‘Henry VII’s financial policies were the most important reason for the success of his rule.’ Assess the validity of this view.

Henry VII is credited with a successful rule due to the way in which England was able to develop; from a financially ruined, isolated, politically divided country after the War of the Roses, to a financially stable, united country sat comfortably within its European peers. To credit this success on Henry’s financial policies would not be completely invalid, due to the fact England was of course financially ruined which affected its ability to stand as an independent, powerful country. However, to suggest that this was the most important reason for Henry’s success would inevitably cause the argument to loose validity. Without a successful consolidation of power, and without the recognition of foreign powers through his foreign policy which Henry clearly prioritised, the success of his rule is extremely questionable. Henry came to the throne of England as a foreigner, an unknown Lancastrian whose power had been earned through battle only. To secure a stable monarchy, which clearly is a main contributor to Henry’s success, he prioritised first and fore-mostly his own consolidation of power. Without the following steps, it is debatable whether Henry would have remained in power for long; firstly, by arranging his coronation to the thirtieth of October 1485, before his first parliament which took place on the seventh of November to ensure complete control, which meant that Henry had successfully shown strength and had legitimised his power. Secondly, his marriage to Elizabeth of York in January 1486, which brought about the unification of the two houses after years of civil war, by ending it, there would be a lesser chance of a Yorkist rebellion or uprising which could put Henry’s throne in jeopardy. Thus, the argument that Henry’s financial policies outweigh the policies he took towards consolidation and stabilisation does not hold validity. Similarly, is Henry’s foreign policy and relationships with foreign powers. It would be an incredibly invalid argument to suggest that Henry prioritised any other policy over his foreign policy. A perfect example would be the aid Henry sent to Brittany in 1489, costing him to induce higher taxation and loosing many men in the process also, along with his invasion of northern France in 1492 which had the same effect. Both military operations were undertaken in order to protect the monarchy from being undermined, after Charles VIII had supported a potential pretender to the English throne Perkin Warbeck. Another clear example is the trade embargo Henry imposed on Burgundy, a major trading partner which would bring in much of England’s revenue, due to hospitality given once again to Warbeck. It is clear that Henry VII put aside financial policies in order to protect the dynasty and prove England’s independence and strength, proving that it was not Henry’s finances which lead him to success, rather his focus on gaining foreign recognition so not to damage the English throne. Despite this, there is a degree of validity in suggesting that Henry’s finances were a contributing factor to his success, rather than the most important reason as the statement suggests. A lack of law and order under Henry’s predecessors had led to his own rise to power, however quite obviously Henry did not wish for this to happen to himself. Thus, Henry implemented a number of policies which limited the power of those he felt threatened by through his financial policy, an example of this would be the introduction of bonds and recognizances, which bound an individual to perform an action, and if failed to do so forfeit a sum of money to the king. Henry also introduced feudal dues as part of his financial policy, which allowed him the opportunity to arrange marriages between heirs/heiresses, giving him complete control as to who the most important people in the country with the power to overthrow him would marry. Thus, there were elements of Henry’s financial policy which contributed to his ability to sustain the throne, leading to a successful rule. However, to suggest that finance was the most important reason for this success would be overlooking Henry’s priorities in both consolidation, and foreign policies, which ultimately enabled Henry to establish a successful rule early on in his reign.