Preview

yo check it

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
774 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
yo check it
Do you agree with the view expressed in source e that the fall of Thomas Cromwell in 1540 was primarily the work of his enemies at court?
Thomas Cromwell perceived by many historians to have been the second Wolsey, obtaining a majority of the power available within the power vacuum after Wolsey’s demise. He became the second most powerful man in England obtaining titles such as Lord Chancellor, he created several controversial reforms which made him unpopular and he made some potentially dangerous enemies at court, the enemies would overall be one of many factors which would lead to his execution.
Source E is source from a revisionist Historian who will have looked into a variety of sources regarding Thomas Cromwell’s demise prior to coming to an overall conclusion. When looking at providence of the source it is an impartial source as the writer does not have a motive, although like hay source it will have been opinion based. Throughout Cromwell’s career, he had made several reforms which were supported by the protestant radicals within parliament and at court, yet the conservatives strongly opposed Cromwell and a majority of the powerful noble house in England were very conservative in their views. Through reforms such as the dissolution of monasteries and continuation of the break from Rome, and his blatant advances towards a more protestant church in England he gained himself some very powerful enemies such as Thomas Howard who was a leading conservative leader and even introduced his niece to court to seduce Henrys mind and gain support against Cromwell within the court. Source E goes onto to say that Cromwell had already lost Henrys favour due to the collapse of the marriage to Anne of Cleves, ‘… might have survived if his enemies had not made good use of the collapse of the Cleves marriage’, the annulment of the Cleves marriage had put Norfolk in a very strong position through as I mentioned earlier the introduction of his niece, and his support at both

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Another success was the foreign policies flexibility despite England and the King having such low income and money. This is shown in source N by “Failed to bring great gains to the country, but it did thrust the country into a major role which that its wealth and population scarcely justified and made hard to sustain.” This source also implies Wolsey’s aim was to serve the king and maintain Henry’s honour and influence despite it being argued that Wolsey was a self interested diplomat and constantly craved for his achievements to be recognised so he would be known as ‘the great peacemaker’ across Europe.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Oliver Cromwell: military leader of the Parliamentary side in the English Civil war, served as Lord Protector after the parliamentarians won.…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Most Tudor governments underestimated the threat presented by rebellions in England and Ireland.’How far do you agree?…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, it is to be asserted that Henry’s reason for marrying Anne radically differed from Cromwell’s – the individual who had actually suggested the daughter of Cleves to be a desirable candidate. Thomas Cromwell’s purpose was mainly of religious nature, since an alliance with Germany would effectively…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Wolsey was Henry VIII chief minister from his rise to power in 1514 after working himself up until his eventual fall from the king’s favour in 1529. During the time period where Wolsey contained his power he made many changes to England’s domestic policies. For this reason I do not accept the view of source V that Wolsey’s domestic policies were completely disappointing.…

    • 275 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coming from lower class beginnings it is no surprise that more information about his formative years was not documented. He was born in the year 1485 to a cloth-worker and alehouse keeper in the small village of Putney; just outside of London. Information regarding the years after his birth does not appear again until he decides to travel Europe as a teenager. The reasoning behind his sudden want to travel is not known, but it was most likely that his ambitions no longer fit in with the rural life he led it Putney. Cromwell’s travels as a teen led him through the Netherlands and then eventually to Italy. First battling in Garigliano in 1503 as a soldier, and then working in the Venetian banking house of Frescobaldi. By the year 1514, he had once again made the journey from Rome, back through the Netherlands, and to London. There, he married a widow and lived a quiet life while working in his law practice. A few years later though, he assists the town of Boston in their quest to secure “a bull of indulgence from Pope Leo X.” (historyofparliament.com) These events were only the beginning of Thomas Cromwell’s ambitious nature. Later, in the year 1520, Cromwell earned himself one of the most coveted and feared positions in the kingdom—working under Cardinal Thomas…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oliver Cromwell was a general for the Puritans during England's civil war. Cromwell captured Kin Charles for treason and had him executed. Cornwell now held power of England. He became a military dictator after ripping a constitution. Ireland then rebelled against him, so he sent an army to crush the rebels. 616,000 Irish died. After Cromwell's death the parliament appointed Charles II as ruler. Charles restored monarchy and brought back sports and theater.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the devastating fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, to the rise of his successor, the relentless Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell, throughout the course of English history has continually been portrayed as the main villain during Henry VIII’s reign, aside from Henry himself of course. A man, who thought nothing of betraying friends or allies in his conquest to secure the most notorious career in history. Since Henry VIII sent his chief minister and close advisor to the scaffold five centuries ago on 28 July 1540, historians have debated on the characterisation of Cromwell. Was he a manipulative death merchant who, throughout his political career killed and victimised thousands of innocent people for obeying their religious beliefs. Or was Cromwell simply a man of modest decent, risen from the ashes of his poor upbringing, due to his impeccable intelligence and determination?…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the same year a return to conservatism was outlined by the Act of Six Articles. This was, to put it most simply, a direct reinforcement of Catholic doctrine as the basis of faith for the English church. For example, the first article encourages transubstantiation and the third states, "that priests after the order or Priesthood received, as afore, may not marry, by the law of God ". Both of these were extremely catholically orientated and indeed it was highlighted in the Six Articles that refusal to adopt the articles would result in a charge of heresy, resulting in one's execution by hanging. Some would argue that this action was supported more by Henry's wife, Catherine Howard, who was a member of the conservative and Catholic Norfolk faction at court. Yet, Henry must have accepted this to some extent in order for this legislation to pass.…

