Wolsey and domestic policy

Legal reform
1. When he was appointed Lord Chancellor in 1515 he became the head of the country's secular legal system and was therefore in charge of both the kings courts (Court of Chancery and Star Chamber)
2. He heard many cases on an individual basis and anyone was able to bring their case before the Star Chamber, no matter what their background or wealth
3. The Star Chamber dealt with about 120 cases per year compared to only 12 under Henry VII
4. He used civil law over common law to bring about justice
5. However he did use the system to further his own interests for example SIr Amyas Paulet who humiliated Wolsey in the stocks had to wait in daily attendance for 5 years or his property would be taken off him
6. In 1515 he sent the Earl of Northumberland to Fleet prison and in 1516 Lord Burgavenny was accused of illegal retaining
7. However the Star Chamber failed due to the mass workload
Enclosure and social policy
1. The three statues that had been passed regarding enclosures had been largely ignored and so in 1517 Wolsey launched a national enquiry into enclosed land
2. Many that were brought to the court were ordered to rebuild houses and allow the land to be free for farming
3. However in reality the reform had minimal effect as enclosures still took place and Wolsey did not show the determination to tackle the whole issue
4. It did not make Wolsey popular with the upper classes and in a parliament session in 1525 he was forced to except all existing enclosures therefore demonstrating his weakness against the nobility
5. There was a bad harvest in 1527 and Wolsey established grain commission to deal with the raising food prices and in 1528 when trade with the Netherlands was disrupted due to the war with Charles he ordered all clothmakers to keep paying their employees
The Church
1. When Wolsey was appointed Papal Legate in 1518 and was then granted this position for life in 1525. This enhanced his ecclesiastical position and allowed him to establish Probate Courts
2. He was able to defend the church at times, for example rooting out heresy with the book burning at Saint Pauls in 1521
3. He held an ecclesiastical council in 1518 to discuss ways of improving the church and the conduct of the clergy, however nothing really came of the meeting. John Guy argues that the meeting was just to impress the pope due to his new role as legate.
4. However Wolsey was guilty of pluralism, nepotism and absenteeism and his personal conduct was not impressive as he failed to visit dioceses
5. He did listen to humanists like Colet and More and had intentions of reform however he used his role to centralise authority in the church rather than carry out reforms
6. HIs public wealth contradicted the way of the church
7. He was a patron of education
Finances
1. Replaced the old tax system of 'fifteenths and tenths' with a new more flexible 'Tudor subsidy' which was based on the ability to pay. Between 1513 and 1516 it raised £170,000 compared to £90,000 with the old system
2. He was forced to accept less than demanded from parliament for example in 1523 less than half the £800,000 was collected
3. The Amicable Grant was a non-parliamentary tax that targeted clergy and laity but was not met with pleasure as it came very soon after the forced loans of the previous years
4. People refused to pay the Amicable Grant and 10,000 rebelled across Suffolk and East Anglia and so it was abandoned and no further attempts to raise tax was made
Parliament and nobility
1. Parliament only met twice, in 1515 and 1523 and the resentment among parliament meant that they were reluctant to give him what he wanted
2. The privy chamber was arguably the heart of the government where Wolsey saw potential threats. The Eltham Ordinances reduced the number of men in the bed chamber from 12 to 6 which can be seen as a way of efficient cost cutting or a way of Wolsey monopolising the power of the men
3. Wolsey had to abandon the enclosure policy in return for subsidy
4. Local government continued to improve and Wolseys 5 households became an effective training ground for local governement
Profiteering
1. Selling goods at higher prices to create more profit
2. In 1518 he fixed poultry prices and investigated the scarcity of other meats
3. However there were no long term improvements in the prices and availability of meat in the capital
4. This also angered London butchers and cattle farmers

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Wolsey and domestic policy

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	Created by rich.houghton about 10 years ago