Henry VII Rebellions

Question 1

What was the first armed uprising against Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth?

Answer 1

Stafford and Lovell Rebellion

Question 2

When was the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion?

Answer 2

1486

Question 3

Who were the leaders of the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion?

Answer 3

Francis Lovell (1st Viscount Lovell) and the Stafford brothers (Sir Humphrey Stafford & Thomas Stafford)

Question 4

What was the motivation behind the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion?

Answer 4

Dynastic aims - wanted to overthrow the king

Question 5

Did the Stafford and Lovell rebellion have any subsidiary causes?

Answer 5

No, none of any significance - hence lack of support

Question 6

Summarise the Stafford and Lovell rebellion

Answer 6

Lovell + the Staffords had fled to Colchester Abbey following the BoB

In April 1486 they tried to raise a rebellion - Lovell travelled to Richard III’s old stronghold, Yorkshire, whilst the Staffords did the same in Worcestershire

Henry VIII had a network of spies to keep him informed; he sent his uncle Jasper Tudor to York with a pardon for every rebel but Lovell himself, and appointed Sir Richard Edgcumbe and Sir William Tyler to apprehend Lovell. Support for the Stafford rebellion also dissolved when news travelled that Henry was on his way South with an army.

The Staffords sought sanctuary in Culham Abbey, but the king had them forcibly removed on May 14th. Justices ruled that sanctuary was not applicable in cases of treason.

Question 7

Why did Francis Lovell want to overthrow the king?

Answer 7

Had been a close ally of Richard III and opposed the Lancastrians

Question 8

Why was the Lovell and Stafford rebellion unsuccessful?

Answer 8

No subsidiary causes other than dynastic aim - less common greivances to unite people under

Only rallied a small number of rebels

Poor decision for the Stafford brothers to raise a rebellion in Worcester

Question 9

When did Lambert Simnel pose a threat to Henry VII?

Answer 9

1486-87

Question 10

Who did Lambert Simnel impersonate and why?

Answer 10

The Earl of Warwick - was the leading Yorkist claimant to the throne

Question 11

Which influential figures gave their support to Lambert Simnel?

Answer 11

Margaret of Burgundy - sister of the Yorkist kings inc. Richard III
Acknowledged Simnel as her nephew

Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare - Most powerful and influential man in Ireland
Accepted Simnel as the Earl of Warwick and helped crown him as Edward VI in Dublin Cathedral in May 1487

Question 12

How did the Lambert Simnel rebellion end?

Answer 12

Henry paraded the real Earl of Warwick through the streets of London to prove that Simnel was an impostor

Rebels marched through Cumbria and north Yorkshire where they expected to gain support as the area had retained considerable loyalty to Richard III, but received a poor response.

On Jure 16th 1487 the rebel army of 8,000 men was met by Henry’s force of 12,000 men and was defeated at the Battle of Stone, viewed as the last conflict of the Wars of the Roses

Question 13

When did Perkin Warbeck pose a threat to the monarchy?

Answer 13

1491-99

Question 14

Who did Perkin Warbeck impersonate?

Answer 14

Richard, the younger son of Edward IV

Question 15

What were the reactions of influential figures to Perkin Warbeck?

Answer 15

Irish lords eg. Kildare - Refused to give Warbeck their backing

Charles VIII of France - Received Warbeck as a prince when he travelled to France in 1492 BUT expelled him following the November 1492 Treaty of Etaples between him and Henny where he agreed not to shelter rebels

Margaret of Burgundy - Welcomed him into her court in 1493 and tutored him in the ways of the Yorkist court

Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian - Welcomed Warbeck at his court. Warbeck promised if he died before becoming king, his claim would fall to Maximilian

James IV of Scotland - Welcomed Warbeck when he fled to Scotland in 1495 and even gave him his cousin’s, Lady Catherine Gordon, hand in marriage. BUT James signed the Truce of Ayton withe Henry so Warbeck had to move again

Question 16

How was Perkin Warbeck captured?

Answer 16

As a last resort after being rejected by the Irish in July 1497 Warbeck landed in Cornwall to try profit from the antagonism felt towards Henry following the 1597 Cornish Rebellion BUT he received little support and was arrested.

Henry allowed Warbeck to remain at court but in 1498 Warbeck ran away and was imprisoned in the Tower upon recapture.

He was caught plotting to escape with the Earl of Warwick so both were executed in 1499

Question 17

What obstacles were there to a successful Yorkist rebellion?

