Henry Vii Improving Wealth to the Crown

900 Words4 Pages
How successful was Henry VII in increasing wealth of the crown? 24 marks Throughout Henry’s reign he made good use of his financial resources. Henry VII knew he needed a good financial base so he could run the country, but on a more personal note, he also saw the need to create a strong financial situation to be able to secure his reign and dynasty. As Caroline Rodgers states 'Henry was acutely aware of the importance of strong finances if he was to remain safely on the throne.' However, it has often been said of Henry, 'No man has ascended to the throne with such a lack of financial experience and resources as Henry VII.' S. B. Chrimes. I think Henry was successful in increasing wealth of the crown, this is because Henry used ordinary revenue fairly well, for example the crown lands. These were this kings most important source of revenue. Henry VII had more crown lands than any previous king and some lands had been confiscated under the acts of attainder meaning more money for the crown. The kings annual income from his royal estates rose from £12,000 to £42,000 which was a significant improvement showing that his techniques were working in this area, also another example of ordinary revenue that was used effectively was custom duties. Henry cracked down on corrupt officials and constantly updated the book of rates of custom duties. Historians estimate custom duties rose from £33,000 to £40,000. This was also an improvement becasue money was still being raised adding more value to the crown. John McGurk states "Henry exploited all traditional sources of royal revenue" this included the use of extraordinary revenue. An effect method of increasing the value of the crown here was Henry's use of his foregone agreement with France that stated that Charles VIII had to lay a pension. This came to a total of £159,000 over several years. This was a huge amount
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