HENRY VII

when were the Wars of the Roses

1455 to 1485

who was the Wars of the Roses between?

House of Lancaster and House of York

what rose represented the House of Lancaster?

red

what rose represented the House of York?

white

when was the Battle of Bosworth?

August 22nd 1485

who fought at the Battle of Bosworth?

- King Richard III
- Henry VII
- Sir William Stanley (took Henry's side when he was winning)
- Lord Thomas Stanley (neutral)
- Earl of Northumberland (neutral)

what was the outcome of the Battle of Bosworth?

Richard killed
Henry crowned king on the battlefield

why were Richard and Henry fighting at the Battle of Bosworth?

Richard was current king (Yorkist)
Henry wanted crown for Lancastrians

bastard feudalism meaning

when nobility had private armies

who was king before Richard III?

Edward IV

who were Edwards IV's sons?

Edward V (heir) and Richard of Shrewsbury (Duke of York)

what were Edward IV's sons referred as?

Princes in the Tower

what role did Richard III have to the Princes in the Tower?

he was their uncle and assigned their Lord Protector to train Edward V to be king
But Richard III took the throne and the princes disappeared

what two reasons meant Henry's claim to the throne was weak?

- his claim was through his mothers side, going against the idea of primo-genita
- his claim was through violence making him a usurper

primo-genita meaning

1st born son comes to the throne

usurper meaning

someone who has taken power illegitimately through power (breaking the line of succession)

how did Henry live after Edward IV (Yorkist) claimed the throne?

- fled to france at 14 years old
- lived as a fugitive for 14 years in the Duchy of Brittany

Initial consolidation: when did Henry date his reign from and why?

21st August 1485 (day before the Battle of Bosworth) so he could prosecute those who had fought against him as traitors

initial consolidation: who did he detain (arrest) and why?

- Elizabeth of York (Edwards IV's daughter)
- Earl of Warwick (Edward IV's nephew)
- had a claim to the throne

Initial consolidation: how did Henry reward his supporters?

- publicly gave 11 knighthoods
- made Sir William Stanley Chamberlain of the Household
- made Sir Reginald Bray Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Initial consolidation: how did parliament support Henry after the battle?

- granted Henry customs revenues of tonnage and poundage for life
- Parliamentary Acts of Attainder against yorkists at the battle of Bosworth (their property and title was forfeit to the crown increasing crown revenue)

Initial consolidation: when was coronation and why was that date significant?

- 30th October 1485
- before his first parliament meeting on 7th November
- showing right to the throne was hereditary not based on parliamentary sanction

Initial consolidation: who did Henry marry and why was this important?

- January 1486 married Elizabeth of York
- did this last to show his claim was not through his wife
- could exploit the union of the Lancaster and York Houses (e.g. through the Tudor rose)

Initial consolidation: what was the final thing which fully secured Henry's position?

birth of prince Arthur (heir) in September 1489

who was Lambert Simnel?

pretender pretending to be the Earl of Warwick (Edward IV's nephew who was missing)

who was Perkin Warbeck?

pretender pretending to be Richard Duke of York (youngest prince in the tower)

when was the Lovell and Stafford Rebellion?

March to April 1486

who were Lovell and Stafford?

yorkists

what did Lovell and Stafford believe?

an attack early into Henry's reign would be successful as he would be vulnerable and weak

where did Lovell and Stafford try to rally support and what was the response?

Lovell - Yorkshire
Stafford - Midlands
lack of enthusiasm due to people being weary of war

how did Henry respond to the Lovell and Stafford rebellion?

prepared a small army
made a point that traitors and rebellions would be dealt with harshly

what happened to Lovell and Stafford after their rebellion?

Lovell - fled to Burgundy
Strafford - captured and executed

when was the threat of Lambert Simnel and the Battle of Stoke Field?

1487

after the failure of the Lovell and Stafford rebellion, what two things did yorkists believe they needed for future rebellions?

- a figure head who could claim a strong Yorkist claim to the throne
- greater financial support

what was Lambert Simnel used as?

a figurehead

where was the real Earl of Warwick whilst Simnel pretended to be him?

being held prisoner secretly by Henry

what was John de la Pole's role in assisting Simnel's plot?

military strategy and plot

how did Henry first respond to Simnel posing as the Earl of Warwick?

he revealed the real Earl of Warwick

How did John de la Pole respond to the reveal of the real Earl of Warwick?

he fled to Margaret of Burgundy for support

what support did Margaret of Burgundy provide to Simnel's rebellion?

financial aid to pay for a force of mercenaries to invade England

what support did Simnel gain in Ireland?

crowned King of England in Ireland (lots of Yorkist support there)

how did Henry respond to Simnel's rebellious plot?

