Henry VII (1485 - 1509)

Question 1

When did Henry VII become King of England?

Answer 1

Following the victory at the Battle of Bosworth against Richard III on 22nd August 1485

Question 2

What were his goals (6)

Answer 2

1. Consolidating his power
2. Ensuring line of succession
3. Peaceful foreign policy
4. Controlling the nobility
5. Securing the Crown’s finances
6. Establishing law and order

Question 3

What were some of the weakness when he inherited the throne? (3)

Answer 3

1. He had not been brought up to rule
2. Weak claim to the throne - he was a Lancastrian, faced severe opposition against strong Yorkist claimants (e.g. de la Pole brothers)
3. Margaret of Burgundy - possessed vast access to funds to support Yorkist claimants

Question 4

What were the ways he immediately did to consolidate his position? (6)

Answer 4

1. Before the Bosworth, he declared that anyone who fought on the Yorkist side would be designated as a traitor
2. Utilised the power of patronage - he publicly awarded 11 knighthoods to many key supporters, reinforced loyalty and incentive for others to support his rule
3. Made several key appointments to his Council and household - e.g. William Stanley as Chamberlain of the Household and Sir Reginald Bray as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
4. Arranged coronation before his first meeting with Parliament - showed that his right to the throne was based on hereditary right
5. Acts of Attainder against Yorkists who fought at Bosworth - ensured property was forfeit to the Crown, increased royal income
6. Married Elizabeth of York in January 1486 - used royal propaganda, union of both houses of York and Lancaster (e.g. emblem of Tudor rose combined the red rose of Lancaster with white rose of York)

Question 5

When did the Lovell-Staffords rebellion take place and where did they try to gain their troops from?

Answer 5

Happened in Easter 1486
Viscount Lovell, Thomas and Humphrey Stafford tried to raise troops in Richard III’s hometown in North Riding of Yorkshire

Question 6

Why did the rebellion fail and what was the aftermath?

Answer 6

Gained little enthusiasm by the supporters and were easily suppressed by Henry VII - this is because they did not know who would replace Henry if they did successful overthrow him

Lovell - escaped from King’s forces to the Netherlands to the court of Margaret of Burgundy
Humphrey Stafford - captured and executed
Thomas Stafford - pardoned

Question 7

Who did Lambert Simnel pretender to be, who helped him and what happened?

Answer 7

Simnel was pretending to be the Earl of Warwick, Edward de la Pole, and was even crowned as King Edward of Ireland in May 1487 - the conspiracy was aided by John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln

Question 8

Where was the real earl of Warwick and what did it prompt earl of Lincoln to do?

Answer 8

He was in the tower of London - he exhibited him to the whole of London to prove that it was a hoax

Lincoln subsequently fled and joined Lovell at the court of Margaret of Burgundy in the Netherlands - they persuaded Margaret to pay for mercenaries to support Simnel and invade England

Question 9

What was a risky move that Henry decided to do during the Simnel rebellion?

Answer 9

Reinstated the untrustworthy Earl of Northumberland in Richard’s main power base (north of England) since he led a major portion of Richard’s army at Bosworth

This helped neutralise Richard’s old power base and ensured that the traditionally Yorkist Howard family had no intention on joining the conspiracy.

Question 10

What happened at the Battle of Stoke?

Answer 10

Henry was not confident but his army was led effectively by the Earl of Oxford in which the Earl of Lincoln was killed in the battle - he was unable to add sufficient followers to the army of mercenaries with which he had landed in England

Question 11

Why was the battle so significant? (5)

Answer 11

• brought an end to the War of the Roses
• Henry’s position became safer, but not secured
• overcame the crisis through the combination of his own hard work, organisational skills of key supporters and willingness of landowners to support his cause
• won over some Yorkists who previously had not supported him
• began to develop the policy of using bonds of good behaviour

Question 12

What did the Perkin Warbeck rebellion show and what ability made him a serious threat?

