Morton’s Fork
A clever ruse by King Henry VII’s Chancellor to raise revenue
King Henry VII acquired the throne of England by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He was well aware that his claim to the throne was not strong, and that challenges to his position were entirely possible. He therefore needed the backing of a strong army, and financial independence so that he would not have to rely on Parliament for the necessary funds.
He therefore set about acquiring more wealth than the monarchy had ever known. Indeed, the cupboard had been virtually emptied by Edward IV (Richard III’s older brother), and needed to be refilled.
Henry’s chancellor, who was given the task of finding the cash, was John Morton (c. 1420–1500) who had previously served Edward IV as an ambassador to France and had been rewarded in 1479 by being made Bishop of Ely. However, he was opposed to Richard III, and has even been accused of inventing the story of the murder, by Richard, of Edward’s sons, the “Princes in the Tower”.
After Bosworth, Henry made him Archbishop of Canterbury and, in 1487, his Lord Chancellor. Morton was well aware that a good source of funds was the nobility of England, and he also knew that transferring wealth from them to the king would have the political benefit of making them less able to…
