Tudor- chapter 1

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  • Created by: Emzhip16
  • Created on: 08-05-21 18:56

England in 1485

the war of the roses-

  • England had been unstable since 1399 with the throne regualrly changing hands 
  • these wars begun in 1455 and lasted until 1485/7 
  • they were fought between 2 families who had claims to the throne of England: the Yorkists and the Lancastrians 
  • the struggle started becuase of instability: Henry VI was a weak king and nobels were powerful

monarchy and England-

  • The thorne always chnaged hands
  • Henry Vi ruled but Edward VI overthrew him, Richard III took the throne when Edward died, Richard may have murded his nephews, sons of Edward VI

Henry Tudor-

  • had a weak claim to the throne
  • had been in exile in France for 14 years 
  • he hardly knew England and his invasion was aided by the French
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why was there unrest in Henry's early years?

  • during the battle of Bosworth many nobels remained neatral suggesting that they, disliked Richard but they didn't activley support Henry
  • Henry's claim was weak, being through his mother, Margret Beaufort
  • his Lancastrian cliam to the throne was weak and was most likley to be questioned and challanged by Yorkist claiments 
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how did Henry secure his position?

1st- started his reign from the day before Bosworth: this meant that any who fought against him were traitors and could have thier estates seized, which would also add to the Kings wealth 

2nd- Henry arranged is corrantion from 30th October, which was before parliment met, so that it could not be claimed that he was King only because of parliemnt 

3rd- asked for Papal dispention to allow him to marry Elizabeth of York, and unite the houses of Lancaster and York. the marriages took place in Jan 1486, after Henry had been crowned, so that it could not be claimed that Henry owned the crown to his wife. 

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how did Henry secure his position?

these actions did not ensure his throne though: 

  • there was still a number of Yorkist alive who at least had a strong claim to the throne agasint Henry
  • the most imporatant claiment were Richard's Newphews: Earl of Warwick and Earl of Lincoln. 
  • Henry's position was further weakend by his years in exile 
  • many thought that, given his weak claim and lack of knowledge of the country his reign was unlikely to last
  • Historian argues that 'not only was Henry replacing an unpopular king but also a king that was dead'
  • Henry, unlike Edward VI, had not been dependent upon a powerful noble to make him king and therefore was not beholden to another noble family. 
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the Lovell conspiracy

  • within a year of taking the throne
  • not a serouis unrest however this was not arraprent at the time
  • trouble in the midlands, the north and wals as Henry embarked on a roayl progress to the north, where yorkist support was strong. 
  • unrest came from dissatisfied Yorkists who had support from Richard 
  • rebellion in the Midleands and North involved Lord Lovell and the Stafford brothers, all who had been loyal to Richard 
  • plan failed becuase Herny heard of the plot and sent an armed force to offer the rebels a choice of pardon or excommunication and death.
  • the rebles dispersed, but Lovell fled to Flanders and the Stafford sought in scaurtry. 
  • The Staffords were arrested, Humpery was executed but thomas was pardoned and remained loyal to Henry 
  • this rebellion did not prevent royal progress and his vist to the North helped to win loyality and obedience.
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2 taxation rebellions: Yorkshire Rebellion

1489-  rising was reslut of Henry's attempts to raise money to aid Brittany in its struggle agaisnt france. Although parliment granted his a subsidy of £100,000 very little was raised. 

  • Yorkshire was annoyed because not only did they have a bad harvest in 1488, but other Northeren counties had been exempt from the tax becuase they were expected to defend the border agasint Scottland 
  • the area was also less concerned about the problem of France more than southerly counties wich might be invaded or attacked

despite this Henry reffused to change but when the Earl of Northumberland tried to collect the tax he was murdered. 

the rebellion was led by Sir John Egermount, a Yorkist supporter  and illigamate member of the Percy house hold (largest land owners in England)

although the rising was easliy crushed by the army, the money was not collected. this showed that ruling the North required compromise as royal authority was weak and soon by challanged. this was recgonised by Henry- appointed Earl of Surrey as a represneative of the North a man with no vested intrest and whose loyality was there from securing his own estates 

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2 taxation rebellions: Cornish rebellion

The Cornish rising of 1497 was more serious, but caused by the same factor: Henry's need for money. Instead this time the threat was from Scotland was James IV sought to aid perkin warbeck and invade the North of England. 

However, as in Yorkshire the Cornish had little intrest in events so geographically remote and saw little reason why they should pay taxes. 

the rebels assembled at the cornish county Bodmin May 1497 and their numbers swelled as they marched through the county. in Somerset their numbers increased again. the rebellion had around 15,000 supporters there was some cross-class support from the rising amoung the minor gentry. 

numbers declined as they reaced London. Henry took no chances and raised an army of 25,000 men which easily crushed the rebels in Balckheath June 1497. 

the rebellion was never a serious threat to Henry. the leaders however were tourted and executed while others were heavily fined. 

the two taxation rebellions did show that the country was no prepared to fund campiegns to defend the Tudor dyansty. the cornish rebl suggested that 12 years into his reign loyality to Henry was still limited 

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How serious a threat was the Yorkist challenge?

Henry was only king because he had deafeted the Yorkist kimg. Richard III at Bosworth. the earlt years of his reign he had revealed that rising from Yorksit supporters were almost inevitable,as seen in Lovell, Stafford and Vaughan in 1486. 

The Yorksit challange was serious becuase of Marget of Burgundy who offred safe haven for Yorkist exiles and was wiling to to fund enterprises and provide mercenaries to fight against the tudor state. 

