Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40

What Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 covers

Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 is examined in Paper 2, Period study and British depth study. It covers Henry VIII, Renaissance Prince, the rise of Wolsey and his policies, Wolsey’s foreign policy, 1509–29, Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulment, Cromwell’s rise to power, 1529–34, the king’s marriages, 1529–40, Cromwell and government, 1534–40, the fall of Cromwell, the break with Rome, opposition to, and impact of, Reformation, 1534–40, the dissolution of the monasteries and the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536.

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Henry VIII, Renaissance PrinceHenry's accession in 1509 at seventeen and why he was not raised as heir, the order of society, how a Tudor king ruled, Henry's belief in his God-given authority, his way of ruling, his Renaissance accomplishments and ambitions, and his weaknesses and greatest strength as a ruler.Open →
• The rise of Wolsey and his policiesHow Wolsey won favour in 1513, the offices he held, Hampton Court, noble resentment, the enclosure inquiry of 1517, the subsidy, Chancery and Star Chamber, the Eltham Ordinances and the Amicable Grant.Open →
• Wolsey’s foreign policy, 1509–29Wolsey's aims abroad, the balance between France and the Empire, his hope of the papacy, the Treaty of London, the Field of the Cloth of Gold, Charles V, Pavia and the sack of Rome.Open →
• Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulmentCatherine of Aragon and the dispensation, Princess Mary, the fear of a female heir, Leviticus, Anne Boleyn, annulment rather than divorce, Clement VII's refusal, Catherine's case, Blackfriars, and Wolsey's fall and death.Open →
• Cromwell’s rise to power, 1529–34Cromwell's origins and early career, his work for Wolsey, his survival in 1529, entry to the council in 1531, his qualities, his solution to the annulment, Cranmer's court at Dunstable and his offices.Open →
• The king’s marriages, 1529–40Anne Boleyn's marriage and Elizabeth's birth, why Henry turned against her, Cromwell's part, the charges and execution of 1536, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward, and the Anne of Cleves match and its annulment.Open →
• Cromwell and government, 1534–40The privy council, the Court of Augmentations, the Principal Secretary, First Fruits and Tenths, the survey of 1535, Wales and the north, statute and the Reformation Parliament, managing the Commons and the Act of Proclamations.Open →
• The fall of CromwellCromwell's arrest and execution in 1540, Norfolk's hatred, the Anne of Cleves marriage, Catherine Howard, the change in foreign affairs, the heresy charge, attainder, his last honours and Henry's regret.Open →
• The break with RomeDefender of the Faith, Henry's motives after 1529, praemunire and the surrender of the clergy, the Acts in Restraint of Appeals, of Succession and of Supremacy, the oath, the treason law and Cromwell's enforcement.Open →
• Opposition to, and impact of, Reformation, 1534–40Elizabeth Barton and her visions, John Fisher, Thomas More's silence and execution, Cranmer's reforms, Cromwell's injunctions on the English Bible and images, and how little worship had changed by 1540.Open →
• The dissolution of the monasteriesWhat monasteries did for their neighbours, the crown's need for money, the political danger, the 1535 reports, the closures of 1536 and 1538–40, who gained, who lost and the fate of the buildings.Open →
• The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536The religious, economic and political grievances behind the rising, Louth and the Lincolnshire rising, Robert Aske, the Yorkshire march on York, Hull and Pontefract, Norfolk's truce and the executions of 1537.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Act in Restraint of Appeals vs Act of Supremacy

  Act in Restraint of Appeals: the 1533 law forbidding any appeal from an English court to Rome. Act of Supremacy: the 1534 law declaring the king the only head on earth of the English Church.

• Subsidy vs Amicable Grant

  Subsidy: Wolsey's tax assessed on what a person was actually worth. Amicable Grant: the 1525 demand for money without parliament that was refused and cancelled.

• Treaty of London vs Field of the Cloth of Gold

  Treaty of London: the 1518 agreement among twenty rulers not to attack one another. Field of the Cloth of Gold: the 1520 meeting of Henry and Francis I near Calais with feasting and jousting.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   In what year did Henry VIII come to the throne, and how old was he?

   Model answer

   He became king in 1509 at the age of seventeen.

2. 2

   Why had Henry not been raised to expect the crown?

   Model answer

   He was a second son, and only became heir when his elder brother Arthur died in 1502.

3. 3

   How was English society ordered when Henry became king?

   Model answer

   It was a strict hierarchy with the monarch at the top, then nobles, gentry and churchmen, while the great majority were peasants who worked the land.

4. 4

   Through which bodies did a Tudor king rule the country in 1509?

   Model answer

   Through a royal council of trusted advisers, with parliament summoned only for taxes and new laws, and justices of the peace keeping order in each county.

5. 5

   What did Henry believe about the source of his own authority?

   Model answer

   That he ruled by God’s will, and that nobody at home or abroad had the right to overrule him.

6. 6

   Describe the way Henry ran the business of ruling.

   Model answer

   He set the direction and left the daily paperwork to ministers, but kept all the important decisions in his own hands.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 revision questions

What does Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 cover in Edexcel GCSE History?

12 subtopics: henry viii, renaissance prince, the rise of wolsey and his policies, wolsey’s foreign policy, 1509–29, wolsey, catherine, the succession and annulment, cromwell’s rise to power, 1529–34, the king’s marriages, 1529–40, cromwell and government, 1534–40, the fall of cromwell, the break with rome, opposition to, and impact of, reformation, 1534–40, the dissolution of the monasteries and the pilgrimage of grace, 1536. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40 organised?

By the Edexcel 1HI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.