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Summary England (1485—1558): the early Tudors: Henry VII
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All key information pertaining to Henry VII's reign including foreign policy, threats to dynastic security, domestic policy, e.c.t...
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Everything to know about: Henry VIIWar of Roses and the Battle of Bosworth:
- The ‘War of Roses’ was a civil war of 30+ years fought between the House of Lancaster
(red rose) and the House of York (white rose).
- When Richard III became king, his two nephews were placed in the Tower. Henry’s position
and threat to the Yorkists grew as he was the only remaining Lancastrian claimant.
- With the financial backing of the King of France (Charles VIII), Henry set sail for Wales in
August 1485 with around 400-500 loyalists and 1500 French soldiers. At the Battle of
Bosworth, Richard III had double the men.
- Henry VII usurped the throne through the Battle of Bosworth, with the help of Lord
Stanley, by killing Richard III.
Henry VII’s claim to the throne:
- Henry VII was the descendent of Edward III through his mother. Though the Beauforts had
been born out of wedlock, they were legitimised by the Pope and parliament. This meant
that their descendents were permitted to inherit any office in the land.
- Henry VII’s claim was weak as he was a result of wedlock and he was an heir through his
mother’s side. He was also born and brought up in France, meaning that no one knew of
him in England.
- To strengthen his position, Henry VII:
- Dated the start of his reign from the day before Bosworth; this meant that any
who fought against him were traitors and could have their estates seized, which
would also add to the king’s wealth.
- Married Elizabeth of York to unite the houses of Lancaster and York.
- Set his coronation to 30th October 1485 so it could not be claimed that he was king
only because of parliament.
Rebellions - Lord Lovell and the Stafford brothers, 1486:
- There was unrest from dissatisfied Yorkists in the Midlands and the north who had
supported Richard.
- Lovell and the Staffords started the unrest by rebelling and trying to take control of towns
in the north.
- The plan failed because Henry heard of the plot and sent an armed force to offer the
rebels the choice of pardon and reconciliation or excommunication and death.
Rebellions - Yorkshire rebellion, 1489:
- The rebellion was a result of Henry's attempt to raise money to aid Brittany in its struggle
against France. Yorkshire was annoyed as they had suffered from a bad harvest the
previous year and that other northern counties had been exempted from the tax because
they were expected to defend the northern border against Scottish attacks.
- The rebellion was led by Sir John Egremont, a Yorkist supporter and an illegitimate
member of the Percy family (a powerful family with nearly as much land as the king).
- Though the uprising was easily crushed by the army, the money was not collected.
- Henry appointed the Earl of Surrey to be his representative in the North, as the Earl had no
vested interest there and his loyalty was to the crown as gaining his own estates depended
on this.
Rebellions - Cornish rebellion, 1497:
- Similar to the Yorkshire rebellion, the rebellion was due to Henry’s need for money and
, the subsequent parliamentary vote. This time the threat was from Scotland as James IV
sought to aid Perkin Warbeck and invade the north of England.
- Just like Yorkshire, the Cornish saw little reason to fund a war on England’s northern
border when it would not affect them
- The rebels assembled and their numbers swelled as they marched through the county. The
rebellion attracted some 15,000 supporters. The rebels were met with a royal army of
25,000 men which easily crushed the rebel force at Blackheath.
- Henry did not give them a second chance as the leaders were tortured/executed and
others were heavily fined.
Threats - Lambert Simnel, 1486-87:
- Lambert Simnel claimed to be the Earl of Warwrick (one of the princes in the Tower).
- He was able to raise support in the Yorkist stronghold in Oxford, and then in Ireland, where
he was crowned Edward VI. He also received support from Margaret of Burgundy who sent
money + 2000 mercenaries.
- Henry only found out about the rebellion in early 1487 but, once he did, he offered to
pardon the rebels and showed off the real Earl of Warwrick in London to prove Simnel was
an imposter.
- This did not stop the rebellion. The Earl of Lincoln joined the rebel group and the rebels
landed in Lancashire to march south. They only gathered 8,000 men since ordinary people
were fed up with the chaos of the Wars of the Roses and many disliked the Irish. The rebel
army faced Henry's in Stoke in June 1487. Henry won the battle of Stoke but some of his
men did not fight as they were worried if Henry lost. The battle could have easily gone the
other way.
Threats - Perkin Warbeck, 1491-99:
- Margaret of Burgundy and Charles VII of France helped Warbeck get to Ireland in 1491.
Henry’s relations with France and Scotland were poor and both countries wanted to use
Warbeck to undermine Henry's position. Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Richard, Duke of
York, who was one of the princes in the tower. Henry could not parade the real Richard
around like he had with the Earl of Warwick because he was dead.
- Warbeck was unable to win large-scale support in Ireland but he was welcomed at the
French court where he was joined by about 100 Yorkist supporters. The Treaty of Etaples,
1492, made Warbeck move to Flanders where he gained Margaret’s support. Henry, in
response, placed an embargo on the trade of cloth with Burgundy in 1493 to show how
seriously he was taking this threat.
- Warbeck gained the non-financial support of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian. Henry
found out the plot through his spies. He passed a series of attainders against those
implicated in the plot, including Lord Stanley.
- Warbeck landed at Deal in 1495, but was easily defeated by the local militia. Warbeck fled
to Scotland, where he married James IV’s cousin. James provided him with 1500 troops to
invade the north of England but after trying to gain support in England, Warbeck failed
and returned to Scotland.
- James of Scotland abandoned Warbeck after this, so he travelled to England to join the
Cornish Rebellion but was driven out and forced to seek sanctuary. In 1497, Warbeck was
persuaded to give himself up. He was eventually executed alongside the Earl of Warwrick
who plotted with him.
Threats - Edmund de la Pole, 1499-1506:
- Henry refused to make Edmund the Duke of Suffolk as his father had been. He fled to
France in 1499, returned, then fled in 1501 to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor.
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