Henry VII Part 1

Henry VII Part 1

Seizing the throne
1. Why
  1. The War of the Roses- Yorkists had the white rose, Lancastrians red rose.
  2. 1422-1471: the throne shifts between these families.
  3. England was in a state of decline. The 'Divine Right' was also being questioned because the King was so easily displaced.
  4. King Edward IV died in 1483, leaving his young sons as heirs. His wife, Elizabeth Woodville was protector until brother Richard 'finds' a new will that says he can be regent.
  5. Richard III's rule divided people- some liked him because he rewarded those loyal to him, others disliked him because he was seen as a usurper.
  6. The Buckingham Revolt 1483 saw some Nobles (including Buckingham, who was one of Richard's closest allies initially) revolt against Richard III.
  7. People saw Richard as a tyrant, especially after he punished 97 Southern nobles harshly for rebelling against him. He also created plantation policies that moved his trusted Northern nobles to the South.
2. How
  1. Richard's son died in 1484 and his wife in 1485. He then created a scandal by wanting to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York.
  2. Richard had bad relationships with France, Scotland, and Wales.
  3. Henry Tudor was the son of a minor nobleman called Edmund Tudor and Lancastrian heiress Margaret Beaufort. He was born in 1457.
  4. Henry Tudor fled to Brittany during the War of the Roses. Southern nobles fled here too after 1583, when they despised Richard's plantation policy.
  5. Richard III then created a deal with Brittany, so Henry goes to France and is met with support.
  6. Henry promised to marry Elizabeth of York, which would unite the Yorkists and the Lancastrians.
  7. Henry's step-father, Thomas Stanley, had a lot of power and influence in England.
Bosworth
1. What went on
  1. Henry landed in Mill Bay, Wales. This was where his Uncle (Jasper Tudor) lived. He then went into England.
  2. The battle occurred on the 22nd August 1485.
  3. Richard met Henry with 10,000 soldiers at the top of the hill at Bosworth. Henry only had 5,000 troops.
  4. Richard was supposedly found in a hawthorne bush- the hawthorne then became a symbol of the Tudors.
2. Why Henry won
  1. Henry had the Earl of Oxford, 200 ships of French soldiers, and plenty of loyal nobles.
  2. The French used a new, European fighting technique called the Swiss Pike against the English.
  3. Richard's army began to turn on him during the battle, including the Earl of Northumberland and Henry's step-father, Thomas Stanley.
Stabilising his rule
1. What he did to secure his reign
  1. He backdated his reign to the day before the battle of Bosworth (21st August), which allowed him to punish Richard's supporters for treason.
  2. He publicly rewarded his key supporters. and made key appointments to his household and council.
  3. He arranged for his supporters to detain Elizabeth of York (for marriage) and the Earl of Warwick, who was only 10 but had a stronger claim to the throne than him.
  4. Arranges his coronation to take place before the meeting of the first parliament.
  5. He marries Elizabeth of York, but after the coronation to prove that he is the King.
2. How successful these measures were
  1. He managed to end the War of the Roses by uniting the two sides under the Tudor rose.
  2. He kept the throne.
3. What his aims were
  1. He wanted to prove that he was worthy of the throne.
  2. Wanted to show that he had authority and would use it well
  3. Henry wanted to keep his power
4. Why this was important
  1. Henry had fairly defeated Richard on the battlefield, but he was still technically a usurper.
  2. Henry's claim to the throne was extremely weak, especially considering what claim he did have came from his mother (the female line).
  3. Many enemies wanted to see him face the same threat as Richard.
Pretenders, rebellions and claimants
1. Lambert Simnel
  1. Lambert Simnel was a 10 year old child chosen to pretend be the Earl of Warwick (who was actually still in the Tower of London)
  2. In 1487, Simnel travelled to Dublin and was crowned by the Earls of Kildare. As Edward VI, he wore splendid robes and was crowned with gold from a statue of the Virgin Mary. Henry had to prepare for open rebellion
  3. Henry won at the Battle of Stoke Field (June 1487). The battle only lasted for three hours because Henry's army had lots of experience and the Yorkists did not. The Earl of Lincoln and Schwarz died, but Lovell fled.
  4. The Earl of Lincoln joined Lovell in Burgundy. Margaret of Burgundy gave financial aid and 2,000 German mercenaries