Answer 12

It showed how fragile Henry’s position was considered to be by foreign rulers.

Perkin Warbeck’s ability to attract patronage from foreign rulers transformed him from mild to a potentially serious threat.

Question 13

What happened in 1491

Answer 13

Warbeck began to impersonate Richard, Duke of York in Ireland - the following year (1492), he was forced to flee from Charlves VIII’s court in France to the court of Margaret of Burgundy following the Treaty of Etaples

Question 14

When was Warbeck’s first attempt to land in England?

Answer 14

In 1495 - but this proved to be a fiasco, he was quickly defeated and fled to the court of James IV of Scotland

Question 15

Was the first landing of Warbeck a costly operation for Henry?

Answer 15

Yes - the conspirators had an accomplice at the heart of Henry’s government, Sir William Stanley - Lord Chamberlain and headed the royal household

Question 16

What happened in 1496 with Perkin Warbeck?

Answer 16

Small Scottish force crossed border but quickly retreated - Warbeck’s interest fell following the Treaty of Ayton where James would marry Henry’s daughter, Margaret

Question 17

When was Warbeck’s final attempt and what was the aftermath?

Answer 17

He tried to exploit the uncertainties of the Cornish rebellion in 1497 - he was crushed and eventually surrendered to the King

Aftermath - Henry kept Warbeck at court but issues arose over the alleged escape attempt with the Earl of Warwick resulted in both them being tried and executed

Question 18

What were the 3 main functions of the Council?

Answer 18

1. Advice the king
2. Administer the realm on the king’s behalf
3. Make legal judgements

Question 19

What did the importance of the Council depend upon?

Answer 19

1. The administrators - particularly Reginald Bray
2. The Council Learned (its offshoot)

Question 20

What was the function of the Council Learned?

Answer 20

1. Maintain the King’s revenue
2. Exploit his prerogative rights
3. Enforce the system of bonds and recognizances - allow to entrap many of the king’s subjects

Question 21

Why was the Council Learned hated?

Answer 21

It caused fear and resentment as it bypassed the normal legal system because it was an important mechanism for the king to raise finances

Question 22

Who were the two individuals in charge of the Council Learned?

Answer 22

Richard Epsom and Edmund Dudley - they formed a feared combination of able bureaucrats who raised money from king’s subjects

Question 23

What was the aftermath?

Answer 23

This created enemies within the Council - e.g. Bishop Fox and Thomas Lovell who removed them after the King’s death

The downfall of Epsom and Dudley brought joy on the streets - indicated the unpopularity and fear of their financial control during the final years of Henry’s reign

Question 24

What were the two function of Parliament?

Answer 24

1. Pass laws
2. Grant taxation

Question 25

How many times had Henry called Parliament?

Answer 25

7 times in his reign - 5 were called within the first 10 years

The early parliament calls were largely concerned with issues of national security and raising revenue

Question 26

What were the first two Parliaments concerned with?

Answer 26

Controlling the Nobility:
Passed numerous Acts of Attainder - declared individuals guilty without having to go through trial if alive; if they were dead, their property would be forfeited to the Crown

Question 27

What did Henry’s first and other Parliaments grant?

Answer 27

First parliament granted tonnage and poundage (customs revenue) for life

Other parliaments granted extraordinary revenue, taxation granted to enable the king to wage war

Question 28

What were the positives of Parliament? (2)

Answer 28

1. Operated effectively - they managed to pass private acts in response to local demands for improvement
2. Respected the King’s decision and Henry did not have to “manage” Parliament through his ministers - showed that there was a positive relationship between Parliament and the Monarch

Question 29

Why was Henry so concerned over law and order?

Answer 29

During uprisings/rebellions, it always concerned him due to the potential enemies trying to exploit trouble to challenge his authority

Question 30

How many nobles were reduced during his reign?

