Changes

Financially, the reign was a near-disaster. After inheriting a prosperous economy, augmented by seizures of church lands heavy spending and high taxes damaged the economy.  

Financially, the reign was a near-disaster. After inheriting a prosperous economy, augmented by seizures of church lands heavy spending and high taxes damaged the economy.  

From 1514 to 1529 Thomas Wolsey (1473–1530), a Catholic cardinal, served as  lord chancellor and practically controlled domestic and foreign policy for the young king. He negotiated the truce with France that was signaled by the dramatic display of amity on the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). He switched England back and forth as an ally of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey centralized the national government and extended the jurisdiction of the conciliar courts, particularly the Star Chamber. His use of forced loans to pay for foreign wars angered the rich, who were annoyed as well by his enormous wealth and ostentatious living. Wolsey disappointed the king when he failed to secure a quick divorce from Queen Katherine.  The treasury was empty after years of extravagance; the peers and people were dissatisfied and Henry needed an entirely new approach; Wolsey had to be replaced. After 16 years at the top he lost power in 1529 and in 1530 was arrested on false charges of treason and died in custody. Henry then took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.

From 1514 to 1529 [[Thomas Wolsey]] (1473–1530), a Catholic cardinal, served as  lord chancellor and practically controlled domestic and foreign policy for the young king. He negotiated the truce with France that was signaled by the dramatic display of amity on the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). He switched England back and forth as an ally of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey centralized the national government and extended the jurisdiction of the conciliar courts, particularly the Star Chamber. His use of forced loans to pay for foreign wars angered the rich, who were annoyed as well by his enormous wealth and ostentatious living. Wolsey disappointed the king when he failed to secure a quick divorce from Queen Katherine.  The treasury was empty after years of extravagance; the peers and people were dissatisfied and Henry needed an entirely new approach; Wolsey had to be replaced. After 16 years at the top he lost power in 1529 and in 1530 was arrested on false charges of treason and died in custody. Henry then took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.

Elton (1962) argues there was a major Tudor revolution in government. While crediting Henry with intelligence and shrewdness, Elton finds that much of the positive action, especially the break with Rome, was the work of Thomas Cromwell and not the king. Elton sees Henry as competent, but too lazy to take direct control of affairs for any extended period; that is, the king was an opportunist who relied on others for most of his ideas and to do most of the work. Henry's marital adventures are part of Elron's chain of evidence; a man who marries six wives, Elton notes, is not someone who fully controls his own fate. Elton shows that Thomas Cromwell had conceived of a commonwealth of England that included popular participation through Parliament and that this was generally expressed in the preambles to legislation. Parliamentary consent did not mean that the king had yielded any of his authority; Henry VIII was a paternalistic ruler who did not hesitate to use his power. Popular "consent" was a means to augment rather than limit royal power.<ref> G. R. Elton, ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1962) [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]; Elton, ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977) is sharply hostile toward the king--an "ego-centric monstrosity," whose reign "owed its successes and virtues to better and greater men about him; most of its horrors and failures sprang more directly from himself." p. 43</ref>

Elton (1962) argues there was a major Tudor revolution in government. While crediting Henry with intelligence and shrewdness, Elton finds that much of the positive action, especially the break with Rome, was the work of Thomas Cromwell and not the king. Elton sees Henry as competent, but too lazy to take direct control of affairs for any extended period; that is, the king was an opportunist who relied on others for most of his ideas and to do most of the work. Henry's marital adventures are part of Elron's chain of evidence; a man who marries six wives, Elton notes, is not someone who fully controls his own fate. Elton shows that Thomas Cromwell had conceived of a commonwealth of England that included popular participation through Parliament and that this was generally expressed in the preambles to legislation. Parliamentary consent did not mean that the king had yielded any of his authority; Henry VIII was a paternalistic ruler who did not hesitate to use his power. Popular "consent" was a means to augment rather than limit royal power.<ref> G. R. Elton, ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1962) [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]; Elton, ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977) is sharply hostile toward the king--an "ego-centric monstrosity," whose reign "owed its successes and virtues to better and greater men about him; most of its horrors and failures sprang more directly from himself." p. 43</ref>