Trade profited from a general improvement in trading But Edward was personally involved in trading. He improved customs through appointing men of ‘remarkable shrewdness’. Customs were up from £15,000 under the rule of Henry 6th to £34,000 a year by the 1480’s this shows Edward had great ability concerning the management of his economy. On whole Edward is seen as a leader who had good management of his economy.
Edward was a skilful manager of parliament using charm and sensible choice of speakers to ensure that no major difficulties in this area.
In terms of Council matters Edward 4th was not a prolific attendee of council meetings scoring under 50% attendance. The magnates were not as prominent as had been in previous reigns. It was noticeable that Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk weren’t ever councillors. He also excluded Stafford and the Duke of Buckingham. This may have been because he didn’t trust their motives for decisions. It could be that Edward had deliberately excluded them because he didn’t want them to destabilise his power,
Edward instead put on the council men who were described as the ‘new men’ they were people who had skills such as law and accountancy. These councillors were used as advisers on domestic areas. It was wise of Edward to use men specialised in the areas that were being discussed rather than using nobility who weren’t specialised in these matters. The council was more businesslike under Edward.
Edward was physically very impressive, he was intelligent and good mannered these qualities won him much support during his reign. There was the expansion of the roles of royal household in the shires with Edward appointing knights such as Sir Thomas Burgh in Lincolnshire to household thus improving knowledge and links with localities. Edward was helped by the fact that by the 1470’s a large number of magnate affinities were in royal hands. This was good for Edward because it reduced the powers that the magnates had. Edwards’s control of nobility was vital because during Henry 6th’s reign had shown the dangers of over powerful magnates but Edward also needed their backing in order to run the country. In order control the country Edward did the following things. He used patronage to gain future support rather than rewarding past services and granted large areas of country to men such as Hastings. Edward relied heavily on his own family in order to secure support during his reign. In Wales he built up the power of the Woodville’s based at Ludlow. Edward can be criticised on his policies towards the Woodville clan. This is for allowing the Woodville’s to dominate the marriage market in the kingdom after his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. This meant that he received resentment. Another family member who Edward used to give himself stability in his kingdom was Richard of Gloucester who effectively took over the Neville affinity. Richard dominated the north and was regarded as an efficient and fair lieutenant. Using Richard in this way would have given Edward stability in the North east because he was a strong influence on the people keeping them in good order.
There is possible criticism that can be levelled at Edward for not learning from the events when Warwick rebelled in the 1460s but it is hard to give Edward for what Richard did in 1483 because he had been a loyal supporter of Edward up until that point. The actions of Richard’s were a total surprise to many and this is why it’s hard to criticise Edward for this. It’s possible to say that Edward concentrated power amongst too few many men. It is possible to argue that his efficient rule made it easier for Richard to usurp the throne as England was united which make changes at the top easier, Whilst in a disunited country its not as easy to take over. Edward had removed his untrustworthy brother Clarence in 1478 citing treason charges and in doing this had seemed to have secured his son’s succession especially as Edward could not have foreseen dying at 41 and if he had lived only a few more years Edward 5th would have taken the throne as a man and there would be no reason for a regent.
During certain periods there were times where Edward blatantly ignored law and this could lead to the following problems. Concerning the rights of Warwick’s widow, Anne Beauchamp he decided that the lands left by Warwick would pass over when the settlement of estates were made to Clarence and Gloucester. Despite his gains Clarence tried to block Gloucester’s marriage to Anne by kidnapping her. The failure to settle what was going to happen with George Neville who was the son of Warwick’s brother Montagu. This may have been a factor that enabled Richard’s seizure of the throne in 1483. This is because his claim to the northern lands was week and his chances of keeping them depended on if George Neville could marry and have children, which had not occurred by the time of his death in May 1483. Another occasion at which the future events were shaped by Edward’s policies was when Edward married his younger son Richard of York to another child Anne Mowbray heiress to the Duke of Norfolk. This transferred Norfolk lands to the crowns possession this tactic alienated the Howard’s, who had expected to inherit these lands. In 1483 John Howard became a leading supporter of Richard giving Richard major power.
Edwards ruling of his country was much better than that of his predecessor. It is clear that he ruled the nation much more effectively during this period than in his earlier reign. This is shown by him and Gloucester bringing an end to the feud between the Harrington and Stanley families.
In matters of justice Edward increased his reliance on J.P’s in order keep the peace. They were recruited from the gentry their powers were developed at the expense of the sheriffs. The advantages of this policy for Edward were that they were unpaid and the post was not hereditary stopping any favouritism. Supporters of Edward believed that he targeted important areas of what was happening in justice in order to set an example to others. This was because he had recognised that he didn’t have the resources to cover the whole kingdom.
There is little doubt that the Yorkist rule from 1471 was effective and this had been partly because of Edward being a skilful and clever ruler. It is difficult to blame him for what had happened after his early death although there are arguments as to whether he should have been that Richard would have been very influential in the period after his death.