Answer 30

From 62 nobles to 42 - their lands were also transferred to the Crown, helping to improve finances

Question 31

What was a high risk strategy that Henry employed in regards to the North?

Answer 31

He sent a known supporter of Richard III to the North Riding of Yorkshire - very high risk, but the Earl of Surrey proved his loyalty through effective service in the north for 10 years

Question 32

What did Henry do if he did not trust his supporters?

Answer 32

He established the employment of a spying networking - their task was to report on noble’s performance and impose bonds and recognizances

Question 33

What was the role of Justices of the Peace (JPs)

Answer 33

1. Relied increasingly on maintaining law and order in the countryside
2. They were responsible for routine administration - tax assessments, regulation, investigation of local complaints and maintainance of law and order

Question 34

Why were bonds and recognizances so significant? (3)

Answer 34

1. Controlling the nobility
2. Maintaining law and order
3. Securing Crown’s finances

Question 35

What were the 6 sources of income for the Crown?

Answer 35

1. Profits of justices - bonds and recognizances
2. Crown lands
3. Profits from feudal dues + exercise of royal prerogative
4. Pensions from other powers - e.g. Treaty of Etaples
5. Customs revenue
6. Extraordinary revenue

Question 36

How did Henry’s finances improve from beginning to end of his reign?

Answer 36

At the start of his reign, Henry was gaining £12,000 per year from income
By the end of his reign, finances improved immensely and income from land increased to £42,000 per year

Question 37

How did he improve his finances? (5)

Answer 37

1. Reverted to Edward’s system of administration in 1492 where decisions and policies were made through the chamber instead of the inefficient Court of Exchequer
2. Secured £5000 per annum pension from France
3. Total of at least £200,000 was promised to the King between 1504 and 1507, not all was collected
4. Customs revenue increased from £34,000 to £38,000
5. Received over £400,000 from extraordinary taxation

Question 38

What were the negatives of Henry’s finances?

Answer 38

1. Political instability - provoked Yorkshire rebellion 1489 and Cornish rebellion 1497 and alienated nation’s landowners (reckless policy as he needed to gain their support during time of crisis/threat)
2. Henry was not the most wealthiest individual in England - he left around £300,000 in assets and around £10,000 in cash compared to powerful Bacon’s around £1,800,000

Question 39

What were Henry’s foreign policy aims?

Answer 39

1. National security
2. Recognition of Tudor Dynasty
3. Defence of England’s trading interests

Question 40

Why did Henry feel the need to protect Brittany from French influence in 1487?

Answer 40

1. Sense of obligation
2. Fear that direct French control could increase potential French invasion to England

Question 41

When was the Treaty of Redon signed and what were the terms?

Answer 41

February 1489
Princess Anne would pay for a small English army to defend the country from French threat
Henry tried to strengthen his own position with the new Emperor-elect Maximilian - he contracted a marriage-by-proxy with Anne since she was a widower

Question 42

Why did foreign policy fail in Brittany?

Answer 42

She feared the futility of a prolonged resistance to the French, she surrendered and reluctantly married Charles the 8th

This also caused Maximilian to lose interest with Henry - left him with a difficult position

The situation multiplied over Perkin Warbeck seeking French backing for his claim on the English throne

Question 43

How did Henry skilfully recover his disastrous foreign policy?

Answer 43

Launched an invasion of France in 1492 - used intelligence where he found out that Charles was more interested in invading Italy - therefore quickly sought peace settlement with Henry - Henry showed great flexibility

Question 44

When was the Treaty of Etaples and what were the outcomes?

Answer 44

Signed in November 1492
Charles VIII agreed to withdraw support from Warbeck
Agreed to pay pension of £5,000 per annum to compensate him for the expense of recruiting an army to invade him

The treaty was positive as:
1. Improved Anglo-French relations
2. Improved Crown’s finances
3. Defended national and dynastic interests

Question 45

Where did the bulk of English exports go through?

