HVII - The Perkin Warbeck Rebellion Flashcards
How long did the Perkin Warbeck Rebellion last?
8 years. 1491-99
What sparked this rebellion?
In 1491, Warbeck was working in Cork, Ireland, selling silk. The people in Ireland, who grasped at any opportunity they could, thought that Warbeck was the Earl of Warwick. He denied this and instead claimed to be Richard of York - the younger of the Princes in the Tower
Professor S B Chrimes believes that Warbeck’s Yorkist appearance was planned all along. Who does he believe was behind the scheme?
- Charles VIII of France - on the scaffold, Warbeck mentioned ‘the French king’ on a number of occasions, but never in a specific way
- Margaret of Burgundy - she had already aided Simnel and had reason to support another pretender
Where did Warbeck seek support and in which years?
- Ireland - 1491
- France - 1492
- Burgundy - 1492-93
- Kent - 1495
- Ireland - 1495
- Scotland - 1495
- Ireland - 1497
- Devon - 1497
What was support like for Warbeck in Ireland?
1491 - strong support for
Warbeck
1495 - after abandoning his supporters in Kent, he laid siege to Waterford, a town loyal to Henry, but was unsuccessful
1497 - Warbeck no longer welcome, people may have realised that he was failing
What was support like for Warbeck in France?
1492 - was good until the Treaty of Étaples (1492) with England, in which one of the clauses was that one country could not harbour any enemies of the other
What was support like for Warbeck in Burgundy?
1492-93 - Margaret of Burgundy took him in as her “nephew”. Warbeck was also supported by Emperor Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire. However, Henry placed an embargo on English cloth trade with Burgundy, which was very important for both countries (90% of english exports) and so was a risky move for Henry. This was lifted by the Intercursus Magnus in 1496.
What was support like for Warbeck in Kent?
1495 - he didn’t rally enough supporters to march onto London and so he sailed for Ireland, leaving his men stranded to await their fate (arrested and fined)
What was support like for Warbeck in Scotland?
1495 - Scotland welcome Warbeck as King James IV thought it would disrupt things in England. He gave Warbeck refuge and a pension of £1200 a year. Using this pension, he attempted an invasion of England. Nobody south of the Scottish border was willing to support him.
The longer Warbeck was in Scotland, the more he posed a threat. In 1497, the Treaty of Ayton was signed in which Henry promised his daughter Margaret’s hand in marriage to James IV, which James found more advantageous than supporting Warbeck
What was support like for Warbeck in Devon?
1497 - only a few thousand people supported him here and the people of Exeter and Taunton drove him out. In the same year, he was arrested
What happened to Warbeck in the end?
He was allowed to remain at court where he could be watched. However, he tried to escape which highlighted his treachery even further. He was sent to the Tower. Here, he conspired with the real Earl of Warwick and attempted to escape for a second time. Both Warbeck and Warwick were executed in 1499
