the consolidation of power

Question 1

Why did Henry believe England needed a strong and unquestioned leader?

Answer 1

Due to the instability of the crown that the Wars of the Roses had caused, the authority had been damaged massively.

Question 2

When was the Battle of Bosworth and what were the results of it?

Answer 2

22nd August 1485
Henry Tudor became King after he beat Richard III and his forces.

Question 3

Why was Henry’s power insecure?

Answer 3

He had virtually no claim to the throne, others had a larger claim than he did.
There were many enemies who wanted to see him reach the same fate as Richard III did.

Question 4

What was Henry’s claim to the throne?

Answer 4

He was descended through the female line represented by his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. The line came from John of Gaunt’s third wife, but their son John Beaufort had been born before their marriage and was therefore illegitimate.

Question 5

Who proclaimed Henry king?

Answer 5

Lord Stanley

Question 6

Why had Richard become an object of suspicion, and how did this help Henry?

Answer 6

Due to the disappearance of the princes in the Tower.
It helped Henry as people didn’t really care how slim his claim was, as long as Richard was not on the throne anymore

Question 7

Why did Henry have to flee England when he was 14?

Answer 7

Edward IV had regained power in 1471, meaning the House of York were in charge.
After the Battle of Tewkesbury many Lancastrians had been killed or were executed, and so Henry had to flee to France in fear of execution.

Question 8

What was Henry’s main purpose when he became King in 1485?

Answer 8

To keep the throne, considering there had been 4 monarchs in the last 100 years who’d met an untimely end.
He made it his key focus to consolidate his power

Question 9

How did Henry immediately consolidate his power?

Answer 9

• Dated his reign from 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth. Meant that everyone who fought on the Yorkist side could be made a traitor
• Publicly rewarded many of his key supporters
• Arranged for supporters to detain Earl of Warwick who could be seen to have a greater claim to the throne
• He made key appointments to his council and household
• He arranged his coronation to take place before his first meeting with Parliament
• Parliamentary Acts of Attainders against Yorkists ensured that their property was forfeit to the Crown, increasing royal income
• In January 1486 Henry married Elizabeth of York to unite the Houses of Lancaster and York together
• Gave birth to son, Arthur, in September 1486 which secured an heir

Question 10

Who were potential Yorkist claimants?

Answer 10

The Earls of Warwick and Lincoln, they were Edward IV’s nephews.
Some pretenders came forward saying they were the two princes in the tower.
Henry feared Margaret of Burgundy the most, she was the sister of Edward IV and Richard III.

Question 11

What rebellion happened in 1486?

Answer 11

Viscount Lovell and the Staffords

Question 12

What was the rebellion of Viscount Lovell and the Staffords?

Answer 12

• It was the first and rather minor rebellion against Henry
• Led by Humphrey Stafford and Francis, Viscount Lovell who was a key supporter of Richard III
• Attempted to raise a rebellion in the North Riding of Yorkshire
• Stafford tried to raise forces against Henry
• Lovell manage to escape capture, but Stafford was captured and executed
• Stafford’s younger brother was arrested but pardoned

Question 13

What was significant about the rebellion of Viscount Lovell and the Staffords?

Answer 13

There was very little enthusiasm from the Yorkists despite the rebellion being in the heartland of York.
It was very easily suppressed.

Question 14

What did leading Yorkists realise after the first rebellion in 1486

Answer 14

That they needed a change in strategy.

Question 15

What was the rebellion of the Earl of Lincoln?

Answer 15

• It was decided a figurehead was needed to claim to be a Yorkist Prince.
• They also needed financial support to build a military significant enough to cause a threat.
• Lambert Simnel was decided as the figurehead, being passed off as the Earl of Warwick who was imprisoned by Henry at the start of his reign.
• The plot was put together by John de la Pole who was a Yorkist claimant himself.
• In response Henry had the real Earl of Warwick placed on display in London for everyone to see.
• Lincoln fled to Margaret of Burgundy in the Netherlands, joining other failed plotter Lord Lovell.

Question 16

What did Lambert Simnel and Lord Lovell persuade Margaret of Burgundy to do?

Answer 16

• They persuaded her to support Simnel’s claim and provide. mercenaries to invade England
• Henry had plenty of notice and so he had opportunity to prepare.

Question 17

How did Henry prepare for Simnel and Lovell’s invasion?

Answer 17

• He took a gamble of reinstating Earl of Northumberland in the North of England to attempt to neutralise the internal threat and ensured the Howard family had no intention of joining the plot.
• He reinforced coastal defences in East Anglia, but the rebels had landed on the Northwest coast to try gain support.
• The North Riding were reluctant to commit themselves fully to the cause.

Question 18

When was the Battle of Stoke Field?

Answer 18

In 1487.

Question 19

What happened at the Battle of Stoke Field?

Answer 19

• Henry gathered a group of advisors, including those who were relatives of victims of Richard III.
• The two armies met at East Stoke.
• Henry was not confident due to how he had came to power through Stanley double crossing Richard, he was wary that this could happen to him.
• However his army held up and killed Earl of Lincoln as he had been unable to gather enough support.

Question 20

Why was the Battle of Stoke Field significant?

Answer 20

It was this that really brought an end to the Wars of the Roses, and Henry’s position became safer.
He showed his hard work, organisational skills, and military leadership of his key supporters.
He was very mild with how he treated those who rebelled.

Question 21

Who did Perkin Warbeck impose as and why was he a problem for Henry?

Answer 21

He imposed as Richard, Duke of York and had a great ability to attract patronage from foreign rulers; it showed how Henry’s position was not really considered by other rulers.

Question 22

When was the first Perkin Warbeck imposture and what happened?

Answer 22

• Began in 1491.
• Warbeck began to impersonate Richard, Duke of York in Ireland.
• In 1492 he had spent some time in the court of Charles VIII of France but was forced to flee from the country to Margaret of Burgundy’s court where he was trained as a potential Yorkist Prince.
• He first attempted to land in England in 1495 but Henry had been informed of his intentions by a royal agent and so he was quickly defeated.
• Warbeck then fled to the court of James IV of Scotland.

Question 23

Who was Henry’s royal agent who intercepted Perkin Warbeck’s first attempt?

Answer 23

Sir Robert Clifford.

Question 24

Why was Sir William Stanley executed?

Answer 24

He was accused of treason due to him secretly supporting Perkin Warbeck’s plot. This came as a shock to many, Henry was most vulnerable in the place where he should have been secure.

Question 25

When and what was Perkin Warbeck’s second attempt?

Answer 25

• In 1496.
• A small Scottish force crossed the border but quickly retreated, and Warbeck’s support was lost when James had given into Henry’s offer to marry his daughter, Margaret Tudor.
• Warbeck made a final attempt to take the throne by trying to exploit the uncertainties that were created by the Cornish Rebellion in 1497.
• His forces were beaten and he had to surrender to Henry, where he was surprisingly confined to the Tower, but upon him trying to escape he was finallu executed with the Earl of Warwick who was also involved.

Question 26

Why did Henry need the Earl of Warwick gone?

Answer 26

He was the most obvious Yorkist claimant to the throne and so was a huge threat to Henry’s position.
Him being involved in Warbeck’s attempt to escape gave a perfect reason for Henry to execute an otherwise innocent problem.

Question 27

Who were Edmund de la Pole and Richard de la Pole?

Answer 27

They were the younger brothers of John de la Pole, who was the Earl of Lincoln.
Edmund de la Pole was the Earl of Suffolk.

Question 28

Where did Suffolk flee to in 1501?

Answer 28

He fled to the court of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian.

Question 29

Why did the Treaty of Windsor put Suffolk in danger?

Answer 29

For as long as Margaret of Burgundy was not friends with Henry VII, Suffolk was safe.
The signing of the Treaty of Windsor in 1506 meant that friendly relations between the two had been restored.

Question 30

How did the Treaty of Windsor benefit Henry?

Answer 30

Maximilian agreed to give up Suffolk, who was immediately imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Henry VII never did anything else with him, but Henry VIII had him executed for treason in 1513