Henry VII, 1485-1509 Flashcards
Why was their unrest in the early years of Henry VII’s reign?
Claim to the throne was weak - came from his mothers side
Took the crown at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 thus not given throne legitimately
Yorkists would not accept claim to throne believing Richard III had been usurped
Largely unknown in England before 1485 but reputation damaged by 14 years in exile in France along with French support
The Lovell Rebellion (1486)
Uprising from Richard Lovell and the Stafford brothers, all supporters of Richard III
Began in the Midlands, the North and in Wales when Henry was on his Royal Progress
Rebellion was poorly coordinated and dispersed in the face of Henry’s forces
Lovell fled to Flanders and Humphrey Stafford was executed
The Yorkshire rebellion (1488)
Reaction to Henry’s subsidy (tax) to fight in France which was £100,000 at a time of bad harvest
Easily put down by Royal army but demonstrated Henry’s limited power in the North
The Cornish rebellion (1497)
Reaction to subsidiary to pay for way defence against Scotland (James IV planned to invade to support Perkin Warbeck)
15,000 rebels, from a range of social classes gathered but were defeated by Henry at the Battle of Blackheath
Leaders were executed
Lambert Simnel (1486)
Claimed to be the Earl of Warwick (Richard III’s nephew)
Supported by Margaret of Burgundy and Yorkist support like the Earl of Lincoln
Simnel landed in Lincolnshire with 8,000 men but was defeated at the battle of Stoke
Significant threat as Simnel followed the same plan as Henry VII in 1485
Perkin Warbeck (1491-99)
Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York (who was murdered in the tower)
Started in Yorkist stronghold of Ireland but moved to France
1492 Warbeck moved to Flanders and gained support of Margaret of Burgundy and Holy Roman Emperor Maximillium and some of Henry’s own advisors such as William Stanley
Warbeck attempted a landing at deal in 1495 but then fled to Ireland
Gained support from James IV of Scotland but defeated
Tried to support the Cornish rebellion but eventually was captured and executed in 1498
Why was Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne so weak?
It came from his mothers side - Margaret Beaufort, who was a descendent of Edward III
Significant factors of Henry VII’s domestic policies:
Security of the throne - primary aim was secure the throne by eliminating any threats or pretenders
Financial policies
Control of the nobility - favoured to control nobility through financial ruin e.g bonds
Financial policy: successes
Use of the chamber system - rather than using the exchequer system meant that Henry had direct control over his money and that money was instantly accessible
Bonds and recognisances -
Arguments the Yorkist challenge was a serious threat to Henry VII’s rule?
Weak nature of Henry VII’s claim
Stafford/Lovell rebellion in 1486 showed how insecure H was at the start of his reign
Simnel and Warbeck presented little danger but they provided a focus for the plots of others in England and overseas, such as Margaret of Burgundy, who financed Simnel’s army at Stoke
Simnel was supported by powerful nobles like Kildare, Lincoln and Lovell
Simnel was a threat because it forced the King into battle
Warbeck = threat as received support from various times from France, Burgundy, the HRE and Scotland
H had to impose a costly and unpopular trade embargo 1493-96 to stop Burgundy and the HRE supporting Warbeck
H’s decision to execute Stanley in 1495 + Warbeck in 1499 shows he did not feel secure
Arguments the Yorkist challenge was not a serious threat to Henry VII’s rule?
H had more troops and they were more experienced
Yorkshire tax rebellion in 1489 was not a serious threat and probably not connected to Yorkshire claims to the throne anyway
Warbeck’s failure to exploit the Cornish tax rebellion in 1497
H’s sensible policies, e.g. his effective spy network which tracked Warbeck’s movements + discovered Stanley’s treason, reduced the threat as time went on
Arguments Henry VII was effective in dealing with the Yorkist challenges to his throne:
Henry was successful as none of the challenges were able to remove him from the throne
Yorkist cause was reduced to using Pretenders
Dating the start of his reign to the day before Bosworth meant anyone who fought against him could be convicted of treason
Henry married the best Yorkist claimant, Elizabeth of York
Decline in rebellion after the defeat of Simnel
H defeated the tax rebellions in 1489 + 1497
H ended foreign support for pretenders through the Treaty of Etaples 1492, the Intercursus Magnus 1496, the Truce of Ayton 1497 + the Treaty of Windsor 1506
Henry was able to hand on a secure throne to his son
Arguments Henry VII was not effective in dealing with the Yorkist challenges to his throne:
Simnel Rebellion did force Henry into battle only two years after Bosworth
Sir William Stanley’s disloyalty in 1495 showed H was not yet secure
Foreign support for the Pretenders, particularly from Margaret of Burgundy, made it more difficult for Henry as he was unable to deal with her
What was the most important aim of Henry VII’s foreign policy?
