Richard III's position in 1484 Flashcards
strengths
- buckinghams rebellion
- 1484 act of parliament
- allies
- acts of attainders
- promising kingly qualities
weaknesses
- yorkist elite divided
- buckinghams rebellion
- henry tudor
- distant nobility
- north south divide
- brevity of reign
- loss of heir
- death of wife
strength- Buckingham’s rebellion
- plot leaked and RII well-prepared.
- resulted in capture/execution of Buckingham and rebellion collapsed
strength- 1484 act of parliament
secured RII’s legitimacy as king (and his heirs)
strength- allies
strong allies in his immediate circle
strength- acts of attainders
acts of attainders meant that many rebels were no longer a threat.
(although a political vacuum in the south resulted).
strength- kingly qualities
- historians have agreed that Richard III displayed promising kingly qualities
- e.g. dynamism and ability to rule
weakness- yorkist elite divided
Yorkist elite divided by Richard III’s usurpation in 1483 and execution of Hastings
weakness- Buckingham’s rebellion.
some key figures betrayed Richard in plotting to put Henry Tudor on the English throne
weakness- Henry Tudor
many rebel leaders fled to support Henry Tudor, ‘became a real danger’
weakness- nobility
most of the nobility remained distant and ‘worryingly slim’
weakness- north south divide
- RIII heavily reliant on supporters from the North
- their promotion to positions in the South only added to his unpopularity
- Ross p.131 colonisation of northerners
weakness- brevity of reign
the brevity of his reign meant he couldn’t change the minds of his opponents as there wasn’t time
weakness- loss of heir
loss of his heir in April 1484. very significant weakness.
weakness- death of wife
- death of his wife in March 1485
- rumours he poisoned her.
