Henry VII - REVAMPED

Question 1

Consolidation: Marriage [3]

Answer 1

• Marriage united Yorkists and Lancastrians in Janurary 1486
• Constructed the Tudor rose – unity
• Ended the wars of the roses, people were tired of conflict

Question 2

Consolidation: Henry’s personal strength [3]

Answer 2

• Won the War of the Roses, taking over from hated King
• Started his reign the day before Bosworth
• Married Elizabeth after his coronation

Question 3

Consolidation: Handling of claimants [3]

Answer 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

Question 4

Consolidation: Parliament & People’s views [3]

Answer 4

• Called Parliament on 30th October 1485
• He was not beholden to another noble family
• People wanted stability; Henry offered that

Question 5

Consolidation: Weaknesses of Henry [4]

Answer 5

• Weakened by years in exile (14 yrs)
• Largely unknown in England after Bosworth
• Lack of knowledge of the country
• Weak claim to the throne

Question 6

Consolidation: Stafford/Lovell Conspiracy [3]

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

Consolidation: Simnel Rebellion

Answer 7

• 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!

Question 8

Rebellions: Stafford/Lovell 1486 [5]

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

Rebellions: Simnel Rebellion 1487 (Yorkist)

Answer 9

• 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.

Question 10

Rebellions: Yorkshire Rebellion 1489

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

Rebellions: Warbeck 1491-99 (Yorkist)

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

Rebellions: Cornish Rebellion 1497

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

Rebellions: De La Pole

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

Henry VII’s Threats

Answer 14

• Perkin Warbeck
• Lambert Simnel
• De La Pole
• Cornish Rebellion 1497
• Yorkshire Rebellion 1489
• Nobility
• Money - insolvency
• Other countries

Question 15

What was Poyning’s Law?

Answer 15

1494 Law ensuring Irish Parliaments could only be called and pass laws with prior approval of the King

Question 16

Henry’s measures to secure his position [3]

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

Areas of government

Answer 17

• Central Government
• Regional Government
• Local Government
• Parliament

Question 18

Rebellions

Answer 18

• Lovell
• Simnel
• Yorkshire
• Warbeck
• Cornish
• De la Pole

Question 19

How did Henry control Nobility’s retainers?

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Between 1485-1509 how many noble families were involved in bonds and recognisances?

Answer 20

36 out of 62 noble families were involved in such agreements

Question 21

What were bonds and recognisances

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

What were Acts of Attainder?

How many did he do in 1495

Answer 22

• Families lost the right to possess their land- could be reversed with good behaviour
• Did 24 Attainders in 1495

Question 23

What was the King’s Council & Great Council?

Answer 23

• King’s council membership was a sign of trust

- Great Council - way to ensure noble support for measures

Question 24

Number of Henry VII’s major peers at start & end of reign

Answer 24

• Start of reign: 16

- End of reign: 10

Question 25

How did Henry stabilise regional Government?

Answer 25

• 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

Question 26

What was the 1486 Act of Resumption?

Answer 26

Recovered for the Crown all property granted away since 1455

Question 27

Who were the two most important Yorkist claimants?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Who was Margaret of Burgundy?

Answer 28

• 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.

Question 29

How did Henry change financial administration?

Answer 29

• Changed from the slow-moving Exchequer + restored the Chamber
• From 1486-7 income from royal estates increased from £12,000 -> £100,000 a year

Question 30

How did Henry deal with local government?

Answer 30

• Office of the Justice of the Peace

- Justices of Peace were responsible for the maintenance of public order in their area of jurisdiction

Question 31

How did Henry strengthen central government?

Answer 31

• Kings Council - chosen by the King, 200 councillors during his reign
• Courts of Requests, Court of General Surveyors & Council Learned

Question 32

Henry & Parliament

Answer 32

• 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

Question 33

Henry’s extraordinary revenue

Answer 33

• 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

Question 34

Henry’s ordinary revenue

Answer 34

• 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

Question 35

How effectively did Henry reduce the power of the nobles?

Answer 35

• 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

Question 36

Henry VII’s Threats

Answer 36

• Perkin Warbeck
• Lambert Simnel
• De La Pole
• Cornish Rebellion 1497
• Yorkshire Rebellion 1489
• Nobility
• Money - insolvency
• Other countries