How far can Wolsey's domestic policies be considered a success?

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“How Far Can Wolsey’s Domestic Policies be considered a Success?”

Thomas Wolsey’s influence in all matters concerning England was incomparable, so he was fairly prolific in his domestic policy. Because so much of the focus during Henry VIII’s reign was on foreign policy as it was felt that England should become a more important country on the world’s stage, Wolsey’s domestic policy was fairly limited, and it is now felt that he could have done more for England at home. At the time, however, people were content with the state of the country so domestic policy was not seen as being in need of radical reform. This being said, Wolsey did still have domestic policies that had effects on the country and that can be evaluated.

Wolsey was known for his influence in the justice system. He presided over a huge amount of cases in person, particularly those in the Star Chamber. He was known for being a very just man and a champion for the poor, and during his time in power the Star Chamber saw around one hundred and twenty cases per year, as opposed to the average of twelve cases per year seen during Henry VII’s reign. This was because Wolsey ensured that anyone (regardless of their wealth or social status) could bring their case before him in the Star Chamber. This was largely a good thing because it allowed the needs of the English peasantry to be seen to as well as the nobility, and helped to improve quality of life for the lower classes in England. It is possible that without Wolsey’s legal reforms, the judicial state of England today would be very different, and the poor would not be given as fair a chance in trial as they are today. However, at the time Wolsey’s legal reforms caused a huge amount of resentment amongst the nobility – the people whose opinions really counted as far as Wolsey’s career was concerned. This was because Wolsey was able to use the law to make sure that the nobility were held accountable for any misbehaviour, and often he saw to it that the poor triumphed over the rich.

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However, Wolsey’s activities in the judicial system were not all good. He was known to occasionally abuse his power to crush his rivals, a famous example of which is his treatment of Sir Amyas Paulet. This misuse of the legal system gave the nobility better reasons to resent him. Another negative of Wolsey’s work in the Star Chamber came from Wolsey’s desire to do a huge amount of administrative work off his own back. Because of the huge workload that Wolsey was taking on and the new, massive amount of cases being seen, there was a significant backlog of cases ...

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