Answer 45

The Netherlands - it was therefore important for commercial reasons for good relations to be maintained
However, the presence of Margaret did not help

Question 46

Why did relations between Burgundy and England deteriorate?

Answer 46

The relations deteriorated as a result of hostility that Henry was facing from Maximilian and Phillip as they were offering Perkin Warbeck residence

Question 47

What did Henry decide to do?

Answer 47

He gambled by placing an embargo on English trading with Burgundy - this put conflicts of interest between securing the dynasty and encouraging trade

Question 48

What did it show?

Answer 48

Henry was prepared to sacrifice economic prosperity (commercial interests of London) over his own dynastic interests - indicates at how unsecure he felt over his position

Question 49

What was the commercial trade agreement in 1496?

Answer 49

Intercursus Magnus - restored relations between England and Phillip (Duchy of Burgundy) which brought an end of the trade embargo following the departure of Warbeck in 1496

Question 50

What were the outcomes of the Treaty of Windsor (1506) (2)

Answer 50

1. Established the Intercursus Malus - new trading agreement that agreed to restore trading relationships on the basis of Intercursus Magnus
2. Maximilian and Phillip agreed to hand over Earl of Suffolk whom Henry imprisoned in the Tower
3. Recognition of Juana and Phillip as rulers of Castile - strengthening couple’s claim to the Spanish throne

-> outcomes - appeared to improve both English trading position and security of dynasty

Question 51

What was the treaty between England and Spain and what were the agreements? (3)

Answer 51

Treaty of Medina Del Campo in 1489
1. Two monarchies offered mutual protection in the event of attack
2. Agreed not to harbour rebels or pretenders
3. Arranged marriage alliance between Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales

Question 52

What were some of the problems?

Answer 52

1. Arrangements for royal marriage did not go smoothly
2. Ferdinand was reluctant over marriage as the threat of Perkin Warbeck still remained
3. Issues over Catherine’s size of dowry

Question 53

How did the death of Arthur in 1502 brought complications to Henry’s relations with Ferdinand? (3)

Answer 53

1. Henry suggested to marry his second son but Ferdinand was reluctant due to little need of English alliance and required a papal dispensation (came at a price)
2. The death of Isabella in 1504 made Ferdinand less significant politically - Henry chose to support Juana instead
3. Juana and her husband Phillip of Burgundy were forced to take refuge in England following the wreck of their ship when they set sail back to Spain in January 1506 - this made more favourable agreements at the Treaty of Windsor

Question 54

How did the impact of Phillip of Burgundy’s death have on Henry? (4)

Answer 54

1. It gave Ferdinand the chance to become regent of Castile
2. Juana became mentally unstable
3. Left Henry diplomatically isolated
4. Ferdinand made sure that marriage alliance between their children would not happen during Henry’s lifetime

Question 55

How did problems arise in 1495 over Scotland?

Answer 55

James IV offered hospitality to Warbeck where he stayed at court for two years, received a pension and had an aristocratic marriage (king’s cousin)

Question 56

Despite shortcomings of first invasion, what political repercussions did Warbeck’s first crossing in 1496 have?

Answer 56

The attempted invasion led Henry to raise a lager army to launch an invasion of Scotland - this meant that more money had to be raised through taxes - this resulted in the Cornish rebellion in 1497

Question 57

What was the Treaty of Ayton and Treaty of Perpetual Peace?

Answer 57

Signed in 1497 - this significantly improved Anglo-Scottish relations following the marriage alliance between Margaret Tudor and James IV

15032 - Ayton treaty was sanctioned by a formal peace treaty

Overall, Henry was very successful in ensuring the security of his dynasty in Scotland as relations had been positive

Question 58

Who was the dominant figure in Ireland and what problems did he cause?

