Tudor Rebellions

Original “head captain” was a blacksmith named Michael an Gof.

Later leaders were Thomas Flamank, a gentleman from Bodmin & Lord Audley

Outcome

1. 5,000 rebels marched more than 250 miles to London. They attracted no extra support but were not stopped – largest force faced was only 500 strong

2. Rebels defeated at Blackheath, outside London

3. Henry punished only the rebel leaders – all 3 were executed – but levied large fines on the county. Cornwall was quiet until 1549.

Main causes

Raising of a subsidy – forced loan – for “irrelevant” war vs Scotland

Henry had issued new regulations on tin mining and suspended the privileges of the Stannaries – the local Cornish court and parliament.

Threat Level = Moderate – 15,000 rebels reached outskirts of London, did not get support out of West Country, did not intend to overthrow the king. Army not professional or well equipped

Reasons for failure

• Cornish were “too different” to attract support in the south of England. Many spoke a different language

• Poorly equipped. Cornish had no cavalry or artillery, or even good weapons and armour. They were faced by a professional army

• No support from any nobles with any resources.

• No sympathy for the rebel cause among Londoners

Key stats, quotes & views  

• Rebel force was twice size of initial royal army (but much less well trained)

• Henry raised £15,000 in fines from Cornwall and the counties along the rebel route as punishment. ‘The less blood he drew, the more he took in treasure.’ Francis Bacon

Warbeck was a tool of Yorkist and foreign interests. He received mostly foreign backing: Emperor Maximilian, James IV of Scotland, Margaret of Burgundy, Charles VIII of France, Earl of Desmond (Ireland)

Outcome

• Landing at Deal in Kent is a fiasco. No local support

• Scottish invasion is backed by James IV. It is poorly resourced and ends after a week when the north fails to rise in support and an English army approaches. 

• Warbeck fails twice in his attempts to capture the English castle at Waterford in Ireland – 11 days of siege. After the 2nd attempt he flees Ireland to Cornwall

• Despite landing in Cornwall only 3 months after the Cornish rebellion ended, Warbeck failed to attract significant support. He fled, was captured, and – after two escapes – eventually executed.

• The failure of two imposters was decisive – there were no more serious Yorkist threats to Henry’s throne

Main causes

Attempt by House of York to create a plausible pretender to rally support
European politics. Warbeck’s extensive foreign support was a product of attempts to neutralise England (the French) or even take it over (the Holy Roman Emperor)

Reasons for failure

Warbeck depended entirely for others for his power – he was vulnerable to changes in their plans

• Eg loss of foreign support after failed attempts to invade Kent and from Scotland

• Support in Cornwall was due to ongoing resentment in aftermath of 1497 Cornish rebellion

Henry was much more firmly established on the throne – most nobles saw little point in risking all for Warbeck.
Not a single major English figure, or even member of the gentry, backed Warbeck
Henry’s intelligence service was very efficient. It found out who Warbeck really was and neutralised potential supporters with bonds before the landing in Kent

Degree of threat

Medium. active for many years and more convincingthan Simnel. Obtained support from foreign backers. His failure was to fail to generate significant backing in England. All his backers had motives other than believing in Warbeck as king

Key stats, quotes & views  

Despite attempting to seize the throne for 8 years, Warbeck spent a total of less than 50 days on English and Irish soil, and failed to attract the support of a single important English or Irish backer

Warbeck was treated well after his capture – kept at court rather than in prison. This suggests Henry did not see him as a major threat

Warbeck’s threat was his persistence. He attempted five invasions and two escapes from his comfortable captivity. He was executed not for the threat he actually posed, but for he threat he might pose

Foreign backing was substantial until after the debacle in Kent. At one point Maximilian gave his wife as surety for a loan so he could hire 6,000 mercenaries.

Threat Level
Very low – rebel numbers derisory
Failure or Success?
Entirely unsuccessful. Henry’s concerns had more to do with the general instability of his rule in these early days than any significant threat from the rebels
What Happened in detail
Lovell was one of Richard III’s councillors. After Bosworth he fled, with the brothers Humphrey and Thomas Stafford, to sanctuary in Colchester abbey. Eight months later, the three left to try to raise a rebellion. Lovell travelled to Yorkshire to raise troops

The rebellions gained little traction because there was no Yorkist pretender to rally around. Henry VII, who was in Lincoln when word of the rebellion reached him, hurried to York with a pardon for every rebel but Lovell himself, which drained all support.

