Henry VII's Financial Policies

Henry VII implemented a range of financial policies to strengthen the English economy and increase royal revenue. These policies can be divided into two main categories: ordinary revenue and extraordinary revenue.

Ordinary Revenue

Crown lands played a significant role in Henry VII's financial strategy. The king expanded crown lands through attainders and resumptions dating back to 1455, including properties from the houses of York and Lancaster. As a result, revenue from crown lands increased dramatically from £12,000 in 1486 to £42,000 in 1508.

Highlight: The deaths of Elizabeth of York and Prince Arthur further contributed to the increase in revenue from crown lands.

Customs duties also saw an increase under Henry VII's rule, with income rising from £33,000 per annum to £40,000 per annum.

Feudal dues were another source of ordinary revenue. Income from wardships, for example, rose significantly from £350 per annum to £6,000 in 1507.

Example: In 1487, Henry VII enforced the payment of feudal aids when the king's sons were knighted or daughters were married.

Profits of justice contributed to the royal coffers, with fines going directly to the king. Henry VII preferred to use fines rather than executions, as this generated more profit.

Vocabulary: Attainders were legal punishments that resulted in the forfeiture of property and rights. During Henry VII's reign, 138 attainders were passed.

Extraordinary Revenue

Henry VII employed various methods to generate extraordinary revenue:

1. Parliamentary subsidies: These were granted when Henry called parliament, with each subsidy providing £29,000. Henry held seven parliaments during his reign.

2. Voluntary loans: Collected mainly from merchants or the City of London, these loans amounted to £10,000 in 1485 and £48,500 in 1491. In total, Henry collected £203,000 in voluntary loans during his reign.

3. Benevolences: These were non-repayable contributions, such as the £48,000 collected in 1491 for the invasion of France and another collection in 1496 to deal with Perkin Warbeck's rebellion.

4. Bonds and recognisances: Enforced through the Council Learned in Law, these financial instruments became increasingly important. In the first decade of Henry's reign, 191 bonds were collected, with the value rising from £3,000 in 1493 to £35,000 in 1505.

5. Feudal obligations: Henry collected £30,000 for Prince Arthur's knighting, even though the prince had already died.

6. Clerical taxes: These matched each parliament's subsidy and included income from vacant church positions, which Henry kept open for a year to collect the revenue.

7. French pension: Established by the 1475 Treaty of Picquigny and upheld by Charles VIII in 1492, this provided £5,000 per annum to the English crown.

Definition: Bonds and recognisances were financial instruments used to ensure loyalty and good behavior, often requiring individuals to pay a sum of money if they failed to meet certain conditions.

Success of Henry VII's Financial Policies

Henry VII's financial strategies proved largely successful:

• He died solvent, leaving £1.5 million in the treasury.
• Crown income had risen to £113,000 per annum by the end of his reign.

Highlight: Despite these improvements, England's financial position remained weaker than that of France, whose king relied on an annual income of £800,000.

Henry VII's financial policies laid a strong foundation for the Tudor dynasty, providing his son, Henry VIII, with a stable economic base from which to rule.