Answer 58

Earl of Kildare, he had Yorkist sympathies - he supported the Simnel rebellion whom he crowned as King of Ireland in 1486 as King Edward

Question 59

How did Henry respond to Kildare’s opposition? (2)

Answer 59

1. He attempted the more costly approach of rule of the “Pale” through an Englishman, backed by armed force instead of relying on established Irish aristocracy (who were cheap + unreliable)
2. Appointed his infant son, Prince Henry, as Lieutenant of Ireland and appointed Sir Edward Poynings as his deputy

Question 60

Was it successful?

Answer 60

Yes - ‘Poynings’ Law’ in 1495 forced Irish parliament to not pass any law without the approval of English Crown

Poynings was also successful at establishing royal authority by means of threat through force and bribery

Question 61

What problems arose?

Answer 61

The strategy was proving to be too expensive - especially after Warbeck landed in Ireland

Question 62

What had happened by 1496?

Answer 62

Kildare decided to switch sides and support Henry loyally as he saw no benefit in aiding the Yorkist cause
This amplified over the fact that his family’s fortunes would be substantially improved that he was eager to support his former enemy

Question 63

Why was Henry distrustful of growing the size of the nobility? (3)

Answer 63

1. Wealth = power, they had enough resources to actually overthrow him - also the longstanding tradition of retaining
2. Weak succession to the throne meant that his position was very unstable at the beginning of the reign
3. The nobility

Question 64

When were the laws of preventing retaining took place?

Answer 64

1. 1486 - peers and MPs required to swore an oath against being illegally retained or illegally retaining
2. 1487 - law against retaining was established
3. 1504 - 1487 law was reinforced by this act under which licences for retaining were required

Question 65

What was the details of Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 65

1489 - sparked by resentment of taxation granted by Parliament in 1489 to finance Brittany campaign

Earl of Northumberland was murdered due to revenge of deserting Richard at Bosworth

Question 66

Why was the Cornish rebellion so significant? (3)

Answer 66

1497 - triggered by need to gain revenue to finance campaign against Scotland
1. large number of people were involved
2. attempt by Warbeck to exploit this rebellion
3. Rebels marched to London - they were effectively challenging security of Henry’s regime
4. Raised the question of just how effective was the Crown’s system of maintaining order in the countryside

Question 67

Aftermath of the rebellion

Answer 67

• easily crushed by Daubeney
• Henry only punished the leaders

Question 68

What were the largest industries?

Answer 68

Wool and cloth were the main industries
Sheep farming was becoming more popular

Question 69

What had happened to trading demand?

Answer 69

It shifted from raw wool to finished cloth - saw the decline of merchants of staple

Question 69

What was the largest export?

Answer 69

Cloth trade was about 90% of the value of English exports
-> remained dependent on cloth as their export

Question 70

What development had boosted production?

Answer 70

The development of basic pumping technology boosted production levels

Question 71

Did Henry rate interests of English merchants higher than foreign policy and dynastic interests?

Answer 71

No - he rated foreign policy and dynastic interests higher than the interests of English merchants

Question 72

What organisation was responsible for causing the decline of development in exports?

Answer 72

The Hanseatic League was largely successful in limiting development of English trading interests in the Baltic

Question 73

What act did Henry pass to encourage English shipping?

Answer 73

Navigation Acts of 1485 and 1489 - but the usefulness was limited as foreigners would continue transporting substantial proportion of English exports

Question 74

How did the Church control law and order? (3)

Answer 74

1. Provided the focus of popular entertainment
2. Encouragement of good behaviour and obedience
3. Emphasis on the values of community

Question 75

Why was the Mass important (2)

Answer 75

1. It was a sacrifice performed on behalf of the whole community
2. Sacred ritual in which the whole community participated in

Question 75

What was the relationship between Church and State?

Answer 75

It was Erastian - the State should have authority over the Church

Relationship between Church/Pope were generally positive

There did not appear to have been in urgent need of radical reform

Question 76

What was Humanism?

Answer 76

• development of the Renaissance
• rediscovery of original Latin and Greek texts
• believers in the Catholic faith
• notion of free will