Tudors- Henry VII–
king from 1485 – 1509
Henry vii Consolidation of power–
● Son of margaret beaufort– lancastrian
● 14 years exile in brittany
● Richard iii’s unpopularity prompted henry to invade
● Won the crown at the battle of bosworth 1485
● Henry’s step-father lord stanley eventually sides with henry
● Backdated reign to day before bosworth
● Made stanley chamberlain
● Coronated before parliament met– shows he wasn’t crowned by parliament
but by god
● Acts of attainder– yorkist forfeit lands to henry
● Granted tonnage and poundage for life
● Married yorkist elizabeth of york
● 1486 prince arthur born– both yorkist and lancastrian blood
● Passed 138 attainders and reversed 46 – 51 passed in last five years of reign
● Tyrell pays 1,738 for his attainder to be reversed
● Number of nobles fell by ¼ during his reign
● 1487 outlawed retaining then reiterated in 1504
● Fined £5 a month per man retained
● Burgavenny fined 70,000 for retaining 471 men reduced to a bond of £5000 a
year and loyalty
● Held ⅔ of nobles under bond
● 1495 council learned– police nobles
● When elizabeth died in 1503 and arthur died in 1502 henry planned to marry
catharine himself or even marry joanna
Henry vii Government–
● 227 man council was, in reality, 6 or 7 men big
● Church men- morton / lawyers- bray and dudley
● Personal monarchy– gave positions of power to people he trusted: Lord
stanley made chamberlain after helping at bosworth
● The great council
- House of lords only met 5 x during reign (times of crisis)
● The council learned in law
- 1495 created
- Led by Bray
- Exploited prerogative rights
- Bray dies 1503 and is replaced by empson and dudley
, - Under henry viii empson and dudley are executed in 1510 due to how
hated they are by the nobility
● Star chamber
- Created 1487
- Used very little– intended to prosecute nobles
● Royal court
- Chamber and privy chamber
- Henry creates rivalry between gentry and nobles by putting gentry on
the council over nobles.
- Gentry more grateful
● Parliament
- Only ever called 7x (5x in first ten years)
- Could grant king extraordinary revenue
- Passes act of attainder
- Passes 1486 act of resumption
● Local government
- JP’s met 4x a year
- Drawn from local area so corrupt– bribed et cetera
Henry vii Rebellions–
● Lovell and Stafford
- Yorkists raise troops in north yorkshire while henry is on a royal
progress
- Henry doesn’t stop his progress and sends an ultimatum to the rebels
who melt.
- Lovell escapes to flanders but Stafford is executed.
- Lack of popular support due to war weariness
● Simnel
- Claimed to be earl of warwick- richard iii’s nephew
- Crowned king in ireland
- Led by john de la pole– one of henry’s councillors
- Henry parades real earl of warwick through streets
- Margaret of burgundy gives de la pole 2,000 troops to invade england
with
- Henry risks delegate control to the previously yorkist Northumberland
- Spared simnel and set him to work in the kitchens
● Warbeck
- Claimed to be richard (younger prince from tower)
- Gained support in france but forced out by terms of 1492 treaty of
etaples
- 1495 invades but fails as henry has spies in warbeck’s camp
- HOWEVER stanley– lord chamberlain– turns spy for warbeck
king from 1485 – 1509
Henry vii Consolidation of power–
● Son of margaret beaufort– lancastrian
● 14 years exile in brittany
● Richard iii’s unpopularity prompted henry to invade
● Won the crown at the battle of bosworth 1485
● Henry’s step-father lord stanley eventually sides with henry
● Backdated reign to day before bosworth
● Made stanley chamberlain
● Coronated before parliament met– shows he wasn’t crowned by parliament
but by god
● Acts of attainder– yorkist forfeit lands to henry
● Granted tonnage and poundage for life
● Married yorkist elizabeth of york
● 1486 prince arthur born– both yorkist and lancastrian blood
● Passed 138 attainders and reversed 46 – 51 passed in last five years of reign
● Tyrell pays 1,738 for his attainder to be reversed
● Number of nobles fell by ¼ during his reign
● 1487 outlawed retaining then reiterated in 1504
● Fined £5 a month per man retained
● Burgavenny fined 70,000 for retaining 471 men reduced to a bond of £5000 a
year and loyalty
● Held ⅔ of nobles under bond
● 1495 council learned– police nobles
● When elizabeth died in 1503 and arthur died in 1502 henry planned to marry
catharine himself or even marry joanna
Henry vii Government–
● 227 man council was, in reality, 6 or 7 men big
● Church men- morton / lawyers- bray and dudley
● Personal monarchy– gave positions of power to people he trusted: Lord
stanley made chamberlain after helping at bosworth
● The great council
- House of lords only met 5 x during reign (times of crisis)
● The council learned in law
- 1495 created
- Led by Bray
- Exploited prerogative rights
- Bray dies 1503 and is replaced by empson and dudley
, - Under henry viii empson and dudley are executed in 1510 due to how
hated they are by the nobility
● Star chamber
- Created 1487
- Used very little– intended to prosecute nobles
● Royal court
- Chamber and privy chamber
- Henry creates rivalry between gentry and nobles by putting gentry on
the council over nobles.
- Gentry more grateful
● Parliament
- Only ever called 7x (5x in first ten years)
- Could grant king extraordinary revenue
- Passes act of attainder
- Passes 1486 act of resumption
● Local government
- JP’s met 4x a year
- Drawn from local area so corrupt– bribed et cetera
Henry vii Rebellions–
● Lovell and Stafford
- Yorkists raise troops in north yorkshire while henry is on a royal
progress
- Henry doesn’t stop his progress and sends an ultimatum to the rebels
who melt.
- Lovell escapes to flanders but Stafford is executed.
- Lack of popular support due to war weariness
● Simnel
- Claimed to be earl of warwick- richard iii’s nephew
- Crowned king in ireland
- Led by john de la pole– one of henry’s councillors
- Henry parades real earl of warwick through streets
- Margaret of burgundy gives de la pole 2,000 troops to invade england
with
- Henry risks delegate control to the previously yorkist Northumberland
- Spared simnel and set him to work in the kitchens
● Warbeck
- Claimed to be richard (younger prince from tower)
- Gained support in france but forced out by terms of 1492 treaty of
etaples
- 1495 invades but fails as henry has spies in warbeck’s camp
- HOWEVER stanley– lord chamberlain– turns spy for warbeck
