Henry VII - REVAMPED Flashcards
Consolidation: Marriage [3]
- Marriage united Yorkists and Lancastrians in Janurary 1486
- Constructed the Tudor rose – unity
- Ended the wars of the roses, people were tired of conflict
Consolidation: Henry’s personal strength [3]
- Won the War of the Roses, taking over from hated King
- Started his reign the day before Bosworth
- Married Elizabeth after his coronation
Consolidation: Handling of claimants [3]
- Earl of Warwick in Tower of London
- Earl of Lincoln pledged allegiance and allowed on King’s council
- Duke of Northumberland offered his titles back 1485 and restored position
Consolidation: Parliament & People’s views [3]
- Called Parliament on 30th October 1485
- He was not beholden to another noble family
- People wanted stability; Henry offered that
Consolidation: Weaknesses of Henry [4]
- Weakened by years in exile (14 yrs)
- Largely unknown in England after Bosworth
- Lack of knowledge of the country
- Weak claim to the throne
Consolidation: Stafford/Lovell Conspiracy [3]
- Rebellion within a year of his reign, wasn’t aware at first due to weak position
- Occurred when Henry & Elizabeth were in York, dissatisfied Yorkists
- Plot failed due to Henry’s spies; older Stafford brother killed – not much threat
Consolidation: Simnel Rebellion
- Lambert Simnel claimed to be Earl of Warwick, Henry unaware until 1487
- Raised support in Oxford and Ireland (crowned Edward VI)
- Henry paraded Earl of Warwick; 8,000 men marched south in Lancashire (not overly popular)
- Met at Stoke 1487, victory took 3 hours!
Rebellions: Stafford/Lovell 1486 [5]
- Unrest was not that serious of a threat
- Occurred in the Midlands, was due to dissatisfied Yorkists
- Involved Lord Lovell & the Stafford brothers
- Henry heard of plot due to spies and sent an armed force to offer the rebels the choice of pardon & reconciliation or excommunication & death
- Rebels dispersed + defeated
Rebellions: Simnel Rebellion 1487 (Yorkist)
- Claimed to be Earl of Warwick
- Able to raise Yorkist support in Oxford & Ireland
- Margaret of Burgundy sent money + 2000 mercenaries
- Henry not aware of conspiracy until early 1487
- Henry offered a pardon + paraded Earl of Warwick in London to show Simnel was a imposter- didnt stop rebellion
- In June became more serious- gained 8000 men in Lancashire
- Army faced Henry at Battle of Stoke 1487
- Similarly to Bosworth many of Henry’s men held back from fighting until outcome became clear- victory took 3 hours but Henry won.
Rebellions: Yorkshire Rebellion 1489
- Henry demanded extraordinary income tax to fund Brittany Campaign
- Cash only tax, combined with bad harvest –> Rebellion
- Earl of Northumberland was murdered on his return North
- Sir John Egremont led York rebels - easily crushed by Earl of Surrey
- Henry never collected the taxes
Rebellions: Warbeck 1491-99 (Yorkist)
- Pretended to be Richard Duke of York
Recieved aid from foreign countries e.g. Margaret of Burgundy - Ireland > France > Burgundy > HRE
- Henry’s relations with France & Scotland were poor so Warbeck could undermine Henry’s position
- Unable to win large support in Ireland but welcomed at French Court- joined by 100 Yorkist supporters
- Treaty of Etaples forced Warbeck to move to Flanders -> Henry broke off Burgundy cloth trade
- HRE Lacked financial support to aid Warbeck
- James IV of Scotland provided him 1500 troops but then James abandoned him to marry Henry’s daughter Margaret
- 1497 following the Cornish rebellion, forced himself to give up
- Was an expensive nuisance
Rebellions: Cornish Rebellion 1497
- Tax demand to fund Warbeck campaign
- 15,000 rebels–> March to London against 25,000 royal forces
- 1,000 rebels died in Battle of Blackheath –> rebels crushed
Rebellions: De La Pole
- Appeared loyal to Henry but was dissatisfied as Henry refused to make him Duke of Suffolk
- Henry’s situation deteriorated: 1500 Edmund died, 1502 Arthur died - dynasty dependant on Henry
- In 1504 passed 51 Acts of Attainder, many against those with Suffolk connections
- In 1506 Suffolk was handed over by Phill of Burgundy who was forced to land in England- life was spared
Henry VII’s Threats
- Perkin Warbeck
- Lambert Simnel
- De La Pole
- Cornish Rebellion 1497
- Yorkshire Rebellion 1489
- Nobility
- Money - insolvency
- Other countries
What was Poyning’s Law?
