1 / 15

Was there a Tudor Revolution in Government?

Was there a Tudor Revolution in Government?. Geoffrey Elton’s theory. Elton’s theory, 1953. A Tudor Revolution in government took place in the 1530s. The changes that took place in government were masterminded by Thomas Cromwell , Henry’s chief minister. The main changes according to Elton.

adamdaniel
Télécharger la présentation

Was there a Tudor Revolution in Government?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Was there a Tudor Revolution in Government? Geoffrey Elton’s theory

  2. Elton’s theory, 1953 • A Tudor Revolution in government took place in the 1530s. • The changes that took place in government were masterminded by Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s chief minister.

  3. The main changes according to Elton • Government changed from being ‘medieval’, based around the King’s ‘household’ to ‘modern’, relying on bureaucracy to take care of the everyday administration of government.

  4. The main changes according to Elton a)Cromwell replaced the large, ad hoc, King’s Council with a small, permanent Privy Council, which could work independently of the king.

  5. The main changes according to Elton b) Cromwell deliberately divided the management of finance into specific departments separate from the Household E.g. The Court of Augmentations The Court of First Fruits and Tenths The Court of Wards

  6. The main changes according to Elton c)Cromwell deliberately made the role of King’s secretary into a major office of state. Cromwell was an outstanding public servant who believed in the rule of the law, a dedicated reformer for the public good rather than a selfish and unscrupulous go-getter, as he has traditionally been seen.

  7. The main changes according to Elton d)Cromwell tried to extend the authority of the Crown andcreate a unitary state where the king controlled everything by: • Creating a new national church led by the king • Dissolving the monasteries • Strengthening the government of Calais • Taking the Pale in Ireland out of Irish control • Making the administration and laws of Wales match those of England • Changing the personnel of the Council of Wales and the Council of the North • Abolishing independent areas of England

  8. The main changes according to Elton e) Cromwell increased the use of parliament enormously: • Cromwell chose Parliament to carry out the Reformation when Proclamations could have been used instead. • For the first time, Parliamentary statute law was used to make sweeping changes • The House of Commons and not the Lords was used to originate many of the statutes which established the Church of England • Unusually, there were frequent sessions of parliament. The gentry gained increasing political confidence. • Cromwell bound MPs to the Reformation by allowing them to buy ex-religious land.

  9. Criticisms of Elton’s theory • The Privy Council wasn’t part of Cromwell’s plan to modernise the government of the state, it: • Gradually evolved • May have been set up in a formal way in 1536 by Cromwell’s opponents to limit his power.

  10. Criticisms of Elton’s theory B) Changes in the king’s finances i) were not a move from ‘medieval’ to ‘modern’, they were a return to the system that operated in the high middle ages before the Chamber system developed by Edward IV and Henry VII came into being. ii) were not due to a grand design of Cromwell, but were necessary to handle the vast new amounts of wealth at the king’s disposal due to the Reformation.

  11. Criticisms of Elton’s theory C) Cromwell was not as dominant in government as Elton believed. • He was only one of several influential people. • He had no coherent plan of reform, just lots of ideas.

  12. Criticisms of Elton’s theory D) Cromwell’s policy of turning England into a state with a centralised and uniform system of administration was not original. For several decades, attempts had been made to end the virtual autonomy of the semi-independent franchises within the King’s territories.

  13. Criticisms of Elton’s theory E) Elton has overstated the significance of the 1530s in creasing the role and influence of parliament. Parliament made progress both before and after Cromwell, but in a haphazard way.

  14. The current ‘state of play’ • Although Elton’s theory of a revolution in government masterminded by Cromwell is not acceptable in its original form, most historians agree that England in 1540 was in a very different state from 10 years previously. But most of the changes are seen as being an integral part of the Reformation.

  15. Copy the diagram, explaining what happened to each of the areas in the 1530s. Parliament Finances A Tudor Revolution in Government? Council Royal Household Royal control over the whole kingdom

More Related