Cromwell's Responsibility For Expansions And Effectiveness Of Government Between 1530 and 1539

Cromwell's Responsibility For Expansions And Effectiveness Of Government Between 1530 and 1539

The most influential and controversial thesis concerning Cromwell’s

role in the revolution in government in the 1530s was Elton’s ‘The

Tudor Revolution in Government’. In this work, Elton asses Cromwell

“as the most remarkable revolutionary in English history.”. Elton

argued that Cromwell seized the unique opportunity presented by Henry

VIII’s martial problems to turn England into a unified, independent

sovereign state, ruled by a constitutional monarch through national

and bureaucratic institutions. This is certainly true to an extent

however it could be argued that these changes were reactionary

measures taken by Cromwell rather than as part of the intimated

pre-conceived plan on Cromwell’s behalf. Thus from the outset that

there are two sides to Elton’s argument and in answering the question

I shall take all aspects of government in turn and analyse the

revolution or evolution they went through and to what degree these

were of Cromwell’s doing.

The reform of the Privvy Council has been described by Gunn as the

“cornerstone of the revolution in government”. In 1530 we see a

departure from the mediaeval system of council as used by both Henry’s

father and Richard III. During the reigns of both of these Kings, the

council usually numbered about 200 members with seven or eight

professional councillors conducting daily business. However as a

reactionary measure to the Pilgrimage of Grace, the council was

reformed with twenty permanent members alone retaining their position

in that council and it was intended that these members would all be

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...aeval towards modern use

of parliament.

By looking at these aspects of government change in the 1530s, I would

argue that, Cromwell for the most part was implementer of the King’s

will, yet with certain issues, Cromwell was the architect of the

revolution in government during the 1530s. His dominance over

parliament, the manipulation of his household positions and his

magnificent extension of royal power made his rise to power

unstoppable. However his own mistakes would lose Cromwell his life

even at the height of his influence and remit. Elton’s thesis on

Cromwell’s involvement and role are largely exaggerated, however the

thesis in principal is accurate in that whether through execution of

the King’s will or his won personal pre-conceived plans, Cromwell was

hugely responsible for this revolution in government.