1494 Law ensuring Irish Parliaments could only be called and pass laws with prior approval of the King
Henry’s measures to secure his position [3]
- Start his reign the day before Bosworth- anyone who fought against him were traitors
- Arranged for his coronation on 30th October before parliament met so it couldnt be claimed he was King only because of Parliament
- Asked for a papal dispensation to marry Elizabeth of York- uniting Lancaster & York houses, postponed marraige until 1486 so it couldnt be claimed he owed the crown to her
Areas of government
- Central Government
- Regional Government
- Local Government
- Parliament
Rebellions
- Lovell
- Simnel
- Yorkshire
- Warbeck
- Cornish
- De la Pole
How did Henry control Nobility’s retainers?
- 1504 Issued proclamations that ensured nobles needed a license to retain
- Fine of £5/month for each illegal retainer
- Cost Lord Burgavenny £70,000 in 1506
- Helped King’s financial position
Between 1485-1509 how many noble families were involved in bonds and recognisances?
36 out of 62 noble families were involved in such agreements
What were bonds and recognisances
- Written agreements whereby nobles who offended the King paid for their offence / paid money as security for good behaviour
- Sums involved reached £10,000; for example, the Marquess of Dorset
What were Acts of Attainder?
How many did he do in 1495
- Families lost the right to possess their land- could be reversed with good behaviour
- Did 24 Attainders in 1495
What was the King’s Council & Great Council?
- King’s council membership was a sign of trust
- Great Council - way to ensure noble support for measures
Number of Henry VII’s major peers at start & end of reign
- Start of reign: 16
- End of reign: 10
How did Henry stabilise regional Government?
- 1493 - Henry revived the Council of Wales
- Used regional councils in the north, Wales and Ireland to strengthen royal authority
- Council in London ensured members were appointed by Henry, not Surrey in North
What was the 1486 Act of Resumption?
Recovered for the Crown all property granted away since 1455
Who were the two most important Yorkist claimants?
Earl of Warwick + John de la Pole
- Warwick was successfully removed by being sent to the tower
- Lincoln professed his loyalty and was invited to join the King’s Council
Who was Margaret of Burgundy?
- Widow of Charles the Bold, ruler of Burgundy + sister of Edward IV and Richard III
- Wanted to restore Yorkist rule in England + central to most of the early plots in Henry’s reign
- Gave shelter at her court in Burgundy to Lovell, Lincoln (De La Pole) and Warbeck + acknowledged Simnel as her nephew.
How did Henry change financial administration?
- Changed from the slow-moving Exchequer + restored the Chamber
- From 1486-7 income from royal estates increased from £12,000 -> £100,000 a year
How did Henry deal with local government?
- Office of the Justice of the Peace
- Justices of Peace were responsible for the maintenance of public order in their area of jurisdiction
How did Henry strengthen central government?
- Kings Council - chosen by the King, 200 councillors during his reign
- Courts of Requests, Court of General Surveyors & Council Learned
Henry & Parliament
- Parliament only called 7x during his reign
- Played a role at the start to legitimize, but he avoided asking country for money as it led to disquiet e.g 1489 & 1497
Henry’s extraordinary revenue
- Brought in £203,000 during his reign
- 1489 Church raised £25,000 towards expeditions to France
- Caused 2 rebellions by asking for aid –> Yorkshire and Cornish
Henry’s ordinary revenue
- Increased income by £29,000 since death of Richard
- French pension £5000/yr
- Exploited income from wardships, marriage, livery and ‘relief’
- 5x maximised income from crown lands
- Smuggling was a problem + trade income depended upon relationship w/ European powers
How effectively did Henry reduce the power of the nobles?
- Reduced the no. of super nobles to reduce their influence
- Used wardships on the nobility to try profit from minors owning estates
- Attainders (forfeiture of land)
- Act of Resumption 1486 (Recovered all crown land since 1455)
- Created Order of the Garter - 37 Knights, offered honor/prestige rather than land
- ‘Carrot’ and ‘the stick’ - inducements & sanctions
Henry VII’s Threats
- Perkin Warbeck
- Lambert Simnel
- De La Pole
- Cornish Rebellion 1497
- Yorkshire Rebellion 1489
- Nobility
- Money - insolvency
- Other countries
