Henry 7th was ruthless in securing the Tudor dynasty. Firstly he quickly married Elizabeth of York, which not only united the country, but also gave him two sons, Arthur and Henry, which meant that the Tudor line was secure. Next, to protect the marriage of Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, Henry executed the Earl of Warwick who was in the tower. This was a smart move by Henry because Warwick did have a claim to the throne and could have not only split up the marriage of Arthur and Catherine, but also threaten Henry’s stability as king. Henry also needed to control the nobility because if he didn’t, or only managed to control a minority, he could have a revolution, and Nobles, together, had a lot more money and power than the king himself.
Therefore I believe Lord Curzon was indeed a successful viceroy. Of the Sources, source two is intended to convey Lord Curzon’s tenure as Viceroy in the most positive manner .It lists his positive qualities that made him “India’s best ruler under the raj” . However given the nature of the British Empire in countries such as India the main priority is not always the well fair of the country. For instance many believe Britain was draining India of its wealth rather than helping develop the country, Dadabhai Naoroji's created this “drain theory”. Britain had used combination of force as well as divides and conquers to control India Up until this point.
Oliver Cromwell became the most important general on the Parliamentarian side and Prince Rupert on the Royalist side. Oliver Cromwell was famous for his well thought out tactics and his well disciplined army, where as Rupert, the kings nephew, made decisions without thinking them through and was not always in full control of his men. Before the war, Oliver Cromwell was worrying whether or not his army would want to fight the king because in those days it was said that the king is Gods representative. The king also had much more money because he was supported by some very wealthy men, so he had more money. However, as the war went on, the king’s money dwindled away, and Parliament raised taxes, therefore they had more money than the king.
It is now widely accepted that if his plans to enhance royal power and revolutionise the government were not far-sighted, his political and administrative skills were essential to their success. However it can be argued that Cromwell’s plans in fact did not succeed in the way he wished. Cromwell set up a bureaucratic system of administration based on the ‘privy’ council. This was a body of advisors that were appointed by the King. If it was possible to choose these council members it would put the King in a very high position of power, backed by a large amount of support.
All payments went towards the king, this would've also made the Earls not feel powerful enough, especially Harold Godwin who was seen as the most powerful man in England, but theoretically he wasn’t. However the Economy was well governed because the trade increased, which encouraged both the growth of towns and foreign contacts, this demonstrates that England were still involved in trade, which was good for the economy. However the economy was not very well developed especially compared to the Byzantine Empire and Muslim world. Those economies were massive, especially when compared to England’s. Overall I believe that the economy for pre-Conquest England as well- governed to an extent as the King did have large control, he did control this well, but he may have been seen as too powerful where the government is concerned.
This made his position a weak one, forcing Edward to bind himself to Godwin, as the Earl of Wessex and most powerful man in England at this time. Earl Godwin was the only member of the witan offering to support Edward. The reasons for this are unclear though it is likely Godwin felt that he could exert influence over the inexperienced King and therefore gain yet more power over England. Despite the odds being stacked against him, Edward took the English throne from the Danish royal family and established himself as a strong and wise King. Clearly his success had to be dependant on a number of weighty advantages, his growing up in Exile for example.
The nobility of England appeared to increase in power because of the weakness of the king. The King had clear favourites in both the Earl of Somerset and the Earl of Suffolk. The Earl of Suffolk was permitted to ‘dominate’ the royal household during the period Henry was too young to be ruler. When he was accused of treason by the commons due to the business in France, the King stood by him in protection. The king sent him to exile, however in the English Channel, the ship carrying the Earl of Suffolk was intercepted by ‘Nicholas of the Tower’, and Suffolk was beheaded by its sailors in April 1450.
William Pitt came to power in December 1783, becoming the youngest prime minister in British history. Pitt’s authoritative nature right from the outset served him in good stead, and he exercised a dominance over both parliament and his monarch which very few subsequent Prime Ministers have managed. Pitt also supported parliamentary reform right from the off, and he believed that parliament at that moment in time had become too resistant to reform and the King held too much power. He was a brave man, knowing that the King detested parliamentary reform, he submitted a general proposal for which it was easier to get support for than a specific scheme. He also wanted to increase the British electorate by 30%.
During his fourteen years of chancellorship Wolsey exercised considerable influence over Henry VIII's domestic policy during the years 1515 to 1529, involving himself in economic, legal and church affairs. Wolsey was either loved or hated for his wealth, position and manner particularly by the nobility. Some of his domestic policies were relatively successful with some failures, but some such as Finances had an almost equal amount of failures and successes. However, many historians argue that his policies were limited due to Henry’s ambitions in Europe. One aspect that Wolsey did have great impact was justice, with him introducing many new ideas.
He is supposed to have the most control, able to keep his people in line however due to his state he was not able to accomplish any of these necessary attributions of a king, therefore this would help contribute to the civil war outbreak, as a weak character in the position of a king isn’t good. In addition, Henry had a trait of having favorites among his nobility. This is shown by he gave out patronage to his favorites, Somerset and Suffolk, they were also made dukes in 1448. This would cause problems inside his nobility. Dukes were usually direct relatives of the king, however Suffolk and Somerset were not, where as Richard of York was.