Unit 30 - Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII, 1399-1509
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3.2 essay plans
, ‘To what extent was involvement in foreign war the factor most likely to bring change to a
monarch’s nancial position in the period 1399-1509?
Intro
- involvement in foreign war was the factor most likely to bring change to a monarch’s nancial
position in the period 1399-1509
- This was as war, esp in france, was extremely expensive, and parliament was less likely to grant
taxation if war was going badly, thus worsening the monarchs’ nancial position
- It could also bring change In a positive from - eg treaty of picquigny
- However it could be argued that royal lands and decline in sources of other royal income were
more likely to bring change to a monarch’s nancial position in the period 1399-1509, as this
was also important factors which could seriously change a monarch’s nancial position
- Nevertheless, involvement in foreign war had the most signi cant impact on nances and
therefore was more likely to bring change to the nancial position of the monarch
P1
- foreign war was the factor most likely to bring change to a monarch’s nancial position
- This was as it was part of exceptional expenditure - raising money for attacks / defence,
obviously which needed huge sums, and therefore put nancial strain on the entire country as it
tried to raise taxes, and when involvement in foreign war was sustained - eg the hundred year
war - it meant that there was continued pressure on the monarch’s nancial position
- It could also lead to foreign treaties which bring change In the form of a better nancial position
- 1433 - combined debts of Henry v and vi were £225,000 - proving involvement in war in
france led to severe nancial change
- Eg by 1450, when England su ered some of their heaviest defeats in hundred years war, the
crown was in £372,000 worth of debt
- This one of the complains cited by Cade’s rebellion
- Under Henry V, who won important victories in foreign war such as the 1415 battle of
Agincourt, parliament were far more generous and brought positive change to the monarch’s
nancial position
- Eg in 1416, parliament granted Henry VI tonnage and poundage ( xed subsidy and taxes
on wine and imported goods) for life , and when he asked for a larger grant later that year,
they were far more open to this
- Involvement in foreign war did not always bring negative change: it could also bring
positive
- Eg Edward IV’s Treaty of Picquigny 1475 - invaded france, but Louis XI bought o the
invaders - granted him £15,000 o the bat, and then £10,000 annually. Meant he did not
have to be appealing to parliament and was a signi cant add to the royal co ers x
- these are clear examples of involvement in foreign war being likely to bring signi cant nancial
change to the monarch and either placing England highly in debt, or allowing the king to be
comfortable
P2
- however could be argued that royal lands was the factor most likely to bring change to a
monarchs nancial position
- When Henry iv came to the throne in 1399, he incorporated the duchy of Lancaster into the
crown
- This added £11,000 p.a
- Under Henry v, who placed the duchy’s private administrative council under council
protection and sought to increase pro tability of of the farming , this increased to £13,000 pa
- However under Henry VI this fell signi cantly to less then £5,000 p.a to the crown, around
half of which went into funding the estate, so therefore a low pro t
- On the other hand, Edward was able to add Yorkist lands, and Henry VII also pro ted from
gaining these Yorkist lands from Richard III and Yorkist opponents, plus bene ted from
con scated lands from other Yorkists
- Meant Edward had around £10,000 pa from duchy lands, and added £30,000 from Yorkist
lands
- Henry VII achieved a yearly revenue of £42,000 from these lands
- therefore it could be argued that the use of land was the factor most likely to bring change to a
monarch’s nancial position in 1399-1509
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, - However although it was certainly signi cant, it did not have large as e ect as the huge costs
acquired by foreign war.
- Eg It was estimated that in the 1430s , during the hundred year war, the entire cost of
defence form france was £25,000 a year - which is more then most kings made from the
duchy lands, and dense’t even include war in Scotland / Wales
- Similarly, the thing that most impacted Edward iv’s nancial position was the treaty of
picquigny which made him nancially secure from his lands
- - Henry V Treaty of Troyes and marriage to Catherine of Valois = gave 20,000 crowns as part
of marriage settlement until her death in the 1430s and this was to be partly funded from
duchy lands which heavily impacted the nancial status of Henry VI’s income from lands
- this shows that foreign war was more signi cant to a king’s nancial changes, as it absorbed /
added larger costs then land, or was part of the reason for poor income from lands
P3 ?
- could be argued that acts of resumption / patronage was the factor most likely to bring change
to a monarchs nancial position
- Eg Henry VI was overly generous with giving away land , which naturally reduced nance of
the crown - shows negative change
- So much so that parliament had to pass acts of resumption to recall land
- On the other hand, Edward IV and Henry VII used acts of resumption to bring positive
nancial change
- When Edward ascended the throne in 1461, he also passed many acts of resumption
- Eg Henry backdated his reign to before the battle of bosworth in 1485, so those who
supported Richard could be classed as traitors and have their lands seized
- The fact that these two kings made the most nancial gains - Edwards total income
estimated £60-65,000 but Henry’s over £100,000 , compared tp the nancial wreck that was
Henry VI I indicates that acts of attainder and reduced patronage are the factors most likely
to bring change to a king’s nancial position
- However I would continue to argue that involvement in foreign war was the factor most likely
to bring change, as Edward and Henry were the least involved in foreign war = they weren’t
spending huge amounts, and although certainly generosity of land played a part in their
nancial change, as a whole the scale of royal land compared to the price of foreign a airs
proves that the latter was the factor most likely to bring change.
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