Henry VII's Rule

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1485 (22nd August)

Battle of Bosworth Field

This decisive battle between the forces of Henry Tudor and Richard III, saw Richard killed and Henry proclaimed King Henry VII on the battlefield.

1485 (late August)

Henry ordered the arrest of Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Edward IV’s younger brother George, Duke of Clarence. The 10 year old Edward was placed in the Tower of London.

1485 (30th October)

Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1485 (November)

Henry VII’s first parliament repudiated Titulus Regius (1484) legitimising Elizabeth of York and her family.

1486 (during)

An act was passed that returned to the crown all lands it had lost during the Wars of the Roses.

1486 (18th January)

Henry married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV, at Westminster Abbey.

1486 (March)

Henry and Elizabeth embarked on a progress of the north of England.

1486 (20th September)

A son, Arthur, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at St Swithun’s Priory in Winchester.

1486 (24th September)

Prince Arthur was baptised at Winchester Cathedral by the Bishop of Worcester.

1487 (January)

A pretender to the throne, Lambert Simnel, claimed to be Elizabeth’s cousin, Edward Earl of Warwick.

1487 (16th June)

Battle of Stoke

Henry VII fought the forces of Lambert Simnel and the Earl of Lincoln at Stoke. Lincoln was killed and Lambert Simnel, was captured and set to work in the royal kitchens.

1487 (November)

Henry arranged for Margaret, daughter of Edward IV’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, to to marry his cousin, Richard Pole.

1487 (25th November)

Henry’s Queen, Elizabeth, was crowned Queen consort at Westminster Abbey.

1489 (during)

The people of Yorkshire rebelled against a tax imposed to help Henry support Brittany maintaining independence from France.

1489 (14th February)

The Treaty of Redon allied England with Brittany against France.

1489 (27th March)

Treaty of Medina del Campo

This treaty between England and Spain agreed that Prince Arthur would marry Catherine of Aragon when they were both of age to marry.

1489 (October)

Henry introduced a new coin. It was a golden sovereign that depicted Henry VII wearing a crown.

1489 (28th November)

A daughter, Margaret, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at the Palace of Westminster. She was named after her Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort.

1489 (29th November)

Henry’s son, Arthur, was made Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and a Knight of the Bath.

1491 (8th May)

Henry’s son, Arthur, was made a Knight of the Garter.

1491 (28th June)

A son, Henry, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at Greenwich Palace.

1491 (early July)

Prince Henry was baptised in the Church of Observant Friars at Greenwich Palace.

1491 (31st October)

Henry’s son, Henry was made a Knight of the Bath.

1491 (November)

Perkin Warbeck, a new pretender to the throne emerged. He claimed to be Elizabeth of York’s brother Richard Duke of York.

1491 (21st December)

Henry agreed a peace with James IV of Scotland.

1492 (during)

Tariffs were imposed on Italian imports. In retaliation the Italians refused to allow English trading ships a return cargo.

1492 (2nd July)

A daughter, Elizabeth, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at Sheen Palace in Surrey.

1492 (October)

Anxious to maintain the independence of Brittany, Henry crossed the Channel at the head of an army to prevent Charles VIII of France from annexing Brittany. Charles agreed to negotiate peace.

1492 (November)

Henry extended the peace with Scotland for a further two years.

1492 (3rd November)

Treaty of Etaples

This was a peace treaty between England and France to last until one year after the death of the King that lived the longest.

1493 (during)

Henry prevented English merchants from trading with Antwerp in retaliation for Margaret of Burgundy’s support of the pretender Perkin Warbeck.

1493 (June)

Prince Henry was created Earl Marshall of England.

1494 (May)

Henry imposed economic sanctions on Maximillian, Holy Roman Emperor, because he had declared his support for Perkin Warbeck.

1494 (31st October)

Henry’s son, Henry, was made Duke of York.

1495 (17th May)

Henry’s son, Henry, was made a Knight of the Garter.

1495 (25th June)

Henry VII and the royal party made a progress of Lancashire.

1495 (3rd July)

Perkin Warbeck attempted an invasion of England by landing a small force at Deal in Kent. When those that landed were captured he sailed to Ireland.

1495 (14th September)

Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth, died of atrophy.

1495 (27th November)

Perkin Warbeck landed in Scotland and was given a state welcome by James IV.

1496 (during)

The World’s first dry dock was built at Portsmouth.

1496 (24th February)

Magnus Intercursus

This treaty between England and the Netherlands provided for a renewal of trade between the two countries. A clause was included that stated that neither country was to aid the other’s rebels.

