What are The Strengths and Limitations of The Sources Available for The Study of The Amicable Grant of 1525?

 Certainly there is a plethora of historical sources available though not all of the information that could be gained from studying sources is of direct relevance for gaining an understanding the Amicable Grant of 1525. Besides there being sources of information about Henry VIII, there are also sources concerning Cardinal Thomas Wolsey the chief minister responsible for administering the Amicable Grant of 1525 on behalf of his royal master. The assessment outlined below will evaluate the strengths as well as the limitations of the primary and secondary historical sources available for the study of the Amicable Grant of 1525. The assessment will evaluate the accuracy the bias and the reliability of the sources of information available besides the strengths and the limitations those sources. Secondary sources can be a good means of obtaining quotes and information from primary sources that might otherwise be harder to obtain, which is why the availability of secondary sources will also be examined.

There are arguably various strengths regarding the sources available for the study of the Amicable Grant of 1525. The Amicable Grant happened at a time when a higher amount of sources were being produced and that increases the chances such sources have survived in one format or another down to the present day. The reign of Henry VIII would witness an increase in the amount of information gathered, printed, and also recorded publicly and privately. The Amicable Grant of 1525 took place in an era of increased levels of literacy, which allowed more people to record information and also their opinion of the government attempting to raise the Amicable Grant in the first place. Letters, journals, and diaries are a good potential source of information about the Amicable Grant of 1525 whenever and wherever they are available to be used. As the Amicable Grant of 1525 proved to be so unpopular with the majority of the population in England and Wales. The government, as well as the opponents of the levy itself produced primary sources of information about the Amicable Grant of 1525, though perhaps not in enough quantity or quality to resolve all issues that surround this subject.1

The first place to find primary sources of information about the Amicable Grant of 1525 is from contemporary official papers and records from the government that have survived. The government of Henry VIII at the time that it developed the concept of the Amicable Grant in the early part of 1525, as a means of raising sorely needed revenue to fit in with its foreign policy plans.2Henry VIII had grand ideas about invading France and wanted to take advantage of the Habsburgs recent crushing victory at the battle of Pavia in The Italian Wars, or at least that was the impression he gave in public, though appearances in this case were arguably deceptive. People that wish to study the Amicable Grant of 1525 are lucky in the respect that the English government could usually be relied upon to record information about taxes. The government in England and Wales were keen to record details taxes and its other sources of revenues, whilst not all of the public’s protests about paying taxes were recorded at the time of the Amicable Grant.3