Lovell escaped, rallied to support Lambert Simnel, and after Simnel’s defeat escaped to Flanders. The Staffords fled to sanctuary again but were dragged out and tried – Humphrey was executed, Thomas imprisoned.

Reasons for lack of success

Lack of credible alternative candidate as king – very few of the commons were willing to rise in support of the noble leaders. Lovell and Staffords were only minor nobles – had no great wealth and no large group of followers/servants on which to base a rising. Henry already had an efficient intelligence operation – successfully tracked the rebels when they fled and did not give them time to become a threat. No backing from overseas

Key stats, quotes and views

Total support raised was in dozens, not even hundreds

Main aims
Protests at collection of subsidy for foreign policy purposes.
Yorkshiremen felt Brittany was not their concern. New sort of tax was an additional burden in a poor area
Secondary causes
Poor harvest of 1488 increased degree of poverty
Yorkist sympathy of region – this was certainly Henry’s fear

Leadership
First: Robert Chamber, a yeoman (gentleman) of York. Later: Sir John Egremont, ******* member of the Percy family
Outcomes
No more efforts to collect the tax in Yorkshire. Some salutary executions, but Egremont made his peace with Henry and later received several manors from him. Henry recognises north remains Yorkist in sentiment – spends more of his time there - Establishment of Tudor’s Council of the North

Threat Level= Low – limited support, no influential leadership, and no march south
Success or failure?
Quite successful. Attempts to collect the tax were abandoned and there was no widespread retribution
Henry VII had sheltered at the court of the Duke of Brittany during the reign of Richard III. In 1489, when Brittany was threatened by France, he decided to send aid and parliament voted a £100,000 subsidy to fund an expedition.

Resistance to it in the north- saw Henry’s desire to help Brittany as his own business.
Scale of opposition to the tax nationally can be gauged by the fact that only £27,000 was raised. This increased pressure to collect from areas that had yet to contribute

The Earl of Northumberland, who supported the tax, was placed in charge of leading a commission to decide on its collection in the north. There was a scuffle and Northumberland was killed – the only person to die in the course of the rebellion.

The rebels wrote asking for a royal pardon but this was denied. Instead, Henry VII sent an army of 8,000, led by the Earl of Surrey. The rebels dispersed as it approached.
Chamber was tried and hanged, but no general retribution against those who had protested.

Reasons for success

Recognition that the subsidy was both unpopular and difficult to collect. Concern that the north, with its traditionally Yorkist sympathies, needed to be handled carefully to prevent further trouble. Lack of a prominent leader was probably both a pro and con for the rebels. It limited any chance that the rebellion would become more widespread, but made it easier for the king to treat the rebels leniently

Key stats, quotes, and views

‘The first Tudor, his formative years spent in Brittany and France, was unfamiliar with the careful compromises and structures of consent on which English government rested.’

Serious

HVII- No allegiance from Anglo-Irish nobels

Simnel- Foreign support supplement Yorkist opposition to Henry

Simnel- gathering support in areas that favoured Richard III

Henry had weak allegiance from nobls e.g. Woodville and Stanley

Earl of Lincoln betrays Henry and he doesn't realise

Simnel was actually crowned in Ireland

Earl of Lincoln, Lord Lovell support Simnel as does Margaret of Burgandy

Battle of Stoke site favoured a smaller army which Simnel had

Defeated in Battle of Stoke- Simnel is captured and works in palace kitchens turning spit

Simnel- Army using crossbow- slow to reload and inferior to longbow

Simnel- high ground in Battle of Stoke but failed to use advantage

HVII- Knew of the threat of imposter- efficient intelligence network of spies

Irish troops poorly equipped and armed

Simnel had 8000 men, Henry had 15,000

Simnel- limited support had been gained- main supporters were Irish and German mercenaries

HVII had skilled archers (longbow) and tough billmen (long spears with blade on end)

Rebellion lasted 8 years

Warbeck claimed he would lower taxes and end wars with Scotland

Warbeck had a claim and a believable story- young of the two brothers in the tower (Richard, Duke of York)

Warbeck married James IV of Scotlands cousin- gave Warbeck legitimacy- James wouldn't marry off his cousin to someone he didn't believe had a strong claim

Impact of Warbecks rebellion caused divisions in Henry's inner circle- Lord Stanley secretly supported Warbeck- Henry had Stanely executed as a traitor

Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000 (equivalent to £6.4 million in current values)