The lack of Yorkists claimments to the throne should have increased Henry's security, but instead suitable candidiates who could inperosnate one of the Yorkist 'prince in the tower' were found and this resluted in Simmnels rebellion 1486-87 and Warbeck of 1491-99. 

Although it is unlikely that the supporters of these pretenders ever genuinley belived they were who they claimed, they were still able to raise support form yorkist supporters and also from frogein powers who wanted to detsablisie the country. 

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Simnel rebellion

Lambert Simnel, who claimed to be the Earl of Warwick was a serious threat as it came within a year Henry seizing the throne. 

Simnel was able to gain support from the yorkists in Oxford and then Ireland, where he was crowned Edward VI. 

he recieved support from margret of Burgandy who sent money and a force of 200 mercenaries. the conspricary began in the Autumn of 1486, Henry wasnt aweare until earl 1487, a further indication of his vunreable posotion. 

Henry was fearful of the support the rebllion might recive from Engalnd so offered a pardon and also paraded the real Earl of Warwick in london to show Simnel was an impostor. However this did not stop the rebellion which became more dangerous following thr flight of another Yorksit, the Earl of Lincolm, to join the rebels. 

the Simnel rising became more popular in June when the rebels went to lancashire and began to march south; it failed to gain widespread support, but numbered some 800 men. 

didnt get support because: ordianry people were fed up with the war od the roses or may have disliked the Irish foece. 

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Simnel rebellion continued

The rebels faced Henry at Stoke, June 1487. 

Henry won the battle

this can be linked to Bosworth becuase:

  • a weak claiment to the throne had been able to attract widespread support and bring the king to battle 
  • many of Henry's men held back from fighting until the outcome appeared clear and at first that had not been obvoius as the royal front line had been put under sevre pressure by the expereinced mercenaries 
  • victory took 3 hours and even then, the fate of the monarchy had been decided by a battle whose reslut could have easily been reversed. 
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Perkin Warbeck rebellion

  • Warbecks arrival in Ireland 1491 was not an accident, but the reslut of a plan in which Charles VIII of France and Margaret of Burgundy were invovled 
  • it was the international  aspect to the plot which made it so dangrous as Herny's relations with France and Scottland were poor and both countries could use Warbeck to undermine the king's position 
  • as with Simnel, the Yorkist element was strong 
  • he claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, who had supposedly been murdered in the tower. this claim added to Henry's difficulties- he could not parade the real Richard was alreayd dead. 
  • Warbeck was unable to gain large scale support in Ireland, but he was welcomed at the French court where he was joined by about 100 Yorkist supporters. 
  • the singing of the Treaty of Etaples between England and France in 1492 forced Warbeck to move to Flanders where he had the support of Margaret- in resplonse Henry broke off the cloth trade (most important for England crucial for England's economony) his willingness to sacrifice a consdirable income showed just how concerend he was. 
  • Warbck also gained the support of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maxaminian however he lacked financial resources to support Warbeck's plans and with France more conserned with Italy, Henry was able to act without fear of Eurpoean interventions 
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Perkin Warbeck rebellion continued

  • Henry gained knowledge of the rebellion through his spy network
  • when Warbeck landed at Deal in 1495 the local militia was easily able to defeat the invaders without the use of a royal army 
  • Warbeck fled to Ireland, where he failed to capture Waterford
  • despite this lack of support Warbeck was welcomed by Scotland and was married to James IV's cousin. forgein support prolonged the challange and James provided Warbeck with 1500 troops to invade the Northern counties of England
  • Warbeck failed so was forced back to Scotland. 
  • James abandoned him, preferring the offer of marriage between himself and Henry's daughter, Mararget 
  • despite his prevouis failure to raise support in Ireland, Warbeck returned there in 1497, but found even less support this time 
  • as a result, Warbeck sailed to England, to capitalise on the Cornish rebellion, but was driven away from both Exeter and Tauton and forced to seek sancturay. 
  • finally, in Nov 1497, he was persudaded to give himself up. 
  • as a forgeiner it would have been difficult to convict him of treaosn, so Henry allowed him to remain in court, but in 1498 he tried to run away, this time Henry put him in the tower, both him and Earl of Warwick were executed. the plot was over even tho it never gained much support it cost alot of money
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yorkist rebellions

the plot of Perkin Warbeck was fianlly over and although it never had never gained much support in Engalnd and was never able to force Henry into a pitched battle, unlike Simnel, suggesting that Henry's position was more secure than in 1487, it also revaled the desprate siuatiom pf the Yorkists in that they were willing to support a pretender. it had dragged on for so long only becuase of forgein support, but it was an expensive nuisance and embarrassemnt as the king had been unable to cpature Warbeck. 

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was Henry ever secure from the Yorkist threat?

  • the defeat from Warbeck signalled the end of the Yorkist challange, but this was not the case
  • although Henry was not secure until the last years of his reign, it can be argued that after Simnel he never seriously challanged. 
  • However, at the time, it was not obvious that the battle of stoke signified the end of the Wars of the roses and that the Tudor dynasty would survive for over one hundered years
  • a pretender had been able to raise enough support to force the king into battle andf even the cornish tax rebellion had been able to move across the whole country and reach london before defeated. this unrest was largery the reslut of his seizure of the throne by force and a realisation that his cliam was weka: if he culd take the throne by force, so could others, particualry with forgein help. 
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