Parliament & Henry VII

Parliament in Tudor Times

The way in which parliament was organised remained largely unchanged under the Tudors. Parliament was summoned and dissolved at the pleasure of the monarch.

Henry’s first parliament

Parliament helped Henry VII consolidate control after Bosworth.
Parliament granted Henry customs duty for life. This was standard practice.
Parliament passed an act pre-dating Henry’s reign to the day before Bosworth. This enabled Henry to pass:
- Acts of Attainder against those who had fought Henry at Bosworth.
The 1486 Act of Resumption returned to the Crown all the land it had granted away since 1455.

Acts of Attainder

Acts of Attainder were needed after the Battle of Stoke (1487), the Northern Rebellion (1489) and against Sir William Stanley (1495) for example.

The Crown's control over law and order

Parliament passed the Star Chamber Act 1487. It impacted the nobility most.
Henry passed laws against Livery and Maintenance in 1487 and 1504, limiting the number of retainers (followers) nobles could have.
It passed a law to give JPs more powers in 1495.
In 1489 and 1491 Henry passed laws tightening controls over who could claim benefit of clergy.

Extra taxation

Only Parliament could allow extra taxation.
Parliament did this for Henry’s foreign policy in 1489 (Brittany), 1491-2 (France).
Parliament also raised in 1497 to deal with Perkin Warbeck.
The more financially sound Henry VII became, the less reliant on parliament he would be.

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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