Answer 17

War-weariness
Spies and informers kept track of more distant enemies
Henry making Elizabeth Queen was an important gesture to the Yorkist
People thought Henry had the skills needed to lead the country capably
Lack of a better candidate for the throne

Question 18

To what extent did Lambert Simnel pose a significant threat to the monarchy?

Answer 18

Came within a year of Henry coming to the throne - still vulnerable

Henry only became aware of the rising in early 1487 which put him in a weak position

A weak claimant to the throne had been able to gather support and bring the king to battle - parallels to the Battle of Bosworth

Question 19

To what extent did Perkin Warbeck pose a significant threat to the monarchy?

Answer 19

Given protection at various points in time by the readers of other European countries eg. France, Burgundy, Scotland

Question 20

To what extent were Lambert Sinnes and Perkin Warbeck NOT a significant threat to the monarchy?

Answer 20

By the end of Simnel’s challenge, Henry had already done much to establish himself as the rightful king

Members of the nobility and landowning class who might have supported the pretenders were either controlled by Henry’s policy of ‘calculated mercy’ or tired of war and instability

Question 21

When was the Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 21

April 1489

Question 22

What was the cause of the Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 22

Henry was granted a subsidy by Parliament for money to help the Duchy of Brittany defend itself from France

In Yorkshire they were unhappy for 3 reasons:
1. They did not think they in the north should pay for a foreign war. Also counties further north had been exempted but not them
2. They did not like the change in tax collection method
3. They had just experienced a very bad harvest

Question 23

How did Henry defeat the Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 23

Duke of Northumberland, who had been asked by the king to collect tax, heard of a gathering of rebels at Thirsk. He rode to meet them but was (probably) murdered by their leader Sir John Egremont

A royal army under the Earl of Surrey was sent to restore Order. They did not need to fight as the rebels mostly fled when faced with such a large force

Question 24

What were the causes of the Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 24

Main cause: Economic - protesting subsidy

Subsidiary causes:
Dynastic - Egremont was a Yorkist and an illegitimate relative of the Percys
Religious - Some in the North were unhappy at Henry’s infringement on sanctuaries in the north

Question 25

How did Henry benefit from the Yorkshire Rebellion?

Answer 25

Got closer control of the North - the Percy family had previously virtually ruled the area and could be seen as ‘overmighty nobles’

Appointed the Earl of Surrey as Lieutenant of the North - was loyal to the king and not local, so didn’t have a power base in the area, making him more likely to serve the king’s interests only

Question 26

When was the Cornish Rebellion?

Answer 26

1497

Question 27

What caused the Cornish Rebellion?

Answer 27

Henry needed money for an army to deal with the Scots after Perkin Warbeck received a warm welcome from James IV

The Cornish people did not think it was their responsibility to pay for a conflict so far away

The total tax was £120,000 (outrageous!)

It was claimed that the tax was being collected aggressively in Cornwall

+ The Cornish parliament felt its rights were being eroded by Henry’s policies

Question 28

To what extent did the Cornish Rebellion pose a threat to the monarchy?

Answer 28

Rebels gained support in Somerset from prominent gentry and clergy and a noble (albeit a bankrupt desperate one), Lord Audley. Nightmare scenario - rebellion now consisted of all social classes.

Henry was preoccupied with Warbeck and preparations for war with Scotland, so rebels were able to march unopposed through England

By June rebels were in surrey and numbered 15,000

Question 29

To what extent did the Cornish Rebellion NOT pose a threat to the monarchy?

Answer 29

Not actually rebelling against the king himself but rather his ‘evil’ councillors Morton and Bray, who had a reputation for squeezing as much money out of people as possible - wanted to present their claims to the king

Rebels gained no support in Devon due to local rivalry

Upon hearing that the rebels numbered 15,000 in June, Henry diverted his scottish army and by late June Henry had amassed an army of 25,000 led by Lord Daubney to defend London

When the rebels reached Blackheath, just outside London, they saw the size of their opposition and the guns that were placed to defend the city and many deserted. Some wanted to beg for the king’s mercy.

In battle the next day the king’s army easily crushed the rebels

Question 30

How did the Cornish Rebellion help Henry?

Answer 30

He made an example of rebels and heavily fined everybody who had been involved, both those from Cornwall and those who had joined en-route to London

Monetary gain: Earnt £15,000 from Cornwall alone
Deterrent: Cornwall did not trouble the Tudors again until 1548