Securing the Throne
Marriages
Avoidance of War
Why was it important for Henry to use foreign policy to secure the throne?
Foreign policy was the most important way to secure his throne as most support for pretenders came from abroad
Margaret of Burgundy was a constant threat until her death in 1503
Foreign support for pretenders was a problem throughout H’s reign
His willingness to impose trade embargoes 1493-96 and 1506 and to bribe Maximillian with huge sums of money to stop Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire supporting Warbeck and Suffolk respectively shows that securing his throne was more important than financial or economic considerations
Marriages with Spain and Scotland were designed to gain international recognition of his dynasty and secure its future
Why was it important for Henry to use foreign policy to form marriages?
Marriages were important as they brought European recognition
Marriage of Arthur to Catherine of Aragon in 1509 was intended to cement H’s alliance with Spain and help secure Arthur’s succession to the throne
Marriages of H’s daughter Margaret to James IV in 1503 brought at least short term peace with Scotland
Why was it important for Henry to use foreign policy to avoid war?
Avoiding war helped H achieve other objectives like improving his finances an securing his throne
H was unable to prevent a Scottish invasion in 1496 but the Truce of Ayton 1497 showed his eagerness to avoid war with Scotland
H’s eagerness to avoid war with France + Scotland in the 1490s was motivated primarily by his desire to stop them supporting Warbeck
Define: “Domestic Policy”
Securing the throne + succession through domestic measures like the spy network, marrying Elizabeth of York, executions ect
Financial Policy
Control of the nobility
What domestic policy did Henry himself regard as his most important priority?
Securing his throne e.g. his willingness to sacrifice trade to stop support for pretenders, and unless he kept the throne he obviously couldn’t have achieved anything else
He would have regarded financial success + control of the nobility as means to the end of securing his throne rather than as ends in themselves
Arguments Henry VII was successful in strengthening Royal Finances:
Chamber System helped H to bring finance under his personal control
Employed effective officials like Bray, Empson + Dudley to ensure that any money due to the Crown was thoroughly collected
Bonds and Recognisances were used to increase revenue, although their primary purpose was to ensure good behaviour
H increased all revenues - Overall income was increased by 67%
Increased income from Crown Lands by seizing the estates of those who opposed him like Lincoln, Suffolk and Sir William Stanley - enabled him to quadruple revenue from Crown lands
Retained his French Pension for 17 years
Secured profitable trade agreements with Burgundy, France and Spain which boosted custom revenue
Left a substantial surplus (estimated at around 100,000) for his son
Successes in raising other revenues enabled him to minimise parliamentary taxation after 1497, preventing any more tax rebellions
Arguments Henry VII was not successful in strengthening Royal Finances:
Raising taxes provoked rebellions in Yorkshire in 1489 + Cornwall in 1497, forcing H to limit them thereafter
Parliament met only once in the 2nd half of his reign
H’s desperation to cut off support for pretenders forced him to give huge sums to Maximillian to stop support for Warbeck and Suffolk
H’s greed, especially in the last years of his reign when Empson and Dudley extorted so much money by unfair methods, caused so much resentment that it might have provoked a rebellion - execution of Empson + Dudley after H’s death showed this
Arguments Henry VII successful handled the nobility:
By dating his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth, H could threaten nobles who fought against him with acts of attainder, convicting them of treason, to keep them under control
By executing Sir William Stanley in 1495 he sent a clear signal to the nobility that nothing less than 100% loyalty would be tolerated
Prevented the emergence of over-mighty subjects
Used bonds and recognisances to limit the power of the nobility
H was more effective than previous kings at penalising retaining
Royal Council was used more effectively to exert control over the nobility
Increased income from crown lands by seizing the estates of those who opposed him like Lincoln + Suffolk
H relied on loyal nobles to control parts of the country
Gained the support of some former Yorkist’s
Hardly any nobles supported rival claimants after the Simnel rebellion
H’s meanness with patronage + Acts of Resumption enabled him to quadruple revenue from crown lands
Nobles might not have like H but they feared him
Arguments Henry VII failed to handle the nobility:
Combination of Lincoln, Lovell and Kildare posed a serious threat to H in 1487, forcing him to fight a battle at Stoke which was bigger + bloodier than Bosworth - 3,000 of his soldiers were killed
Failure of his nobility to prevent Simnel marching across the North in 1487 + Cornish rebels marching across the South in 1497 shows lack of loyalty to H
Policies enforced by Empson + Dudley in his last years were so oppressive that they could have provoked a rebellion
H became harsher + more greedy in the 2nd half of his reign (he passed 51 acts of attainder 1504-9) despite being more secure; this inevitably provoked resentment
Excessive severity against the nobility (subjecting nearly 60% of them to bonds + recognisances) made him very unpopular
H abused his feudal rights
Frequency of H’s acts against retaining (1485, 1487 + 1504) suggests they were ineffective
