Perkin Warbeck 1491–99 Flashcards
Who was Warbeck?
Pretender claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, the younger of the two Princes in the Tower who had disappeared in 1483
Why was it clever for Warbeck to claim to be one of the princes in the tower?
plausible claim as had the Prince been alive then he would have been about Warbeck’s current age - 17 yrs and Henry was unable to disprove his claims
Foreign rulers that supported him
Charles VIII, King of France
The Scottish King, James IV
The Yorkist Margaret of Burgundy, her stepson Philip of Burgundy and his father Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor.
Irish nobels less keen to be involved
Warbeck’s movement 1491-99
1491: Cork. Ireland
1492: France
1493-94: Burgundy
1495: Kent
1496: Scotland
1496: North of England
1497: Cornwall
Warbeck in Ireland
1491: First landed in Cork
Commoners were enthusiastic but the Earl of Kildare was reluctant to get involved directly
Started to then write to other European leaders
Warbeck in France
Charles VIII invited Warbeck to France in 1492 where he was treated as if he were a really a prince
However Henry’s prompt meant that Warbeck was soon no longer welcome there
How did Henry deal with the threat of France?
1492: Henry launched an invasion of France and Charles agreed to negotiate Treaty of Etaples 1492
Treaty of Etaples
1492
Charles agreed to no longer welcome Henry’s enemies + Henry also got annual pension of 50,000 crowns
meant that Henry had stopped the potential threat of a French-backed Yorkist challenge and enhanced his financial position
Warbeck in Burgundy
1493-94:
Rceived acceptance from Margaret of Burgundy and her relatives - M recognised Warbeck as her nephew
Agents from Burgundy were able to infiltrate England and there were cases of men trying to recruit supporters for Warbeck in 1493-94 - these men were generally rounded up and put on trial
When was Henry particularly worried?
1494-95 - signs PW was starting to gather support from within England
able to exploit traditional Yorkist loyalties to Edward IV and his family
Signs of domestic support - William Stanley
Henry’s step uncle responsible for victory at Bosworth implicated in plot where he agreed that Robert Clifford would go abroad to speak to PW
Clifford informed Henry and Stanley was executed for treason
Learnt from JDLP in LS rising
Warbeck in Kent
1495
Attempted a landing at Deal in Kent with a small force of 300 soldiers
When he failed, Warbeck fled leaving the few men who had waited for him to be captured, tried and executed.
Warbeck in Scotland
1496
Moved after the failure in Kent, awaited by James IV
Attempt of invading the North
1496
PW tried to invade England with a force of 1400 men
Unlike Simnel before him, he was not able to raise much support in the North and he retreated back to Scotland
The threat of Warbeck in the North
created problems for Henry - forced to raise taxation to fund an army to fight him
This provoked a rebellion in Cornwall in June 1497
Cornish rebellion 1497
15,000 rebels chose to march on London protesting about the level of taxation demanded to pay for a war.
Henry was forced to change his plans rapidly - having to divert troops intended for the defence of the North to meet these rebels in Kent
The distraction of the revolt in Cornwall showed the potential weakness of Henry’s position
Warbeck in Cornwall
The army of 1400 men who he had invaded from Scotland to the North had shrunk to 300
Attracted the support between 3,000 to 8,000 from Cornwall
Was not able to attract the gentry and nobility of the South West.
What enabled the capture and defeat of PW
Henry’s use of rewards and punishments - loyals had been well supported e.g Edward Courtenay (Earl of Devon) - defended Exeter aganst the Cornish rebellion
How was PW captured
Tried to escape from Cornwall to Taunton he was trapped by royal forces led by Daubeney (Henry’s supporters of when we was in exile)
How was Henry planning to treat PW once he was captured
Prepared to treat PW well until PW tried to escape and was imprisoned in the tower where he plotted with Warwick - both executed for treason
What about Henry’s time on the throne made the rebellion less threatening -
Henry had been on the throne for 6 years and had already survived one major challenge
Why had the Yorkist threat faded by now?
Former supporters of Richard and Edward had either died or accepted Henry
How did Henry himself make the rebellion less threatening?
Kept track of PW’s movements through a network if spies
He had given birth to a son meaning he had secured the succession - used it to create foreign alliances - Treaty of Medina del Campo - acknowledged Henry as king
Warbeck’s inability to gain support
Henry had more resources and power than Warbeck - Warbeck was able to attract a series of foreign rulers but he was unable to sustain this support
When warbeck did try to invade (in 1495, 1496, 1497), he found that he unable to attract significant domestic support
How did Henry’s use of financial control benefit him?
Henry placed 36/62 under finacial control
used a complex system of bonds (agreement to ensure good behaviour as person signing it would have to pay fine if they broke the terms of the bond)
sucessful as bonds ensured loyality e,g Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset put down 1497 risings in Cornwall
Why was Warbeck less of a threat than Simnel?
Warbeck never forced Henry to fight in a pitch battle like Simnel, at Stoke
Henry had been on the throne longer (more experience of fighting/ruling)
What did make the rebellion threatening?
Had support from foreign powers which forced Henry into negotiations in order to get PW to move on
PW only arrived in Cornwall in September but by this time the revolt had been put down, should have arrived in May/June
Overall conc of PW and level of threat
Henry’s reaction to Warbeck and his supports suggests he definitely saw the pretender as a threat but Henry;s response meant Warbeck never came close to challenging for the throne