  5. Henry paraded the real Earl of Warwick through the streets of London, but it mostly caused confusion. He also confined Elizabeth of Woodville to a nunnery, and promised favours to Northern nobles like Northumberland.
  6. Some leaders of the King's armies included the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Oxford. However, the Yorkists chose the battlefield.
  7. Simnel landed in Cumbria, which was ideal because it was remote and inaccessible with lots of good shelter. However, Lincoln moved so quickly that he didn't recruit many people.
  8. As a result of this, Edward Poynings was sent to Ireland to keep the Earls of Kildare in line
2. Cornish rebellion
  1. 1497
  2. The Cornish rebellion started in a similar way to the Yorkshire rebellion in 1489, except for the fact that their taxes were raised to defend England against Scotland.
  3. These rebels did not kill any important people, but they did pose a bigger threat than Yorkshire.
  4. The rebels were led by Thomas Flamanck and Michael Joseph
  5. Initially, there were about 6,000 ill-armed peasants. Perkin Warbeck hijacked the rebellion, but left in Glastonbury because he had no support.
  6. Some historians say that this rebellion was not stopped as they passed through villages because they agreed with the anti-tax ideas. Other historians say that Henry decided to let the rebellion keep going so he could show his growing power.
  7. Lord Audley joined the rebellion in Wells.
  8. The rebels were only stopped at Blackheath (outside London) after Lord Daubeney brought 8,000 men to fight them
3. Perkin Warbeck
  1. Perkin Warbeck pretended to be Richard (the youngest Prince in the tower).
  2. In 1493, he went to Margaret of Burgundy, who taught him the ways of the Yorkist court. However, the same year the Archduke Philip took control of Burgundy. Henry complained that they were sheltering Warbeck and then imposed a trade embargo when Philip did nothing.
  3. In 1490, he was taken to Ireland with Yorkist John Taylor to impersonate Richard. Most of the Irish Lords (notably including Kildare) refused to help him.
  4. Warbeck travelled to France in 1492, where Charles VIII received him as a prince. However, in November that year, Etaples was signed.
  5. In 1494, Henry's spies uncovered spies in their Government- most notably William Stanley, who was executed in February 1495.
  6. Warbeck was then welcomed by Maximilian, the Holy Roman Emperor. Warbeck promised that if he died before becoming King, his 'claim' would be passed to Maximilian.
  7. In July 1495, Warbeck fled to Ireland and enlisted the support of the Earl of Desmond, until he was driven out by Edward Poynings.
  8. Warbeck then fled to Scotland in 1495. He married Lady Catherine Gordon, James VI's cousin. James then supported an unsuccessful invasion of England in September.
  9. James IV signed the Truce of Ayton. Warbeck tried Ireland again in 1497 with no luck. He was then captured in Cornwall after trying to join the Cornish rebellion.
  10. In 1498, Warbeck was transferred to the Tower of London. He and the Earl of Warwick were executed after apparently trying to escape.
4. Lovell rebellion
  1. Easter 1486
  2. Involved three minor noblemen: Francis Viscount Lovell, Humphrey Stafford and Thomas Stafford
  3. After being defeated at Bosworth, these three went into sanctuary and made their plan to overthrow Henry.
  4. In 1486, they broke out of sanctuary only to find that they had little to no support
  5. The Stafford brothers were arrested- Humphrey was executed, Thomas spared and became a loyal member of Henry's court
  6. Lovell was crushed by Jasper Tudor (now the Duke of Bedford) and fled to Cumbria, then abroad to safety in Flanders.
  7. After this event, Henry changed the laws of sanctuary so that treason was not included in this. Yorkist supporters realised that they needed somebody to replace Henry. Henry also realised he importance of foreign policy
5. Yorkshire rebellion
  1. 1489
  2. The rebellion occurred as a result of the taxation granted by parliament in 1489 (when the campaign in Brittany was going on)
  3. The Earl of Northumberland was killed by a group of rebels near Thirsk, Northern Yorkshire when he was sent to meet John à Chambre to collect taxes
  4. Northumberland was killed by his tenants because the people with him abandoned him. This was a punishment for deserting Richard III at Bosworth (they were Northerners)
  5. Led by John à Chambre until he was hanged after asking for a pardon. Sir John Egrement then took over, but he quickly fled to Burgundy.

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	Created by Lucy Voakes about 2 years ago