Essay On What Was Wolsey's Downfall

Henry the VIII wanted to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1527 with using an annulment, this was then Wolsey’s job to provide what the king wanted. Due to Wolsey’s constant victories, he was able to sustain power for 15 years, outlasting the King‘s other advisers. Yet his fall was swift and dramatic, which came after his failure of obtaining Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. In regards to this, it seems clear that this is the reason why Wolsey fell from power, yet there are possible contributing factors that must take into consideration. For instance Wolsey’s failure sometimes was out of his control as Queen Catherine was Charles V’s aunt so he would never accept the annulment in fear of hear being humiliated. Charles also had captured Pope Clement this meant that all decisions would have been controlled and manipulated to Charles’ will, delaying the annulment even more. Another failure that was out of Wolsey’s control was the role of factions within the court, Anne Boleyn and her family
pressurised Henry to seek an annulment quicker, her heavy influence also threatened Wolsey’s ultimate demise.
In order to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry placed his faith in Wolsey. He believed that the reason behind Catherine not being able to produce many healthy children or male heirs was because the marriage was against Gods will. Henry understood that marrying his brother’s wife was an “unclean thing” and as a result he needed Wolsey to act as Papal legate and negotiate with the Pope. Due to Wolsey being so close to the pope, Henry assumed that the annulment would happen quickly however to Wolsey’s dismay the pope appeared unwilling to do want Henry wanted. By deliberately stalling, Henry blamed Wolsey for the delay and it was here that Wolsey’s power in government and role in the church was slipping. By persuading the Pope to move the case to England, under the original dispensation, Wolsey had the power and authority to preside over the case. Yet, after 7 months of delay, the Papal Legate Campeggio was assigned the case, even with Wolsey’s attempts at blackmail and bribery to speeds the process up, it was too late as Henry had lost entire faith in Wolsey. Wolsey’s failure to obtain an annulment left divorce as the only option and this heavily contributed to his fall from power as he failed to obtain what Henry wanted so desperately.
Failures in Wolsey’s foreign policy during the later years of his Cardinal’s position, explained the troubles he had in meeting the King’s ever expanding requirements. This included the Amicable Grant of 1525, this was an attempt by Wolsey to pose a new property tax to fund Henry’s expedition to France but it was highly unpopular. Once again this affected Henry, who wanted to remain popular among the public as well as gain money for war. Due to Wolsey’s failed plan, Henry could not acquire either. The Amicable Grant managed to prove that Wolsey could not always keep with Henry’s demands and when he didn’t his role began to be questioned. In this period of time, the King became intrigued by Anne Boleyn and started to distrust Wolsey. Financially, Wolsey’s policies were of mixed consequence. Through the removal of the ‘fifteenths and tenths’ taxation system and its replacement ‘Tudor Subsidy’ being placed, the financial system became more efficient and the fairness of taxation was greatly improved. The ‘Tudor Subsidy’ led to a more realistic taxation system, meaning it was the rich who were more heavily taxed. This, however, left the rich angry and unhappy, which again went against what Henry wanted for his image, and because his was unpopular amongst the nobility, it meant that less people could cooperate with his aims.
It can also be said that the influence of Anne Boleyn led to his downfall along with his arrogance in dealing with the situation. When going through the process of seeking an annulment, Anne Boleyn and her allies at court encouraged a more aggressive policy towards getting what they wanted, so Henry put more pressure onto Wolsey. Henrys infatuation with Anne had given him a greater desire to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, so as a result this caused tension within court as Wolsey and Anne were both acting aggressively towards each other to seek this annulment. As Wolsey was unable to grant a divorce, he was not only depriving the King of a new wife whom he held feelings for, but also of a possible male heir which was one of the King’s main priorities during his reign. Therefore, this impacted Henry because he wanted a male heir and as we see throughout his existence, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Due to the Boleyn faction at court, Wolsey had major opposition, and because of Henry’s infatuation with Anne Boleyn, the faction had the upper hand over Wolsey, thus providing a contributing reason for his downfall.
To conclude, ultimately the King’s great matter of 1527 onwards was the most important reason for Wolsey’s downfall because it was the most important issue that related to the King regarding his personal needs; a wife and a male heir he so desperately desired.
Despite this being the main reason, it is true that Wolsey’s unpopularity was a factor that contributed as well, his many enemies at court provided reasons for Henry to remove him but Henry didn’t get rid of his straight away because Wolsey was able to do what he asked. However, when he failed, Henry took into consideration these enemies (especially the Duke of Norfolk because of his family ties with Anne Boleyn.) and his failures with gaining the nobilities favour. Therefore Wolsey’s ultimate downfall was the failure of not securing an annulment, but his unpopularity and minor failures such as the subsidies were contributing factors to the most important reasons of why he eventually fell from
power.