    • 2028 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wolsey was Henry VIII’s chief minister for 15 years and it’s fair to say that historians have, in general, been disappointed with his lack of achievement in the area of domestic affairs. Most argue that he devoted far too much of his time to foreign policy in order to establish, and then further boost his own personal power and increase his income, implying that more of his time should have been allocated to reforming social and economic policy and using his vast intelligence to improve the way government operated in England at the time. However there was very little contemporary discontent with the way the country was being run in the first place. So perhaps these expectations are anachronistically minded as the vast majority expected very little from the government; Rather than radical change in the systems of government they expected a maintaining of law and order along with an upholding of the power the Crown and Church held. Domestic achievements were never going to influence the status and prestige of England nearly as much as foreign politics, and as long as Henry craved foreign glory it was to be Wolsey’s focus. On the other hand though, certain efficiency in tax collection was needed to fund the adventurous foreign policies Wolsey needed to impose and of course stability in government was needed for diplomatic success. Not to mention the character of the man himself, he was unlikely to not want involvement in all political matters in government, whether foreign or otherwise. This natural zealous could go down as the reason for one of Wolsey’s key failing [in domestic policy] in that he took on far too much in terms of cases in the Court of the Star Chamber and failed to finish plans for reform.…

    • 2577 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wolsey had always caused resentment from the nobility, and this only grew as he became more dominant in Henry VIII’s government. Not only did nobles dislike him due to his low birth contrasted with his high positions, such as becoming Lord Chancellor in 1515, but resentment was also caused by his lavish lifestyle. Although opposition against him had got stronger throughout his career, this in itself was not significant enough to cause his fall. It was a factor that undoubtedly would’ve swayed Henry, however the ultimate reason for Wolsey’s fall was the failure to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Historians have debated the powers of the king and parliament for centuries, and the events that molded the power balance between the two institutions. This power balance had been changed to a large extent by the end of the seventeenth century from what it had been at the beginning; as power and control slipped out of the monarchy’s grasp and into parliament’s hands. For could James the 1st have ever imagined that in a few years time his son would be beheaded on the charge of treason, and the monarchy itself would be abolished? Could William the 3rd have contemplated having the power to command a standing army, and conducting a foreign policy independent of Parliament? No one can deny the political changes of this era, however, what can be argued is what form this change took; an evolution or a revolution?…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This rebirth came after being embarrassed and humiliated by his marriages to Cleves and Howard. It is also important to recognise as Richardson does, that the reason the peace after 1545 is so uneasy is because of Henry’s achievements in war. No longer was there a balance in honour, therefore Francis was stuck in a peace he wanted to resolve - hence the continued sour relations that weren’t seen after the Field of the Cloth of Gold, which was otherwise similar in circumstances. The reason Henry VIII acted in such a reserved, and what has been interpreted as fearful way in 1539, was because of extent of the threat - the potential for a Catholic Crusade from a Habsburg-Valois alliance had a significant potential, in the wake of the Papal Bull of Excommunication against Henry VIII. Had the Treaty of Toledo been followed through it would have presented an existential crisis to the throne. However other explanations for his alliance seeking have been uncovered by McEntegart. He argues that, whilst security still remained a top priority, the king also had theological reasons for discussing with the Schmalkaldic League, exemplified by his considerations, at least on aspects of the Augsburg confession, in order to assist in creating uniformity in the Church. Furthermore he reveals the great plays of Cromwell’s faction in this period against the conservatives in order to further his heretical cause. This in turn led to Henry more closely seeking relations with the Schmalkalden as well as withdrawing from mainstream European politics. Security was secondary to honour, partially due to honour producing a security in its own right, at least in the eyes of Henry, but crucially due to the great focus that was still placed on the role of a chivalric and Godly…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, what Source 5 implicitly implies, is that the King had the ultimate say in the situation, as evidenced by Anne’s eventual fall from grace. She was able ‘to speak to the King’ on Wolsey’s behalf, but it is debatable to what extent this would have been effective. Source 6 indicates that Henry ‘had lost faith in his former servant’, and simply got rid of Wolsey when he failed to serve Henry well. Wolsey’s success in Henry’s French campaign, the diplomatic prestige of the Treaty of London in 1918, as well as Wolsey’s execution of tedious admistrative duties made him valuable to Henry, but as…

    • 508 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robespierre had a different type of authority than Cromwell, he spoke against the monarchy and defended the poor, which earned him the nickname “The Incorruptible”. As well, Robespierre was original against the death penalty and slavery. However when France started to turn against Louis XVI, Robespierre “successfully argued for the execution of the king and continued to encourage the crowd to rise up against the aristocracy” (Maximilien De Robespierre). By those actions Robespierre was able to continue the Revolution, which lead to a blood bath of those who were against the Revolution, turning him into a villain then a hero. Therefore Cromwell and Robespierre where hero’s however gaining to much authority lead them to turn against their own…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays