Henry VII 1485-1509
Government
Control over nobility
As a usurper, Henry VII was vulnerable to the threat of nobles having a greater claim to the throne than him.
Hence, he had to consolidate his power rapidly at the beginning of his reign.
Nobility was relied upon by the Crown to maintain order in the countryside, so it was important for them to
have retainers.
- However, retained men could be used by nobles to bring unlawful influence on others in a court case
or against the Crown. Hence, Henry VII introduced the 1504 Act Against Attainder to reduce retaining
by forcing nobles to obtain a licence of £5 per retainer.
- The legislation failed to control the number of retainers as nobles often found ways to avoid
getting a licence and continue retaining a large private army -> undermined royal authority.
(Distrustful treatment of the nobility)
Since 1485, Henry VII had used Parliament to pass Attainders against Yorkists who had fought in the Battle
of Bosworth and other distrusted nobles to strip them of their property and titles, which provided power, and
in turn, their ability to start a rebellion.
- Helped stabilise his rule and enabled the sanctioning of nobles without execution, which risked
creating martyrs .
Unlike his predecessors, Henry did not largely adopt patronage, which granted land that was tied to power ->
only lifted three people to the peerage -> avoided creating overmighty nobles capable of challenging him ->
maintained law and order.
- During his reign, the number of nobles fell by about a quarter. A smaller nobles class meant it was
easier to control while allowing the centralisation of power on the Crown.
Use of spy networks allowed Henry VII to keep distrusted nobles in check and avoid pushing them towards
rebellion through open antagonisation -> received plenty of notice of the Simnel and Warbeck rebellions in
1486-87 and 1491-99 respectively.
- Strict in controlling nobles that he also placed Thomas Stanley to whom he owed much for his throne
under surveillance -> high level of distrust and paranoia.
Deliberately avoided appointing great nobility as the core group of the Council which rebalanced the power of
nobility.
- Instead, a large council of trusted family members and people who had proven their loyalty or been in
exile with him were selected so that everyone would feel involved in the government.
- While the Council was technically large, its day-to-day operation only consisted of a small group,
which made it easy to manage.
- The conciliar government allowed Henry VII to benefit from collective wisdom which assisted his
effective rule.
(Ability to cultivate close relationships with supporters)
During the Simnel rebellion in 1486-87, Henry VII took the gamble of reinstating the Earl of Northumberland,
who had led a large part of Richard III’s army at the Battle of Bosworth, to help neutralise the North and
ensure the Yorkist Howard family did not join the rebellion.
- While the Earl of Northumberland proved his loyalty, it was cunning of Henry VII to take such a risk as
Northumberland could have easily betrayed him.
Publicly rewarded many of his supporters as a way of maintaining their loyalty.
- He appointed John de Vere as the Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, a great honour which
demonstrated closeness, and the Earl of Oxford, which meant Henry VII could gain a supporter in
Oxford. John de Vere then played the role of the main military commander who defeated the Simnel
rebellion in 1487.
- Cultivation of a support system helped maintain national stability and expand his influence
throughout England.
, Shrewd to realise that leniency would win him loyalty.
- Reversed the attainder of the Earl of Surrey, who had fought for Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth,
after he proved his loyalty by refusing to escape during the Simnel rebellion in 1486-87.
- He became Henry VII’s close lieutenant in Yorkshire and royal appointee in the Council of the
North afterwards. -> gained a supporter in the North. -> royal authority.
- Was relatively mild in his treatment of the rebels of the Simnel rebellion 1486-87, winning over some
Yorkists who had previously opposed him. Simnel was spared and given a job in the Royal Kitchens.
(Results)
Nobles, such as Lord Lovel and the Earl of Lincoln, still rebelled.
Sir William Stanley, who was Lord Chamberlain and managed access to the king in the Royal Chamber,
betrayed Henry VII in the Perkin Warbeck rebellion in 1495.
- Response: reduced the access to the king through the establishment of the Privy Chamber in which
servants were of lower status and hence more dependent on him, providing him with greater security.
Carefully balancing between weakening nobility and maintaining their loyalty -> royal authority.
Rebellions
The Stafford and Lovell rebellion 1486-87
- Lord Lovell and the Staffords rebelled as key supporters of Richard III in the North Riding of Yorkshire
and the Midlands where there was little enthusiasm for Richard III despite them being Yorkist areas.
- Hence, Lord Lovell and the Staffords were tarnished by their association with Richard III.
- The Stafford and Lovell rebellion was poorly planned as Lord Lovell was of low ranking and hence
could not be a figurehead or put on the throne.
- Henry VII was able to suppress their rebellion without much interference. Henry VII pardoned
Thomas Stafford and thus appeared reasonable.
The Simnel rebellion 1486-87
- The Earl of Lincoln, who was a leading Yorkist and had a stronger claim to the throne than Henry VII
as the nephew of Richard III, orchestrated the conspiracy which had Lambert Simnel impersonate the
Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick. -> Lincoln as figurehead -> good quality leadership.
- Many leading Irish magnates supported the Yorkists and Simnel was crowned as King Edward in
Ireland in 1487.
- Margaret of Burgundy, who was the sister of Edward IV and Richard III and one of the last leading
Yorkists, sheltered Simnel and Lincoln and raised an army of 2,000 mercenaries for them.
- However, the Yorkist gentry of the North Riding were reluctant to commit themselves, and the Earl of
Lincoln failed to raise enough troops to counter Henry VII’s 12,000 with only 8,000.
- Henry VII won the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487 in which the Earl of Lincoln died fighting.
Yorkshire rebellion 1489
- Sparked by resentment of the taxation granted by Parliament in 1489 to finance the English invasion
of France during the 1487-92 Brittany crisis.
- rebels were discontent towards the facts that counties further north did not have to pay the tax
because they were expected to defend the country from the Scots.
- rebels were suffering the after-effects of a bad harvest.
- Murder of the Earl of Northumberland by the rebels was not due to taxation, but because he failed to
negotiate the tax with Henry VII on their behalf.
The Warbeck rebellion 1491-99
- Perkin Warbeck who impersonated Prince Richard challenged Henry VII’s claim to the throne.
- Margaret formally recognised Warbeck as Prince Richard in 1492, tutored him in the ways of the
Yorkist court and funded the rebellion in 1495-> rebellion was a Yorkist threat.
- Warbeck was welcomed in Scotland by James IV in 1495 and married his cousin, Catherine Gordon
(not the standard enjoyed by a prince). Although a small Scottish force crossed the border on
Warbeck’s behalf, it quickly retreated after James IV gave in to Henry VII’s offer of marriage to
Princess Margaret.
- Many Irish lords refused to back Warbeck.
- Warbeck had the support of Sir William Stanley who was Henry VII’s step-uncle and executed in
1495. Overall, there was not enough support for Warbeck to be successful.
- Warbeck was defeated in 1497 due to a lack of support in Kent and a large troop. Henry VII first
allowed Warbeck to stay at court, but then placed him in the Tower after his attempt to escape.
