orders in society
Tried to make judgements more systematic: civil law -> prioritised civil law over common law
- >Civil law fairer than common law
Motivation debateable - Was Wolsey doing it for the common good or his own political advantage?
- Altrustic approach / motives - Wolsey is a humanist and wants to be good/ fair
- Self-severing - Wolsey was selfish and did things for his own self interest, these gains are political and financial
2. Legal Reforms - Strengths/ Limits
Strengths: Prioritised this area of law, gave it his time, his energy and talent
- Unveiled law enforcement plans 1516
- Used courts to overturn common law- applied law firmly on magnates
- Developed and reformed role of Star Chamber: encouraged appeals against abuse, cases rose from 12 to 120 per annum
- Judgements against nobles e.g. Earl of Northumberland, Lord Burgavenny - particularly around areas like land ownership
- This promise of fairness encouraged people to use the legal system
Limits: Used existing systems: did not introduce institutional reform – no systematic review or improvement of system
- Overburdened system – backlog, Star Chamber overburdened with civil actions
- Introduced overflow tribunals
- Used legal system for political advantage and vendettas: Sir Amyas Paulet – daily attendance for 5 years , based on incident before Wolsey gained power and used this power for his advantage - Exerting his authority – exercise of power over them
3. Enclosure - summary
Wolsey active against illegal enclosure of land by nobles
Launched an enquiry into enclosure in 1517
Large increase in law cases against landlords
Acted to benefit lower class – ‘common weal’
3. Enclosure - Strengths/ Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Previous anti-enclosure statutes had been ignored: more active than preceding ministers
- Managed to slow the pace of enclosures
- Brought landlords to court and answerable for illegal actions
- Restorative orders made: return land and rebuild houses
Limits:
- Rural poverty continued to increase
- Forced to accept all existing enclsures by Parliament in 1523
- Made Wolsey more unpopular with nobles: affected cogency elsewhere
- Overloaded the caseload of Star Chamber - slow response times
4. Finances and Parliament - Summary
Only called Parliament once from 1515-1529 : 1523
Replaced fifteenths and tenths tax with more realistic subsidy
Attempted and abandoned non-Parliamentary tax in 1525: Amicable Grant
Tudor parliament there to represent the interests of the establishment and key group in society, not the peasants, the parliament provided the monarchy with money when they needed it
Major changes happened when parliament was called – Due to there being no change on systematic level, Wolsey didn’t call to parliament, only changes was when there was a war
4. Finances and Parliament - Strengths / Limits
Strengths:
- Extracted loans and tax from Parliament
- Subsidy system more accurately reflected wealth of taxpayers and was based on ability to pay - progressive tax
- Raised substantial amounts of money: Parliamentary subsidy, fifteenths and tenths, loans
- Extracted loans and tax from Paliament
Limits:
- Argued with Parliament over finances
- Forced to make concessions by Parliament 1523
- Late payments of tax increased
- Ambicable Grant followed forced loans and tax-violent resistance, closest to rebellion in 1520s
Wolsey criticised - antipathy for nobility - wants to provide Henry with what he wants compared to what Parliament want which is in the interests of nobility and to damage Wolsey politically
Some historians have accused him of being clumsy - handling government
5. Church Reform
Wolsey used Church position to amass great personal wealth
Embodied late medieval abuses within Church: absenteeism, pluralism, simony
Papal legate from 1518: centralising force in Church control
5. Church Reform - Strengths/ Limits
Strengths:
- Defended clerical privileges against Henry VIII
- Limited monastic reform programme: visitations and dissolutions
- Extracted more tax from clergy than under Henry VII
- Condemned and banned Martin Luther's teachings and books: public book burnings
Limits:
- No major reforms attempted: context of Reformation
- Hunne Affair - popular London merchant died while being imprisoned by Church 'died suspiciously' - London 1515, anti-clericalism, criticised by Parliament
- Funded Cardinal College Oxford and Ipswich School with monastic dissolutions - humanistic but self serving
- Ecclesiastical Council 1518 discuseed reforms but was not radical or impactful
Comments
No comments have yet been made