Challenging the succession, 1485-99 Flashcards
What factions posed a threat to Henry’s throne?
- Anti-Ricardian Yorkists (especially the Woodville family) as they could have switched allegiance to rivals. However this did not happen due to Henry’s promise to marry Elizabeth. Yorkists in turn supported the Tudor dynasty
What was the nature of the challenge by Lambert Simnel?
- Simnel background
- Simnel training
- Henry’s response to impersonation
- Margaret of Burgundy support
- De La Pole and Lovell trip to Ireland
- King in Dublin
- Son of a joiner from Oxford with no royal blood and an imposter
- Simnel was trained by a priest to act like prince and was mistakenly told to impersonate Earl of Warwick
- Henry paraded real Earl in the streets, which doesn’t stop the rebellion from gaining support ; while Pole flees to Burgundy
- Margaret of Burgundy finances the rebellion and uses her power to raise troops (2,000 German mercenaries)
- Sail to Ireland (traditional Yorkist power base), de la Pole and Lovell meet with Irish nobility (sympathetic to aims)
- Irish and English Yorkists crown Simnel as King in Dublin and launch invasion, rebels arrive in North June 1487 and march South (Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland does nothing to stop them, despite his oath of loyalty to Henry)
How serious was Simnel’s threat?
- Rebel alliance combination
- Rebel alliance was dangerous mix of rival claimants, angry Yorkists and foreign support
- John De La Pole had better claim to the throne than Henry VII and was puppeteering the entire rebellion
- Rebels managed to raise army due to Margaret of Burgundy
- Support from the Irish was crucial in early successes. Rebellion would have been overlooked without their support ; would be difficult for rebels to find base and sustain challenge to the king
How did Henry strengthen his throne after Simnel’s rebellion?
- 1487 November; calls parliament, passes 28 Act of Attainder (declare guilt without trial) against rebels, member of council given authority to deal with local disorder
Who was Perkin Warbeck?
- 1491; another pretender emerges in Ireland, uncertainty about background made his claim to be Richard, Duke of York (younger of Princes in the Tower) harder to disprove
- Supported by French King Charles VIII, Margaret of Burgundy, Scottish King James IV
How did Henry overcome Warbeck’s challenge?
- With more time on the throne, Henry gained security and experience ; was focussed on building a dynasty
- 1489 alliance with Spain
- More resources and power than Warbeck, who was unable to sustain support, invasions in 1495,96 and 97 all failed due to lack of local support
- Even with Cornwall support, Henry was too strong due to established network of spies
- 1495; Henry had troops and defences waiting, with effective chains of command able to coordinate military responses
- Successful use of punishments and rewards, awarded those loyal to him and ruthless towards suspected nobility and gentry
- Stern response from Henry deterred any potential plotters
Did Warbeck pose a threat to Henry’s throne?
- Received support from foreign powers and evaded capture from 1491-97, under protection of France, Burgundy and Scotland. Henry could only negotiate with such superpowers
How serious was the Irish support for Simnel?
- Geographically and politically remote
- Good launching pad for invasions of England
- Only way to neutralise threats was to negotiate with Irish gentry and nobility
- Kildare, Yorkish supporter, provided Simnel with troops and base, Henry unable to fight Kildare didn’t have military strength to interfere with Irish affairs
- Though defeated at Stoke in 1487, Henry still had to be cautious and pardoned Kildare ; other Simnel supporters and forced to accept oath of loyalty from Kildare (who was allowed to remain as Lord Deputy)
How serious was Burgundy’s support for pretenders?
- Margaret was sister of Richard III, tried to restore Yorkist monarch and provided protection and support for Yorkist plotters e.g. John de la Pole, Francis Lovell and Warbeck (provided mercenaries)
- Henry could not easily stop her protecting rivals and was reluctant to use expensive military tactics
- Had powerful weapon of strong trading links between England and Burgundy
How serious was the French support for pretenders?
- 1485-1492 relations between England and France deteriorated rapidly due to French pursual of Brittany and English attempts to prevent this
- Support Warbeck, Henry launches invasion Oct 1492, Charles immediately agrees to negotiate
- Treaty of Étaples signed, Charles won’t harbour Henry’s enemies, annual pension, stopped possibility of French-backed Yorkist threat
How serious was the Scottish support for pretenders?
- Support Warbeck who is in Scotland until 1497, James IV plotted against England, provides army
- Invasion is short and unsuccessful 1496
- 1497; grew tired of supporting Warbeck, so Warbeck leaves
- 7 Year Truce of Ayton
Where was Henry VII based during Battle of Stoke?
- Henry arrived at his base (Kenilworth Castle) on 8th May and marched North to meet rebels at Stoke
- Battle of Stoke on 16th June
How strong was the foreign support for Warbeck?
- Irish support fails to materialise, King Charles VIII invites Warbeck to France (1492), Henry’s prompt actions mean he is soon not welcome
- Goes to Burgundy, Margaret recognises him as her nephew
- Agents from Burgundy infiltrate England and try recruit supporters 1493-94, Sir William Stanley implicated in plot (Jan 1495 executed)
- James IV tires in support, Warbeck goes to Ireland, fails to gain support, tries Cornwall trying to take advantage of unrest, 300 men, 3,000-8,000 support from Cornwall (no gentry or nobility), driven out by soldiers and citizens, Warbeck moves to Taunton where he is captured
Were Warbeck’s initial invasion attempts successful?
- July 1495 Warbeck attempts to land in Kent with 300 soldiers, fails to gain support, flees, soldiers executed
- Moves to Scotland, Sept 1496 tries to invade England with 1,400 men, unable to raise support in North, back to Scotland
What did Henry VII do to raise funds for an army to fight Warbeck?
-1497; Forced to raise taxes to fund army to fight Warbeck, demand results in rebellion (15,000) in Cornwall June, forced to divert troops from protecting North to Kent to defeat rebels (1,000 killed)
How did Henry VII treat Perkin Warbeck?
- Henry treated Warbeck well, June 1498 tries to escape, arrested , put in Tower, plots/tricked by Earl of Warwick, Warbeck hanged, Warwick beheaded
Why was Henry able to defeat the Simnel rebellion?
- Henry was able to defeat rebels due to mistakes, little support and decisive actions on his behalf, mercenaries were paid but had no loyalty to cause, Irish nobility stayed in Ireland, no support when rebels reached England due to elite preferring stability and order enabling Henry to gain support, prepared to lead army
How serious was Irish support for Warbeck?
- Irish was reluctant to get involved with Warbeck, which is why he couldn’t raise Irish military support