the war of the roses by 1471 Flashcards
how can we assess the damage of the wotr by 1471?
- the length of the campaign some historians have challenged earlier views that the wars had a devastating impact on society - bloodbath? others such as AJ pollard have warned impact should not be reduced too far
- impact can be judged based on length of campaigns - suggested 12 - 13 weeks - 61 weeks - 5 years! military campaigns were relatively short and towns were not generally sacked so impact on ordinary people was limited and does not constitute a descent into chaos 1461 - 70 limited violence compared to before / after
impact can be judged based on length of campaigns - suggested 12 - 13 weeks - 61 weeks - 5 years! military campaigns were relatively short and towns were not generally sacked so impact on ordinary people was limited and does not constitute a descent into chaos 1461 - 70 limited violence compared to before / after
what was the impact of the WOTR on people
the people involved people involved must be considered many contemporary sources exaggerate the size of armies
assessment is difficult
sizes varied with towton being the largest - fewer people = few rank and file retainers fighting = smaller impact difficult to asses how many nobles got involved unless there was key figures i.e. nevilles gentry only involved reluctantly and only if called to arms by their lord - north more willing to be involved little evidence of commons - rare examples of evidence evidence from towton shows impact - slaughter of commons which edward had claimed he spared rebellion of warwick and clarence not popular trouble in the regions
put down due to edward retaining control size of armies became smaller over period - 50000 at towton
barnet had 5000 - more typical size
what was the impact of the WOTR on the church?
institutions and property? - the church generally distanced itself from the wars so not really affected george neville
archbishop of york involved but he is unusual
what was the impact of the WOTR on property?
- land and property margaret of anjou had a reputation for looting and pillaging little other damage because armies not campaigning for long periods of time so life continued as normal sieges were costly so minimized
- only 3 northern castles sieged london damaged but only on the odd occasion
what was the impact of the WOTR on law and order?
law and order one of the most significant effects political unrest provided cover for personal feuds i.e. Courtenays v Bonvilles
Nevilles v Percys also provided excuse for mindless violence eg
murder of sir william lucy - expect it would go unpunished the confict between lord welles and sir thomas burgh sparked the lincolnshire rebellion the civil war led to a breakdown of law and order the main impact was on political life Difficult for king to enforce law and order on localities nobles threat to king - raise huge armies
what was the impact of the wotr on aristocracy?
arguably the greatest impact was felt by those at the top of society risk to their lives
inheritance and reputation 58 out of 70 peers took part during the war of the barons 35 - lancastrian 20 - yorkists peer involvement declined over decade many lost lives
25% of parliamentary lords lost - take time to replace a few families disappeared but most survived
warwick killed
no son - nevilles survived with diminished power gentry also involved after 1461
fewer nobles were willing to fight
barnet - only 18 peers participated - active decision or still recovering?
what was the impact of the WOTR on the monarchy? not diminished by wotr in the long term
not diminished by wotr in the long term
most nobility settled down under edwards reign with few die hard lancastrians edward also built up and extended number of nobles benefiting from his rule to secure support
including treating enemies with mercy the disruption caused by warwicks rebellion reflected breakdown in relations
not general breakdown of political rule
what was the impact of the wotr on trade and economy?
life generally continued as normal
little impact on business population not really affected
food supplies not affected since campaigns were short and sporadic great slump by 1455
ended in 1470
cause of conflict not an effect? some impact of civil wars
towns had to pay soldiers and citizens gave loans
watchmen had to be employed and paid and repairs undertaken taxation increase some impact on international trade - concerns over trading links with low countries - burgundy considerable impact as a result of warwicks piracy
slowed trade but did not stop it. edwards treaty with hanseatic league helped to improve relations and therefore trade improved outbreaks of conflict caused temp. disruption to economy - men lost
families face financial problems. uncommon for fighting to have large scale effect on economy impact short term and sporadic
conclusion of the impact of the war of the roses:
For all but the aristocracy the impact was short term and sporadic. Though wars were still disruptive
dangerous and unsettling But the population recovered to normality quickly. The aristocracy was significantly affected and weakened But became more cautious and distanced from 1461 onwards And by 1471 it appeared the struggle between Houses of York and Lancaster was over…
