Wolsey: Reducing power of the nobility/opposition

Wolsey: Reducing power of the nobility/opposition

1. Nobility

   • 1518 Expulsion of the Minions
     • Wolsey gave them positions outside of court
     • Wolsey put William Pace into the minions as a spy
   • 1526 Eltham Ordinances
     • reduces size of The Privy Chamber from 12 to 6
       • William Compton is removed - replaced by Henry Norris who isn't anti-Wolsey
     • 1520 - 'Gentlemen of The Privy Chamber' formed
     • Henry agrees - Wolsey did this under financial reform - however other parts weren't carried out
   • 1521-25 Wolsey sends them abroad as ambassadors/to control the army
     • 1525 Treaty of More - peace with France means they all come back
   • Wolsey disregarded the noble's advice on the 1525 Amicable Grant
   • Wolsey encouraged people to take nobles to court because of enclosure
   • 1515 Act of Resumption - nobles disliked as they had to give land back to the crown

2. Legal System

   • Canon Law - religious law
   • Civil Law - based on Roman law, decisions based on common sense
   • Common Law (Norman) - derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than laws
   • Changes
     • 1516 - Star Chamber was made more efficient. Case load rose from 12 a year under Henry VII to 120 a year with Wolsey
     • Status gave people no protection - 1516 Earl of Northumberland sent to jail
     • 1519 - Set up Court of Requests so that poor people could get justice cheaply
     • Court of Chancery used more often - cases about property and wills
   • Abuses
     • Sir Amyus Paulet - made to attend court every day for 5 years because he put Wolsey in the stocks when he was young
     • Wolsey used the courts to target his enemies, e.g. Sir Robert Sheffield was sent to jail in 1517 for being an 'accessory to crime'
     • Decisions in court were often corrupt and bias towards the rich; cases were also too long and expensive

3. Parliament

   • 1515
     • Wolsey was appointed Lord Chancellor
     • Parliament was hostile towards Wolsey because of the 1511 Richard Hunne case and the fact that he didn't want Horsey (accused of Hunne's murder) to go on trial
     • Wolsey opposed the Benefit of the Clergy being taken away
     • Wolsey dismissed Parliament before they voted on taxation, as he didn't want higher taxes - caused dislike
     • The public resented Wolsey because Horsey was released after being tried in 1515. Wolsey also blocked law reforms on mortuary fees - linked to Hunne case
   • 1523
     • Wolsey was given £130,000 for war with France, originally asked for £800,000
       • Taxes were increased and people had to declare their earnings to the government - dislike from public
     • Wolsey was forced to drop his anti-enclosure policy in order to appease Parliament for money
     • Only meeting of Parliament whilst Wolsey was Chancellor
     • Parliament disliked Wolsey as he manipulated the House of Commons into voting in the Subsidy Tax
     • 1st December 1529 - Thomas More created a list of articles against Wolsey's government and accusing him of treason. However, this was dropped because of Cromwell and the King's lack of support

4. Finance

   • 1515 Act of Resumption
     • Nobles had to give land back to the crown that had been gifted
     • Once the land was given back the Crown rented it out
     • The Crown gained £5,000-£10,000 p/a
   • Subsidy Tax
     • 1 shilling per pound taken
     • The Crown gained over £300,000 from this
     • Based on a more accurate valuation of the taxpayer's wealth
     • Collected in 1513-15 and 1523
     • Gained £170,000 between 1515-1516
   • Benevolences of 1522
     • Emergency measure, collected from wealthy subjects
     • Brought in £260,000 between 1522-23
     • Needed for 1523 3 Pronged Attack
     • Caused resentment from nobles
   • 1523 Parliament
     • Wolsey demanded £800,000 to be collected over several years
     • Only £150,000 was collected in 1522
     • Problem - this was on top of loans collected in 1522
     • Wasn't a lump sum, paid in installments
   • 1525 Amicable Grant
     • non-Parliamentary tax
     • Commission sent out in April 1525 - met with much resistance
     • Rebellion in London and East Anglia - 10,000 people took part in Lavenham, crushed by Norfolk and Suffolk
     • This was for the 1525 Battle of Pavia
     • Henry had to abandon his campaign to invade France after the Battle of Pavia

5. Domestic Policy

   • Enclosure
     • 3 Statutes were passed against enclosure before Wolsey became Chancellor
     • 1517 Wolsey launched a national anti enclosure act - had to rebuild houses and return land to farming
     • Problems caused by enclosure
       • Food shortages due to a lack of crops
       • Rural depopulation and unemployment
       • Caused by inflation
     • 264 people were taken to court because of enclosure; 32 knights, 9 nobles, 3 bishops, 51 heads of religious houses and several Oxford colleges
     • Wolsey insisted that the enclosure laws of 1489 and 1514-15 were obeyed
     • 1523
       • Wolsey dropped his anti-enclosure campaign in 1523
         • This was to appease Parliament in order to obtain money for war with France
   • Subsidy Tax
   • 'Just Price' - to stop people being overcharged for basic foodstuffs. Poultry prices in London were fixed in 1518 and in 1527 he purchased surplus grain to sell to the poor at a cheap price