‘IN THE YEARS 1515 TO 1540 POLICY WAS DECIDED BY MINISTERS RATHER THAN THE MONARCH' ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS VIEW
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Course
1C, The Tudors :England, 1485-1603
Institution
AQA
‘IN THE YEARS 1515 TO 1540 POLICY WAS DECIDED BY MINISTERS RATHER THAN THE MONARCH' ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS VIEW
HENRY VII would have the overall dictatorship when it comes to policies and the Ministers would only have power that was given by Henry.
‘IN THE YEARS 1515 TO 1540 POLICY WAS DECIDED BY MINISTERS RATHER THAN
THE MONARCH' ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS VIEW
To a certain extent this is true because Henry VIII did rely on his ministers heavily when it
came to policy making but Henry was ultimately the one to make the overall decision. Which
can be seen in his foreign policies, the Reformation and the annulment. However, the minor
problems such as funding for war Henry left to his ministers. Therefore, the ministers had to
play on Henry’s stage and not their own.
During the years 1515-1540 Henry VIII relied on his chief ministers Wolsey (1512-1529) and
Cromwell (1529-1540) to direct his policy and allowed them to have considerable influence
on policy making. One example of this was foreign policy, in particular the treaty of London
1518, the aim was to establish peace between 24 European powers to unite them against
the growing Ottoman threat. This directly contradicts the majority of Henry VIII’s aims in
foreign policy, where he desired to become a warrior king like his ancestor Henry V, which
was seen in his earlier invasion of France. Another key example of his MInisters directing
policy was the Eltham Ordinances 1526. This was created by Wolsey on the pretence of
making the privy chamber more efficient, but was really a ploy by Wolsey to gain more
powers over policy by removing the influence of key nobles at court such as William
Compton. This is a clear example of Wolsey directing Policy as he was the beneficiary of this
policy, suggesting that it was his decision. However, While it is clear that Wolsey had some
influence over policy, the majority were still made by Henry VIII which undid Wolsey’s Work.
For example, the treaty of London and the Field of the Cloth of Gold were made invalid by
Henry’s declaration of war with France in 1522. So to a certain extent this statement is valid
as Henry VIII's priorities as a warrior King always took precedence over Wolsey’s aims as a
peacekeeper. Furthermore, Henry VIII influence can also be seen in other matters such as
the reformation.
Undeniably, it must be highlighted that Henry used his ministers to achieve his aims, whilst
giving them direction for specific policy. This can be suggested by Wolsey’s domestic
policies and Cromwells reformation. Cardinal Wolsey was responsible for the development
and implementation b of key policies from 1515. This can be emphasised by Wolsey’s
radical change in the way subsidies were collected. Instead of using the local commissioners
to assess taxpayers wealth,Wolsey set up a national committee, which he himself headed,
with a more direct and realistic assessment of the wealth of taxpayers, Wolsey was able to
raise extraordinary revenues for Henry VIII wars in France. Although the Tudor subsidy was
not enough Wolsey also implemented the Amicable grant in 1525. This suggests that
specifically for small matters, Henry relied on ministers to extract revenue to support his
radical aims. Henry’s reliance on Ministers can also be seen when he depended on
Cromwell to achieve the annulment for his marriage both in the design and execution of
policy. This can be strongly evidenced by the Act of Supremacy in 1534 passed by
Cromwell. It gave legislative force to royal supremacy and effectively accomplished
legislative force to royal supremacy and effectively accomplished the break with Rome.
Under Cromell , parliament reformed into a stronger law-enforcing and making parliament
and was essential in establishing Henry VIII as supreme leader. Furthermore, this
demonstrates that Cromwell’s reformation Parliament was fundamental in pushing through
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