Amicable Grant

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The Amicable grant was a tax imposed on England in 1525 by the Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey. Called at the time "a benevolance", it was essentially a forced loan that was levied on one-third of both the clergy and laity's incomes. The Amicable Grant should have been levied with Parliamentary authority, but was not, and so the legal framework for its collection was extremely weak.

1 Causes
2 Effects
- 2.1 Short Term
- 2.2 Long term

[edit] Causes

In 1525 Henry VIII of England wanted to mount an invasion of France (the Great Enterprise). For this he needed large amounts of cash, which he did not have. In order to get this money Wolsey resorted to a benevolence called the Amicable Grant to get the money. The English Parliament was at this time unlikely to support war, since it was proving to be expensive.

[edit] Effects

[edit] Short Term

Resistance to Wolsey's demands was on the increase and this finally boiled over in the wake of the Amicable Grant. It provoked an open rebellion in Suffolk and a taxpayer strike. Wolsey was forced to abandon the Grant and reduce the payments for the 1523 subsidy.Major rebellions took place at cloth manufacturing towns of Lavenham and Kent, which spread across East Anglia.

[edit] Long term

Wolsey was unable to provide the money for an invasion and this, along with the civil disorder, shook Henry's faith in Wolsey. It could have contributed to his downfall in 1529.