2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 Depth Study: History AQA A level Revision.

House of Lancaster.

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the Royal House of Plantagenet. The first House of Lancaster was founded by King Henry III when he created the Earldom of Lancaster for his son Edmund Crouchbeck, while the second House of Lancaster was founded by John of Gaunt, who married the heiress of the first house, Blanche of Lancaster (great-granddaughter of Edmund Crouchbeck).

John of Gaunt was the son of King Edward III of England (1327-1377), and the father of King Henry IV (1399-1413).

The origins of conflict, 1450–1459.

The Houses of York and Lancaster descend from King Edward III, who ruled England from 1312 to 1377. King Edward had four sons. His eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, died before succeeding his father, so King Edward III was succeeded by Edward the Black Prince's son, Richard II, who reigned between 1377 and 1399.

Edward's second son, Prince John of Gaunt (1340-1399) did not support King Richard II. He was angry that he did not inherit the throne, and encouraged his son Henry IV to take the throne in 1399. Therefore, those descended from Henry IV (1399-1413) became Lancasters, and those descended from Richard II became Yorks.

Henry V.

Henry V was the son of Henry IV and ruled England from 1413 to 1422.

Henry VI.

Henry VI (1421-1471) was king of England from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471. He was the son of King Henry V (1413-1422), who remained known in history as a successful king thanks to his military campaigns. Unlike his father, he proved to be a bad king and mentally unstable.

Richard Duke of York.

Richard of York was Edward III's great-grandson. He opposed Henry VI's weak rule and demanded a major role in the government. He started the war in 1455 to dethrone King Henry VI and take the throne.
He ruled England as a protector of the king between 1454 and 1455. His children were Edward IV, Richard III, and George, Duke of Clarence.

English society and politics in 1450.

There was a strict hierarchy in society. English society was predominantly rural, and its position in society depended on birth, which was hereditary. The aristocracy comprised a few people, and they enjoyed certain political and economic privileges.
The feudal system was still current, and the king was at the top of the pyramid. The Church enjoyed certain privileges. Women had almost no rights except those who stood out and came from the royal family.

The weakness of Henry VI’s rule.

King Henry VI, a descendant of the House of Lancaster, took the throne when he was only one year old. His advisors and protectors ruled in his place. Henry VI was mentally weak when he grew up to rule independently, and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, ruled in his stead. Henry VI was not intelligent and experienced enough to rule successfully.

He was not a king who had the authority and power to make decisions independently. At the same time, the wars with France contributed to England's economic weakness and to losing the territories that his father had conquered, which is why the English population loved him less and less.

Who was a threat to King Henry VI?

Richard, Duke of York.

The two main baronial factions in the mid-15th century.

The Nevilles (Yorkshire) and the Percy family (Northumberland).

Cade's Rebellion.

Cade's rebellion marked the beginning of a period marked by open rebellion and unrest in England. This rebellion was started by Jack Cade in 1450 against the government of England and the reign of King Henry VI.

They rebelled against the English government, corruption, and abuse of power by the king's closest advisers, who raised taxes because of the war with France. At the same time, there was dissatisfaction due to the loss of territories in France during the Hundred Years' War. The uprising was put down, and Jack Cade was killed.

The loss of Normandy.

The French conquered Nomrandia in 1450, for which the English population blamed King Henry VI.

The impact on English politics of the emerging power and influence of Richard of York.

Richard of York was politically educated, eloquent, and capable. He had extremely strong pretensions to the English throne, and therefore, some of the nobles began to support him, seeing King Henry VI's inability to rule.

After King Henry VI suffered a nervous breakdown in 1454, Richard was appointed protector of the realm on March 27, 1454. To win the favour of the English population, Richard of York started reforms to stabilise the country politically and economically.

How did King Henry VI want to regain the throne?

When he recovered in 1455, he realised that Richard of York was just a protector and tried to reclaim the throne. First, certain privileges were granted to the Duke of Somerset to threaten Richard of York's position. In other words, King Henry VI placed the Duke of Somerset in Richard of York's government position and excluded Richard from the King's Council.

However, Richard received the support of the nobility, which opposed the king. The nobility became increasingly polarised between the supporters of Lancaster, who supported King Henry VI, and those of York, who instead rallied behind Richard.

Duke of Somerset and Duke of York.

The Duke of Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, was a relative of the king. His estate, which he inherited, was worth around £3000, while Richard of York's was worth over £5000. King Henry VI was known for rewarding nobles for loyalty and faithful service, so he wanted to take it away from the Duke of Somerset and increase his wealth.

Parliament did not agree to that, and conflicts began. Parliament favoured Richard of York because of his political skills and wealth. The rivalry between the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of York was the leading cause of the Wars of the Roses.

The Wars of the Roses.

The Wars of the Roses were fought between 1455 and 1485 between the York family, the symbol of the white rose, and the Tudor family, followers of the Lancaster dynasty, which was the symbol of the red rose.

The outbreak of war: the first Battle of St Albans and the balance of military power in 1455.

Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou resisted Richard of York's protectorate, and the first battle between the Yorkists and the Lancasters, the Battle of Saint Albans, began.

King Henry VI was captured, and the Duke of Somerset was killed. Richard of York won, but Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of King Henry VI, took control of the government.

The uneasy peace: the influence of Margaret of Anjou; factional rivalries and their impact on English society

After the first battle of St. Albans, Queen Margaret of Anjou took an active role in the government, realising that her husband was mentally weak, but also captured. Her goal was to protect his son Edward as the future king.
Her primary goal was to gain the support of the nobles. Also, Richard of York's primary goal was to gain the support of the nobles, and this was the period when the nobles split into factions. One side supported the Yorkists, and the other supported the House of Lancaster, to which King Henry VI belonged. The relationship between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists became quite strained, and soon, it became increasingly clear that England was on the brink of an all-out civil war.