Chapter 1 -The consolidation of power Flashcards
How when and where did Henry VII become King?
Why was his claim weak?
22nd august 1485 after beating Richard III at the battle of Bosworth (started Tudor legacy)
- descended through female lineage (mother Margaret Beaufort)
- line from John Beaufort who was born out of wedlock
- mainly claimed throne through battle
What kind of ruler was Henry VII?
Which life experiences influenced this?
calculated, considerate decision maker, mindful of threats, eager for money but willing to spend it
- fled/exiled to France for childhood from 14 y/0
- grew up around French courts
- gained inside knowledge of politics and plots to depose rulers
What were some of the main ways that Henry consolidated his power?
- yeomen of the guard (protection squad)
- dated his reign a day before Bosworth (21st August) so the Yorkists became traitors
- detained Elizabeth of York and Earl of Warwick (daughter and nephew of Edward IV)
- coronated on the 30th October (before he was sanctioned by Parliament)
- married Elizabeth of York and used propaganda like the Tudor Rose
- had kids (heirs)
- Expensive and extravagant coronation –> portrayed power –> £8/per yard gold cloth and 16 shillings crimson satin
What were some of the main threats to Henry’s reign?
- Yorkist claimants like the Earls of Warwick and Lincoln (Edward IV’s nephews)
- Edward V and his younger brother Richard (the two princes in the tower)
- pretenders
- foreign rulers and powers (E.g. Margaret of Burgundy)
What happened at the rebellion of Viscount Lovell and the Staffords?
How were they defeated and punished?
- 1486
- Lovell (supporter of Richard III) tried to raise a rebellion in the north riding of Yorkshire
- Humphrey Stafford and his younger brother Thomas did the same in the midlands
- Premature –> lack of supporters
- Lovell escaped Henry and fled to the court of Margaret of Burgundy
- Humphrey Stafford captured and executed
- Thomas was pardoned
What happened with Lambert Simnel and the rebellion of the Earl of Lincoln?
- planned by John de la Pole (Earl of Lincoln)
- Simnel passed of as Warwick and crowned as King of Ireland in May 1487
- Henry exhibited real Warwick in London
- Lincoln fled and (with Lovell) persuaded Margaret of Burgundy to fund an invasion
- Henry was tipped off
- Rebels land in Cumberland and Yorkshire
- Battle of Stoke field
What happened at the Battle of Stoke Field?
Why was it significant?
- 1487
- Henry gathered an army –> lead by Earl of Oxford –> emerged victorious
- Lincoln killed after not being able to gather enough supporters
- End of the War of roses
- showed organisation, military leadership, support from nobles
- rebels were punished mildly –> show that he wasn’t cruel and merciless –> Yorkists warmed to him
What happened with the Perkin Warbeck imposture?
- From 1491 Warbeck impersonates Richard Duke of York
- flees + is trained as Yorkist prince in the court of Margaret of Burgundy
- failed invasion attempt 1495 –> flees to James IV’s court in Scotland
- Lord Chamberlain (William Stanley) was an an accomplice
- Invaded with small Scottish force in 1496 but had to retreat quickly
- Tried (and failed) once more in 1497 after Cornish rebellion
How was Perkin Warbeck defeated and punished?
- Henry got James IV onside by offering marriage to his daughter Margaret
- crushed Warbeck’s invasion force in 1497 and he surrendered
- Warbeck allowed to remain in court –> absconded –> confined in tower
Why and how did Henry punish Warbeck and Warwick?
Why was this significant for him?
- allegedly tried to escape the tower together and plotted against Henry
- Accused of treason –> tried –> executed in 1499
- Earl of Warwick was the most obvious Yorkist claimant to the throne (big threat)
- Good excuse to get rid of him
- He could be seen as a victim of the politics of the period
How did the de la Poles threaten Henry’s dynastic security?
- younger brothers of Earl of Lincoln
-Edmund (Earl of Suffolk) and younger brother Richard - Yorkist claimants
- Edmund fled to Flanders (1498) –> came back –> fled to court of Emperor Maximillion (1501)
- protected by Margaret of Burgundy’s political opposition to Henry VII
How did Henry VII dull the threat of the de la Poles?
Why was this so important?
- signed Treaty of Windsor (1506) with Margaret of Burgundy –> improved relations
- stated that Maximillion must give up Earl of Suffolk (Edmund)
- Richard exiled –> killed in battle (1525)
- Edmund executed for treason (1513) by Henry VIII
Last major threat to dynastic security –> once handled Henry had a better claim
Why was Lord Chamberlain William Stanley betraying Henry so crucial?
- He was an integral part of Royal household –> inside knowledge and information
- Should’ve been trustworthy
- Made Henry even more paranoid
- Exposed a lethal point of weakness in Henry’s household and council
How did the Wars of the Roses begin?
- Henry VI inherited throne (1437) –> too weak –> dominated by others –>power vacuum
- 1453 –> French win Hundred years war at Castillion and Henry suffers mental illness –> not able to speak/communicate
- Queen Margaret takes over court –> rivalry with Richard Duke of York (Yorkist leader) –> battle of St Albans (1455) –> Richard flees to the Nevilles (Earls of Salisbury and Warwick)
What were the three main stages of the War of Roses?
- Yorkists march to London –> Richard Duke of York claims throne –> killed at battle of Wakefield –> his son (Edward IV) wins battle and seizes throne
- Coalition of some Yorkists and Lancastrians –> Edward unseated in 1471 –> Lancastrian heirs died (except Henry Tudor who flees)
- Edward IV consolidates his power (low taxes, heir born in 1470, pre-eminent land owner etc. –> dies of stroke and is succeeded by his son Edward V
