How well did Richard III rule England?

What was much of his reign spent doing?

Dealing with rebellion, therefore there was little time for Richard to make his mark on government. Instead he had to deal with situations as they arose, acting out of political necessity much of the time

What did Richard attempt to do?

He attempted to continue with the methods and systems of Edward IV, which had proved so effective for him, and he continued where possible to use the same men.

Why would it always be difficult for him to make a positive impact?

Richard did his best to maintain a degree of continuity but, given the narrow time frame and difficult circumstances within which he was working, he faced an uphill task

Why did he have to reward his supporters well? + examples

Due to the manner in which Richard had seized the throne, and given his narrow power base, he had to reward his supporters well in order to keep them on side. William Catesby and Lord Howard were generously rewarded with the latter receiving the Duchy of Norfolk. These men were to remain loyal through Richards reign

How had the Duke of Buckingham been rewarded?

He had been treated very generously by Richard and had been given control of Wales and the North Midlands

Was patronage enough?

No, if someone like Buckingham, who had been instrumental in helping Richard gain the throne, could not be relied upon despite being rewarded very generously, then it did not bode well for him

What was Richard interested in?

He was interested in the business of government as his brother had been

What did Richard attempt to build?

He attempted to build upon the system that he had inherited from Edward by centralising administration further so that more of the work was done by the King himself and his most trusted advisers

What example did Richard follow?

He followed the example of Edward 4 by travelling about his country visiting those areas that had witnessed lawlessness. As his short reign witnessed much rebelliousness this was to occupy much of his time

What did Richard have a genuine interest in? + ezample

Richard showed a genuine interest in justice and his first act as king was to summon the judges to emphasise to them the need for justice to be both swift and impartial. He went on to establish an early form of legal aid so that the poor could have access to the legal system. This was to develop later into the Tudor Court of Requests

What was one of the biggest changes that Richard made to the government?

One of the biggest changes Richard made to the government of the country was to introduce the Council of the North. The council's role was to ensure that the king's laws were obeyed, to keep the peace and to punish law-breakers. It was to meet four times a year at York.

What area of administration did Richard spend much of his time on? and why?

Richard spent much of his time focused on financial administration, essentially because he was running low on funds

What did Richard do to pay for the Scottish war?

The Scottish war, which Richard was keen to continue, was proving to be expensive and Richard did not want to ask parliament for a tax. Instead, he called in any debts owed to him from the Crown lands and attempted to exploit all possible sources of income. Unfortunately, Richard was unable to bring in enough money and was reduced to demanding forced loans

What was Richard's council like?

Richard continued the practice of Edward IV of using men of ability to advise him in his council. Among the changes he did make wsa the introduction of northeners into the King's council, for example Edmund CHadderton and THomas Barrowe; these were men of ability who had served Richard well in the north and he hoped they would continue to do so in the south, working alongside many of those who had served under Edward IV, such as Bishop Russell

What happened four months in to Richard's reign?

The Buckingham Rebellion, 1483

Why did the Duke of Buckingham rebel?

Buckingham was rebelling in support of Henry Tudor, but what he hoped to gain from Tudor that he had not already gained from Richard III is hard to tell, unless he really had designs on the crown himself

Events of the rebellion?

The rebellion took place in the south of England and went on for a month before being crushed by Richard. Henry Tudor even appeared off the south-west coast but had returned to Brittany rather than landing

Consequences of Buckingham's rebellion?

The rebellion having been crushed, the parliament of January 1484 saw over a hundred people attainted, and while some were later pardoned, about two-thirds had their estates confiscated.

Who was rewarded after Buckingham's rebellion and how?

Richard used these confiscated lands to set up northerners on whom he could rely, with positions in the south. Sir Richard Ratcliffe, for example was given land in Devon, Dorset and Somerset

What did Richard do which was highly unpopular with the southern nobility?

This policy of planting northerners into the South was hugely unpopular with the Southern nobility and gentry who resented having strangers imposed on their localities, but Richard feared that it was in this part of the country that Henry Tudor would land and he wanted men absolutely loyal to him there. These northern men took over the traditional roles of governing and defending the area and, in doing so, stepped on the toes of the local gentry who resented their presence and viewed their arrival as an attack on the laws of inheritance

Who else rebelled and why?

At around the same time as the Buckingham rebellion, Edward IV's household men, such as Sir Thomas Bourchier and William Norreys, rebelled. These men had initially supported Richard but more because of their common enemy, the Woodvilles. Almost immediately after Richard's coronation they had made an attempt to rescue the princes from the tower

Why is it likely that the princes in the tower were killed?

Richard had learnt from his experiences with Edward IV the dangers of keeping an even weak and seemingly harmless rival to the throne alive. Like Henry VI before him Edward V was in the Tower of London and was a figurehead for Richard's enemies. It seems likely that Richard leaned from his brother's mistake and ruthlessly had the princes killed when he had the chance. Whatever the fate of the Princes it obvious that Edward IV's former household obviously believed they were dead

What happened from July 1484 onwards?

Richard faced continuous uprisings all in support of Henry Tudor

What were Richard's aims for foreign policy?

From early in his reign, Richard's aims in foreign affairs were twofold: to continue to back the Duke of Albany in his quest for the Scottish throne and to prevent Henry Tudor from receiving any foreign assistance

What was the result of Albany's raids?

As far as Scotland was concerned, Albany's raids on Scotland proved futile and led to Richard signing a three year truce with Scotland in 1484.

What were tensions like between Francis, Duke of Brittany and Richard?

Henry Tudor was living in Brittany when Richard seized the throne of England and soon after, Francis, Duke of Brittany, provided Henry with boats, supplies and money for an attempted invasion. It was unsuccesful and Henry returned to Brittany. In revenge and as an attempt to persuade Francis to hand Tudor over, Richard attacked the Breton marine causing considerable damage. This was followed by a promise from Richard that Francis could have Tudor's earldom of Richmond if he were to hand him over. As a consequence, Brittany abandoned Tudor but gave him enough warning tto make good his escape to France.

What was Henry Tudor's relationship with France?

Henry fled to France after being expelled from Brittany, where Tudor received the protection of a much stronger power. When Henry Tudor succesfully invaded England in 1485 it was with French support

What shows the failure of Richard's foreign policy?

Henry's invasion army itself was made up not just of Frenchmen but also of Bretons and Scots, serving to emphasise the failure all round of Richard's foreign policy