Do You Agree with the View That the Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries Was Largely Driven by Financial Motives?

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I agree with the view that the dissolution of the greater monasteries was largely driven by financial motive. This is a view supported by both evidence, and the views of other historians, such as T.A.Morris. However, there are also several historians, such as Arthur Innes, and some bits of historical evidence that disagree with the view, seeing other reasons, such as political maneuvering, as more important causes. The first piece of evidence that supports the view is in Source 9, the letter to the Earl of Sussex. This supports the view because it says, “Look to the king’s profit and make sure all parties shall be contented.” This supports the view that finance was a key part of the dissolution because the King’s profit is highlighted as an important part of the letter, so it was obviously an important part of the Earl’s task. The second piece of evidence that the dissolution of the Greater monasteries was financially motivated was that it was only the greater monasteries dissolved. This suggests financial motivation, as any other cause, such as corruption or religious disagreement, would have seen all the monasteries, large and small, dissolved, where as a financial cause would only require the dissolution of the larger, wealthier monasteries. Thirdly, Source 8 agrees with the view because it says that the dissolution purely financial and that it were for both long term and short term financial benefits. This is because the sale of the goods found in the monasteries would provide short-term revenue for Henry’s war chest, and the land itself would be Cromwell’s way of providing a long-term income. All of this means that the dissolution of the monasteries was financially beneficial for the Crown, and was therefore probably motivated by mostly financial reasons. On the other hand, Source 7 does not support the view, and instead suggests that the financial
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