Character and Aims Flashcards
What gave Henry VII a claim to the English throne ?
- His mother Margaret Beaufort was a descendant of Edward III
- Through the female line
- Became the Lancastrian claimant
- Had a tenuous claim to the throne
Where did Henry exile to when he was 14 ?
-Fled to Brittany with his uncle Jasper
How did Henry’s life in Brittany help him ?
- Ability to think like a fugitive was useful political training for his future as ruler (historian Thomas Penn)
- Still not brought up to rule
When was the Battle of Bosworth ?
22nd August 1485
What were the events of the Battle of Bosworth?
- Richard III had approximately 10,000 men
- Henry turned to stepfather Stanley for support
- Stanley supported Henry and attacked Richard
- Henry becomes king after killing Richard
What were Henry VII’s aims?
- Establish and secure his right to the throne (consolidate power)
- Better control of the nobility
- Improve crown’s finances
How did Henry VII immediately consolidate his power ?
- Predated his reign to 21st August 1485(day before Bosworth)-ensured anybody on Yorkist side could be a traitor
- Detained Elizabeth of York and the Earl of Warwick, who both had a greater claim than Henry
- Acts of Attainders against Yorkists who fought at Bosworth (increase revenue)
- Married Elizabeth of York -united families
- Had a son, Prince Arthur- another heir to the throne, dynasty established
When did Henry VII arrange his coronation and why?
- Coronation arranged before the first meeting of parliament
- Demonstrating his right to the throne was based on hereditary rights (inheritance)
- Not only because parliament had sanctioned it
How did Henry VII reward his key supporters ?
- Offered 11 knighthoods
- Made Sir William Stanley Chamberlain of the Household, then head of the Royal Household
How many Acts of Attainders did Henry VII pass during his reign ?
138 Acts of Attainders passed
What was the Acts of Attainders?
- Declared a landowner guilty of rebelling against a monarch
- Lost their title, land and sometimes head
- Heirs were disinherited
- Passed 138 times by Henry VII
How did Henry deal with members of the York family that were angry at the death of Richard and wanted revenge ?
- Married Elizabeth of York - joined two houses
- Used attainders to punish those who fought on behalf of Richard III
How did Henry deal with wealthy nobles that kept private armies ?
- Used attainders to seize control of their wealth and land
- Acts of Retaining to eliminate the threat of private armies
How did Henry deal with the crown having very little money ?
- Put nobles under Bonds, making them in debt to the crown
- Seized lands from many nobles-enabling Henry to become the biggest land-owner
- Collected money from customs duties, forced loans and land revenues, attainders
How did Henry deal with the crown having uneven control over the kingdom ?
- JP’s given new powers to arrest suspects and try them for crimes
- Developed a system of local, national and regional government
What was tonnage and poundage ?
- The right to raise revenue for the whole reign from imports and exports
- Henry was granted this for life
What was the Lovell and Staffords Rebellion 1486?
- First rising against Henry
- Led by Francis, Vicount Lovell - key supporter of Richard III and Humphrey Stafford
Where did Lovell and Stafford try to gather support ?
- Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in the North Riding of Yorkshire (Richard III’s heartland of support)
- Stafford tried to raise forces against Henry, drawing support in the Midlands
What was the aftermath of the Lovell and Staffords rebellion ?
- Lovell escaped from the kings forces
- Stafford was captured and executed
- Stafford’s younger brother Thomas was pardoned
How big of a threat was the Lovell and Staffords rebellion ?
- Not a big threat
- Didn’t gain much support
- Little enthusiasm for rising in Yorkist heartlands
- Henry VII gained more support through his marriage to Elizabeth of York (alliance)
What were reasons for the Yorkshire Rebellion 1489 ?
- Had to pay taxes to support Brittany against France
- Yorkshire people not happy- as they saw taxes as being too high and they had a poor harvest
- Many northern countries were exempt from tax
What was the aftermath of the Yorkshire Rebellion
- Earl of Northumberland spoke to Henry and he refused to listen
- Earl was murdered by angry rebels
- Henry issued many pardons and granted them no taxation
How big of a threat was the Yorkshire rebellion ?
