Establishing the Tudor dynasty

Question 1

Why was John de la Pole a threat?

Answer 1

He was a Yorkist claimant.
He was nephew of Edward IV and Richard III
Designated successor of Richard III
Regarded as the Yorkist leader after Bosworth

Question 2

Why was Edward (earl of Warwick) a threat?

Answer 2

He was a Yorkist claimant
He was nephew of Edward IV and Richard III
Imprisoned in tower of London 1485 (aged 10)
Beheaded for alleged conspiracy with Perkin Warbeck , 1499

Question 3

Who were two main threats?

Answer 3

Yorkist supporters (e.g. Lovell and Stafford)
Margaret of Burgundy (sister of Edward IV and Richard III) as she was able and willing to fund Yorkist ambitions

Question 4

Who were the pretenders?

Answer 4

Lambert Simnel

Perkin Warbeck

Question 5

What did Viscount Lovell and the Staffords do and when?

Answer 5

1486- Minor rising focused on traditional Yorkist Heartlands of Yorkshire and midlands
Led by Viscount Lovell and Humphrey Stafford with his brother Thomas
Attracted little support and was easily suppressed
Lovell escaped to Burgundy, Humphrey Stafford was captured and executed (Thomas was pardoned)

Question 6

Why was the Lovell rebellion significant?

Answer 6

It showed there was little support for a Yorkist rising at this point

Question 7

Who arranged a Yorkist conspiracy in 1487 and who was the figurehead?

Answer 7

Arranged by Earl of Lincoln (John de la Pole) - used Lambert Simnel as a figurehead

Question 8

What did Simnel do?

Answer 8

He impersonated the Earl of Warwick and was crowned as King Edward in Ireland (may 1487)

Question 9

What were the results of the Simnel plan?

Answer 9

Henry exhibited the real Earl of Warwick in London
Lincoln fled to the court of Margaret of Burgundy and joined Lovell - persuading Margaret to support Simnel and pay for a force of mercenaries (hired soldiers who work for pay with no commitments to the cause) to invade England

Question 10

How did Henry neutralise Yorkist support in the North?

Answer 10

Took risk by reinstating the Earl of Northumberland (a traditional Yorkist supporter) to power in the north as his supporter (who was untrustworthy - supporter of Richard III in Battle of B
Also ensured the traditionally Yorkist Howard family had no intention of joining the conspiracy, as Northumberland was one of their descendants
Also reinforced coastal defences in East Anglia

Question 11

Where did the Simnel rebels land and what was the outcome?

Answer 11

Landed in Cumberland supported by 2,000 German mercenaries provided by Margaret of Burgundy, and crossed the Pennines and tried to muster support in the Yorkist heartland but they failed to attract followers
Henry’s army defeated the mercenary army at the battle of stoke field (June 1487)

Simnel captured but Henry recognised him as harmless and employed him in the royal kitchens

Question 12

Who was killed at the Battle of Stoke?

Answer 12

The earl of Lincoln

Question 13

What were the reasons for Henry’s victory at the Battle of Stoke?

Answer 13

His own shrewdness and hard-work
Organisational skills and military leadership of his key supporters
Willingness of landowners in many parts of the country to support his cause

Question 14

What did the Battle of stoke effectively end?

Answer 14

The war of the roses

Question 15

For what two reasons did Henry’s support grow?

Answer 15

His lenient treatment of the rebels won over some Yorkists who had previously opposed him
He began to use the policy of bonds of good behaviour

Question 16

What were bonds of good behaviour?

Answer 16

Providing lump sums of money to landowners that they did not have to repay if they behaved well but if the condition was broken they had to pay it as a penalty

Question 17

What was the Perkin Warbeck imposture?

Answer 17

Imposture of a cloth trader from Flanders who claimed to be Richard - duke of York (one of Edward IV’s sons and one of the two murdered princes in them tower)

Question 18

What happened with Warbeck in 1491 and 1492?

Answer 18

1491- Warbeck began to impersonate Richard in Ireland
Brief period in France but forced to flee
1492- He fled to the court of Margaret of Burgundy - was trained as potential Yorkist prince and began to draw English courtiers into his conspiracies

Question 19

What happened with Warbeck in 1495 and 1496?

Answer 19

1495- He attempted to land in England but was quickly defeated as Henry had been informed of his intentions by royal agent Robert Clifford and fled to the court of James IV of Scotland
1496- He tried to invade England with a small Scottish force - this soon retreated and James IV agreed to Marry Henry’s daughter, Margaret

Question 20

What happened with Warbeck in 1497and 1499?

Answer 20

1497- He tried to claim the throne by exploiting the Cornish rebellion- his forces were crushed - Warbeck surrendered he was treated leniently at first but tired to escape so confined to tower
1499- He was tired and executed a long with the Earl of Warwick

Question 21

Who were Edmund de la Pole and Richard de la Pole and what happened to them?

Answer 21

Younger brothers of the earl of Lincoln (Edmund = earl of Suffolk)
Edmund largely lived in exile 1498-1506 under the protection of Margaret of Burgundy,
Treaty of Windsor 1506 - meant more friendly relations restored with Burgundy, including Maximillian agreeing to give up Suffolk so
He returned in 1506 and was imprisoned in the tower of London and executed in 1513 by Henry VIII
Richard was exiled until his death fighting for France at the Battle of Pavia 1525

Question 22

What was the significance of the Perkin Warbeck imposture?

Answer 22

Patronage from foreign rulers made Warbeck a potentially serious threat and demonstrated how fragile Henry’s position was considered to be by foreign rulers
The involvement of William Stanley (Head of the royal household and was Lord Chamberlain) showed Henry’s vulnerability even within his own household

Question 23

What is the significance of the Earl of Lincolns (John de la pole) brothers’?

Answer 23

The imprisonment of Edward (Suffolk) effectively eliminated the remaining threats, leaving only Richard de la Pole who was at large in exile

Question 24

Why was Henry’s victory at the Battle of Stoke Significant?

Answer 24

It was this battle, rather than Bosworth which really brought an end to the Wars of the Roses
Henry had overcome a crisis and therefore his position became safer (not secure though)

Question 25

What happened to the Earl of Warwick and why was this significant?

Answer 25

Convenient for Henry that Warbeck’s final conspiracies allowed him to get rid of the Earl of Warwick (most obvious Yorkist claimant to the throne)
Warwick was in many respects an innocent victim of political problems but In 1499 having been accused of plotting with Warbeck against Henry, he was beheaded

Question 26

What was household government?

Answer 26

Medieval system of governance where the head of the household, invariably an adult male, had authority over the property, labour and mobility of everyone living on his land