1496 (5th March)

Letters patent were granted to John Cabot allowing him to sail five ships under the English flag to discover new lands. He would pay the crown one fifth of all his profits.

1496 (18th March)

A daughter, Mary, was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at Richmond Palace.

1496 (July)

England joined the Holy League of Venice. The League united Italian states against France.

1496 (21st September)

James IV and Perkin Warbeck crossed the border with a large army. James hoped the northern counties would rise against Henry but he found little support and returned to Scotland.

1496 (Autumn)

Henry wanted to avoid war with Scotland and so offered James IV the hand in marriage of his daughter, Margaret.

1497 (during)

Henry added two new ships to the navy – The Sweepstake and The Mary Fortune.

1497 (January)

Parliament approved a new tax to raise money to defend the border with Scotland against a further invasion in support of Perkin Warbeck.

1497 (2nd May)

John Cabot set sail in ‘The Matthew’ to discover new lands.

1497 (late May)

The people of Cornwall rebelled against the tax for the defence of the Scottish border. They argued that they were to far away from Scotland for its defence to be their responsibility.

1497 (June)

A force of Cornishmen led by Michael Joseph and Thomas Flamank began a march to London. They were joined by James Touchet, Baron Audley who became their leader.

1497 (17th June)

The Cornish rebels reached Kent seeking support for their cause. However they were attacked by the Earl of Kent and the leaders captured at the Battle of Deptford Bridge.

1497 (24th June)

John Cabot discovered an unhabited land which he named the New-Found-Land.

1497 (27th June)

Thomas Flamank and Michael Joseph, leaders of the Cornish rebels were hanged at Tyburn.

1497 (28th June)

James Touchet, Baron Audley was beheaded at Blackfriars, London.

1497 (5th July)

Henry asked James IV to surrender Perkin Warbeck to England and threatened him with war if he did not comply. Deciding that an alliance with England would be in Scotland’s best interests he gave Perkin Warbeck a boat and expelled him from Scotland.

1497 (16th July)

Perkin Warbeck landed in Cork, Ireland.

1497 (18th July)

Treaty of Medina del Campo

The terms for the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon were now set out in detail. Catherine would come to England in 1500 when Arthur was 14 years old and her dowry of 200,000 crowns would be paid in two instalments.

1497 (August)

Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon were formally betrothed at the Palace of Woodstock. The Spanish ambassador stood as proxy for Catherine.

1497 (7th September)

Perkin Warbeck landed in Cornwall.

1497 (17th September)

Perkin Warbeck supported by a peasant force lay siege to Exeter but was beaten back.

1497 (21st September)

Realising he was not going to be able to mount a successful invasion, Perkin Warbeck left Cornwall for Southampton. He hoped to return to the continent.

1497 (5th October)

Perkin Warbeck was captured at Beaulieu Abbey.

1497 (27th November)

Perkin Warbeck was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

1498 (during)

A conference was held at Westminster between England and the German States in order to clarify the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht.

1498 (during)

A son, Edward was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

1498 (February)

Both Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon appealed to the Pope to grant a dispensation to allow them to marry before reaching legal age.

1498 (April)

A conference was held at Bruges to discuss trade between England and the Netherlands, but little was accomplished.

1498 (May)

The English Merchant Adventurers were granted a trading monopoly with the Netherlands.

1498 (9th June)

Perkin Warbeck escaped from the Tower of London. He later surrendered to the abbot of the monastery at Sheen and was returned to the Tower.

1499 (during)

Margaret of Burgundy sent an official apology to Henry VII for the support she had given Perkin Warbeck.

1499 (during)

Henry’s son, Edward died.

1499 (12th February)

A new pretender to the throne, Ralph Wulford, who claimed to be the imprisoned Earl of Warwick was captured and sentenced to death.

1499 (21st February)

A son, Edmund was born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at Greenwich Palace.

1499 (May)

A conference was held at Calais between Henry VII and Philip of Burgundy to settle trading disputes.

1499 (19th May)

Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon were married by proxy at Bewdley.

1499 (Summer)

Catherine of Aragon’s father, Ferdinand of Aragon, told Henry VII that he was concerned by the fact that claimants to the throne remained alive in England.

1499 (July)

A peace was agreed between England and Scotland to be sealed with the marriage of Princess Margaret to James IV of Scotland.

1499 (early November)

Perkin Warbeck and the Earl of Warwick exchanged letters while in the Tower. They agreed to escape and overthrow Henry VII.

1499 (23rd November)

The pretender, Perkin Warbeck, who had claimed to be Elizabeth of York’s brother, Richard of York, was hanged at Tyburn.

1499 (28th November)

Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Edward IV’s younger brother George, was beheaded.