- Not a big threat
- Didn’t spread to the rest of the country
- Henry didn’t collect tax = weak king
- Took control by appeasing them
- Easily and quickly suppressed
What were reasons for the Cornish Rebellion 1497?
- Parliament voted for high taxes so Henry could wage war in Scotland against imposter Perkin Warbeck
- Angered Cornish-Scotland was no threat to them
- Became Tudor policy to force taxes all over country to finance wars
How many people were involved in the Cornish Rebellion 1497?
- 15,000 men
- Marched to London, but only halted at Blackheath by the kings forces
What was the aftermath of the Cornish Rebellion 1497?
- Rebels halted at Blackheath
- Leaders were executed
- Rebels treated with conspicuous leniency
- 1000 people killed
- Army of 25,000 men
How big of a threat was the Cornish Rebellion 1497 ?
- Great threat
- Sheer numbers involved (15,000)
- Raised questions about how effective the crowns systems for maintaining order in the countryside were
- Rebels marched on London, only to be stopped at Blackheath
- Reaching London, challenged security of Henry’s regime
- Made Henry cautious about entering further foreign conflict
Who was Perkin Warbeck ?
- Irritant to Henry for 8 years
- Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York
- Would’ve had a stronger claim
- Attracted patronage from foreign rulers
Where did Warbeck flee to in 1492?
-Fled to the court of Margaret of Burgandy, after appearance at Charles VIII’s Court of France
What did Warberck do at the court of Margaret of Burgandy ?
- Trained as a potential Yorkist king
- Drew English into his conspiracy
Why did Warbeck fail to land in England 1495?
- Henry was informed of Warbeck’s intentions by one of his royal agents
- Sir Robert Clifford
- Warbeck was quickly defeated
Where did Warbeck flee to after his failed landing?
- Fled to the court of James IV of Scotland
- Was supported
What happened to the Scottish force that entered England for Warbeck ?
-They quickly retreated
Why did James IV of Scotland no longer support Warbeck ?
- James gave into Henry’s offer of marriage to his daughter, Margaret
- Treaty of Perpetual Peace
What was the aftermath of the Perkin Warbeck rebellion ?
- Tried to exploit uncertainties created by Cornish Rebellion
- Forces crushed, Warbeck surrenders
- Tried to escape with the Earl of Warwick
- Both executed
How big of a threat was the Perkin Warbeck rebellion ?
- Big threat
- Demonstrated how fragile Henry’s position was considered to be by foreign rulers
- Had accomplices at the heart of Henry’s government, Sir William Stanley- head of royal household
- Henry was vulnerable where he should have been secure
Who impersonated the Earl of Warwick ?
- Lambert Simnel
- Conspiracy put together by John De La Pole, the Earl of Lincoln
What did Henry do in response to the Simnel hoax ?
- Had to real Earl of Warwick exhibited in London
What did Lincoln ask Margaret of Burgandy for ?
- Persuaded her to fund the Battle of Stokefield 1487
- Pay for an army to invade England
- Wanted her to support Simnels fake claim
How did Henry plan a response to the Simnel/Lincoln invasion ?
- Reinstated Earl of Northumberland (led a major portion of Richard III’s army at Bosworth) to power in the north
- This helped neutralise Richard’s old power base and ensure they wouldn’t join the conspiracy
- Reinforced coastal defences in East Anglia
What was the Battle of Stokefield 1487 ?
- Henry gathered victims of Richard III in the South and Midlands
- Henry VS Earl of Lincoln
- Henry’s army led effectively by Earl of Oxford
- Earl of Lincoln killed (no sufficient followers to army)
How big of a threat was the Simnel/Lincoln rebellion ?
- Big Threat
- Foreign support
- Henry’s victory was significant, ended the War of Roses
- Position became safer, by no means completely secure
- Overcame crisis with shrewdness, hard work and military leadership of his key supporters
- Winning showed he could prevent any rebellion from being successful
