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