How important was Parliament for Henry VII’s consolidation of royal authority following his victory at Bosworth and up to the end of 1487?

Students should be able to make a judgement by addressing the focus of the question and offering some balance of other factors or views. In ‘how important’ and ‘how successful questions’, the answer could be (but does not need to be) exclusively based on the focus of the question.

The key dates are significant, starting after the victory at Bosworth and ending with the situation at the end of 1487 following the defeat of the Simnel rebellion.

The main obstacles to Henry’s consolidation of power arose from his lack of legitimacy and the way this central factor enhanced the danger of rebellions. The wording of the question excludes anything related to invasion and battle in 1485 but focuses on the immediate political aftermath – the end date excludes material relating to the years after 1487, such as Warbeck and relations with Spain. The key issue of Parliament must be addressed directly but it might be anticipated that only a minority of students will develop an entire answer on this theme. Most answers will consider the question of Parliament in relation to a range of other factors, such as:

• the convenient death of most of the great magnates (at Bosworth and during the years before), so that Henry was not beholden to potential ‘kingmakers’

• Henry Tudor’s skill in exploiting the mistakes and unpopularity of his predecessor and maximising his own prestige (such as his coronation in October 1485)

• The appointment of reliable and efficient officials, such as Morton, Rotherham and Courtenay, and getting wise advice from his inner circle

• His marriage to Elizabeth of York – both for its positive political and dynastic benefits and for his shrewd delay in finalising the marriage until 1486

• The swift and effective actions taken to deal with possible and actual rebellions, from Lovell and Stafford and later from the backers of Lambert Simnel.

Parliament was, however, extremely important, especially in the early stages. Henry issued writs a few weeks after Bosworth to call Parliament, though it did not meet until after the coronation. Henry badly needed Parliament for a number of urgent reasons:

• to boost his legitimacy by recognising him as King in the name of the people (and to confirm his claim that his reign began the day before Bosworth)

• to reverse

Titulus Regius, passed in 1484 to disinherit the sons of Edward IV

• to carry through Acts of Attainder against his enemies (and to reverse previous attainders against some of his supporters)

• to pass the Act of Resumption, returning to the Crown lands that had been lost by Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses

• to pass laws enabling the King to increase his finances, such as tunnage and poundage

• to pass legislation that would strengthen law and order

• to produce an orchestrated ‘demand’ that Henry marry Elizabeth of York.

Good answers may show depth and range in assessing the ways in which Henry VII strengthened his position; or make links between various factors, or show skill in differentiating between their relative importance.

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AS AQA AS Level History HIS1B