Do you accept the view in Source V that Wolseys domestic policies were disappointing?

Question B

Do you accept the view in Source V that Wolsey’s domestic policies were disappointing?

Wolsey was Henry VIII’s chief minister and right hand man from his rise to power in 1514 after working himself up until his eventual fall from grace in 1529. During his time in power Wolsey made many changes to England’s domestic policy. This essay will consider the view that these policies were disappointing.

One of Wolsey’s domestic policies that can be viewed as a disappointment is the way he dealt with finances. During this time in power Wolsey introduced amicable bonds. This system of taxation was designed to bring in more money to fund the Kings many European battles and invasions. Unfortunately the extra tax upset members of both the clergy and laity resulting in riots in East Anglia and Suffolk. Source T states that Wolsey’s arrogant view that he could get whatever he wanted “aroused against himself the hatred of the whole country”. Therefore this shows that this domestic policy was very disappointing as instead of raising much needed funds for the king it caused him great amounts of grief by displeasing so many of the common people and nobles, which also made it harder to bring about other change in his domestic policies. Contrary to this it can be argued that not all of Wolsey’s financial policies were a failure such as levying tax which “favoured the people exceedingly, and especially the poor” as they were taxed according to the amount they earned, making it more affordable. It was also a success as it bought in more tax as a whole then the old system of fifteenths and tenths. This pleased the king who needed the money to obtain ‘glory in Europe’ through battles. As well as leading to historian Guy to praise him as a “successful” and “sophisticated” financier. So although it can be viewed that Wolsey’s financial policies were a success such as levying tax, this pleased the people and bought in more money for the treasury. It is also true that Wolsey’s abuse of power in terms of the amicable bonds was a complete disappointment which, unlike levying tax, upset the people and nobles. It was also a disappointment as it did not bring in as much money as Wolsey and Henry VIII needed so desperately to re-establish themselves in Europe.

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Another of Wolsey’s domestic policies was enclosure. This law was changed in 1517 and was designed to put land back to arable farming which had been claimed by the nobles for the more profitable sheep farming. For a while this worked and was a success. Showing Wolsey to be “thoughtful” and “just” to the poor. However like many of his other policies Wolsey failed to pull enclosure off properly so in 1523 he had to admit he’d lost the battle and recognise all enclosed land. This was due to pressure from the nobles because however much Wolsey “assumed that he could undertake nearly all offices of state by himself”; the nobles still had a lot of power and influence with the king and wouldn’t back down to Wolsey’s whims easily. Therefore this domestic policy can be seen as an initial success but in the end it was a disappointment as it promised a lot to the common people but didn’t last long enough to be of any affect. This is partially due to Wolsey’s distance from the nobles and other powerful men at the time, leaving him with no one to help him when he faced opposition.

Another way that Wolsey’s domestic policies can be seen as a failure is the way he dealt with foreign affairs. It can be argued that between 1515 and 1521 Wolsey was very successful in keeping England at the forefront of European policy. His main achievement during this time was the field of the cloth of gold in 1520. This bought England an alliance with France which was what England needed to stay powerful. However compared to “twentieth century standards his achievements seem limited”. Since after 1521 All of Wolsey’s hard work in Europe started to unravel due to bad relations with Spain and a failed invasion of France. This was terrible for England and Henrys ‘glory’ as being a small country, only had power and influence when it was allied with another power such as France and Spain. This was because although on its own England had very little effect on European politics and affairs when it was joined with another country it acted as the factor that swung the pendulum either way between the two super powers so between. Finally, without any alliances with the rest of Europe England lost its power. This made Wolsey’s endeavours in Europe a failure as he could not keep up with the foreign affairs.

This also affected Wolsey’s domestic Policies in terms of obtaining a divorce for Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. In 1527 when Wolsey was instructed to get a divorce England had very bad relations with other European countries and little influence over their politics. However, Catherine of Aragon was the Aunt of Charles V who had lots of power and control over the pope. Therefore when it came to Wolsey having to ask the Pope for help Catherine of Aragon had already spoken to him and exerted her influence over him. This made it near impossible for Wolsey to obtain a divorce, therefore once gain “promising more than he could deliver” in his domestic policies. This failure was catastrophic as it is what ultimately led to Cardinal Wolsey’s downfall in 1529. On the other hand although this domestic policy was a failure it can also be argued that it would have been hard for anyone to achieve. As factors such as weak foreign relations and Henry VIII’s unyielding belief that the marriage was cursed were already going to make it hard for a divorce to be obtained.

Finally in conclusion Wolsey’s domestic policies can only be partially viewed as a disappointment because although the divorce, enclosure, amicable grants and foreign policy were all failures in some way. It is also true that he did have success to begin with in enclosure and foreign affairs and that enclosure worked for a while. Though all in all these things were only a success for a short while before they fell trough due to Wolsey’s bad leadership abilities. Despite all of these points it must also be remembered that “ultimate responsibility lay with the king and to criticise Wolsey is to criticise Henry for his lack of involvement” therefore although many of Wolsey’s policies were a disappointment it was not all down to him.

Teacher Reviews

Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

Natalya Luck

26th of Jul 2013

This is a strong response that is clearly structured with good understanding of the context to Wolsey's decisions and a balanced assessment of them, with useful support from the sources. There could have been more challenge to the source material in places though.4 out of 5 stars.

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