The problems of Henry VII Flashcards
Usurper:
How was this a problem?
-Henry effectively became King of England by usurping the late King Richard III, he was afraid that it could occur to him.
Pretenders:
How was this a problem?
-Any claim to the throne would also have a claim to land and a claim to money.
Pretenders:
Lambert Simnel:
Why was he a problem?
- He was the first major threat to Henry’s reign.
- Was used by Yorkists to reassert their claim to the throne.
- Richard Symonds (Priest in Oxford)(Yorkist) saw he had a likeness and proclaimed him to be one of the princes.
- Was initially claimed to be Richard York but was then changed to the Earl of Warwick.
- He had the backing of Yorkist Ireland.
- Received support from the Duchess of Burgundy, the daughter of Edward VI.
- She sent 2000 German mercenaries to Ireland to help them in Ireland.
- The Irish crowned Simnel as the king, May 1487.
- However, once they landed in England they were not heavily supported by locals as they were wary of the Irish soldiers.
- They fought 8,000 to 12,000, Henry had an advantage.
- They fought on the 16th June, 1487.
Pretenders:
Lambert Simnel:
How did Henry solve this problem?
- Richard Symonds was arrested and sentenced to life in a Bishop’s Prison.
- Simnel was given a job in the King’s kitchen as the king realised he was just a puppet, he held no real power.
- He was later on given the job of King’s Falconer.
- Any nobles who helped in this rebellion were stripped of their estates.
- This also gave the king money because of all the land he attained from the traitors.
- This was also used as a clear example not to ever mess with the king over wise there would be dire circumstances.
Pretenders:
Perkin Warbeck:
Why was he a problem?
- 1491-1499.
- People in Cork (Ireland) believed him to be the Earl of Warwick. However, he didn’t speak much English.
- Even though the Yorkist people in Cork claimed him to be the Earl of Warwick Warbeck himself claimed himself to be Richard Duke of York.
- Charles VIII of France welcomed Warbeck to Paris in 1492, this was to round up supporters.
- He was then taken to Flanders in Belgium, Margaret of Burgundy would then take her in as her nephew. (Henry was threatened by this and cut of cloth trade with Flanders in 1493).
- However, Charles VIII eventually lost interest in Warbeck and focused on his invasion into Italy in 1494.
- July 1485, Warbeck attempted to gather supporters in Kent, it didn’t work.
- He laid siege to Waterford (a loyal town to Henry), it was unsuccessful.
- In August 1497 he was persuaded to give himself up.
Pretenders:
Perkin Warbeck:
How did Henry solve this problem?
-Henry allowed him to stay at court, so he could be watched. However, he tried to run away which would emphasise his treachery.
-He was put in the stocks and sent to the Tower of London.
-Henry’s patience ran out,
1499, Warbeck was charged with trying to escape a second time.
-November 23rd, 1499, his was found guilty and was hung.
Nobility:
How was this a problem?
-The stability of the realm depended on the relationship between the King and the Nobility.
-Local noblemen had their own private armies, Bastard Feudalism.
-Over-mighty subjects.
He need the nobles to do their jobs and run local government effectively and not act like they themselves are the king.
-He needed to be careful when punishing them if they stepped out of line as they were they were the natural leaders of local society, he need to make sure he didn’t upset their local supporters.
-He did the opposite of what Edward VI did, Edward killed yet created many nobles whereas Henry did the opposite. He limited numbers.
-Nobility shrank form 60 to 40.
- He revived the Order of the Garter as an honour, however, some nobles like Sir William Stanley saw it as a cheap trinket, they wanted power or land instead.
Nobility:
How did Henry solve this problem?
- He controlled marriages between powerful families to ensure they wouldn’t be to powerful to overthrow him.
- He began to use educated lawyers rather than nobles in his council.
- If a lord wanted to have his own private army he would have to acquire a King’s Licence. Some of those who were fined for not following this were Lady Margaret Beaufort and the Earl of Oxford.
- Acts of Attainder, seizing the property of traitors who were killed, the families could gain them back by doing acts of loyalty.
- Bonds and recognisances, if you offended the King you were fined.
- The lawyers the King brought in for his council were called Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, they were despised by the nobles. They worked in the Council Learned in Law, this was a part of the Privy Council. They were able to fine the nobles, that is probably why they hated them and also because they were not as upper-class as them.
Security:
How was this a problem?
- He had valid rivals to the throne.
- Edward Earl of Warwick, the young son of George of Clarence who was Richard III’s brother.
- John de la Pole of Lincoln, related to Richard III via his sister, had been declared as heir by Richard III before the Battle of Bosworth.
- Nobles who supported Richard III, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland.
Security:
How did Henry solve this problem?
-To secure his position on the throne he pre dated his reign for before the Battle of Bosworth so he could have legal control over those who supported Richard III.
He married Elizabeth of York who was the eldest daughter of the Yorkist King Edward IV, connecting both sides of the War of the Roses.
-He quickly produced an heir in 1486, Arthur.
-John de la Pole pledged his allegiance to Henry.
Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey pledged his loyalty to Henry.
-Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland, pledged his allegiance after he was arrested.
-Henry gave all of the nobles and followers of Richard III a chance and if they betrayed Henry they would have to face the consequences.
Rebellion:
Yorkshire Rebellion:
How was this a problem?
- 1489.
- The King wanted money to fight France and taxed York.
- This isn’t how it usually goes.
- Usually if the King wanted to go to war with Scotland they would tax York/The North and if they wanted to fight France they would tax The South.
- Henry accidentally did the opposite.
- The North had suffered bad harvest so they were economically suffering.
- This caused an uproar, The Earl of Northumberland tried to calm it down but was murdered, he was killed for many reasons but the main one is that they were angry that he was late to the Battle of Bosworth and he was just generally unpopular.
Rebellion:
Yorkshire Rebellion:
How did Henry solve this problem?
- The Earl of Surrey went up to The North with an army.
- The king gave out pardons as they were initially angry because of his mistake.
- He didn’t ask for more money.
Rebellion:
Cornish Rebellion:
How was this a problem?
- 1497.
- He made a mistake again.
- He taxed Cornwall for a war with Scotland.
- They were already a poor part of the country.
- 15,000 rebels were sent to Blackheath.
- Whilst on their journey to London no other lords with private armies stopped them, this was a concern for Henry.
Rebellion:
Cornish Rebellion:
How did Henry solve this problem?
-The King sent an army led by Lord Daubeney.
-Over 1,000 rebels were killed.
The leaders were put to death, Thomas Flamank.