- released the Earl of Northumberland (imprisoned after Bosworth) to help control the north where most Yorkists are
- strengthens coastal defences in East Anglia against invasion
- gathers a group of close advisors (including relatives of former Yorkists to gain info)

Who was Margaret of Burgundy?

Edward IV's sister

what were the events of the Battle of Stoke Field?

- 2 armies met at East Stoke near Newark
- Earl of Oxford led Henry's army (intelligent + effective)
- John de la Pole killed
- John de la Pole had failed to gain sufficient Yorkist support to help mercenaries so Henry won

how did Simnel's plot and the Battle of Stoke Field support Henry's position?

- made his position safer
- proved his shrewdness and intelligence could defeat challenge
- secured support from excellent military leaders (Northumberland + Oxford) therefore the support of many landowners

how did Henry respond to the rebels after the Battle to Stoke Field victory?

- mild treatment
- Simnel placed to work in the royal kitchens and mocked
- bonds of good behaviour

where did Warbeck 1st gain support as a pretender?

France

when was Warbeck gaining support in France as a pretender?

summer 1492

what support did Warbeck gain in France and why?

100 yorkists joined him and paraded him
King Charles VIII thought he could use Warbeck to blackmail Henry if he became anti-French over Brittany

how did Henry remove the threat of France supporting Warbeck?

Treaty of Estaples (peace treaty)

how did Warbeck's threat as a pretender negatively effect Henry?

showed him vulnerable to foreign invasion
showed him vulnerable to attacks from his own nobility (Stanley)

how did Warbeck's threat as a pretender positively effect Henry?

showed he had 'calculated brutality' so could deal with threats in diplomatic ways (not only through violence)

how did Henry deal with the threat of Warbeck overall?

Sir William Stanley executed

Warbeck arrested but continued to exploit rebellions (attempted to escape in the Cornish Rebellion 1497) so was executed

real Richard Duke of York executed also (same exploitation)

where did Warbeck flee after France no longer offered support (where was the 2nd place he gained support)?

Burgundy

when did Warbeck gain support in Burgundy?

1493

what support did Warbeck gain in Burgundy?

Margaret of Burgundy trained him as a Yorkist prince
financial support
involved English nobility in the plot (e.g. Sir William Stanley)

when did Warbeck attempt his first invasion of England?

1495

why did Warbeck's first invasion of England (1495) fail?

Henry was informed quickly by his agent Sir Robert Clifford

where did Warbeck flee after his support in France was lost?

Burgundy

where did Warbeck flee after his failed first invasion in 1495?

Scotland

when did Scotland provide support for Warbeck?

1497

why did Scotland support Warbeck?

Scotland and england had been enemies for centuries
King James IV wanted to use Warbeck to antagonise Henry

How did Scotland support Warbeck?

set up Warbeck in court
Warbeck married James IV's cousin

what was attempted in 1496 in support of Warbeck's plot?

small Scottish force crossed the border to England but retreated quickly

how did Henry diffuse the threat of Scotland supporting Warbeck?

diplomatic methods
Treaty of Ayton 1597
Margaret Tudor to marry James IV
Peace Treaty with Scotland

what 4 methods did Henry use to control the nobility?

acts of attainder
patronage
limits to retaining
bonds and recognizances

were acts of attainder the carrot or stick method?

stick

how many acts of attainder were passed in Henry's reign?

138

how many acts of attainders were reversed in Henry's reign?

46

how many acts of attainder were passed in the last 5 years of Henry's reign and what did this show?

51 of the 138, showed increased paranoia

how much did Sir Thomas Tyreil pay to reverse his and his father's acts of attainders?

£1,738

who is an example of a noblemen who paid to have their act of attainder reversed?

Sir Thomas Tyreil

what did acts of attainder allow Henry to do?

seize titles and possessions of a nobleman (he distrusted)

who did Henry pass acts of attainder against immediately into his reign?

those who fought against him at the Battle of Bosworth

how could acts of attainder be reversed?

extreme payment by a noblemen OR Henry coild reverse it to buy himslef support

could an act of attainder be passed from father to son?

yes

was patronage the stick or carrot method?

carrot

what did patronage allow Henry to control?

the number of the nobility and who was a part of the nobility

what was patronage?

the king rewarding people with land, property and titles

who did henry replace noblemen with through patronage and why?

members from gentry because they were more trustworthy (owed heir position to Henry, not inherited)

what did Henry use patronage to do?

decrease the size of the nobility

how much did patronage cause the number of nobles to fall?

by 1/4

how did patronage affect land distribution?

Henry was the largest landowner in England

vacant land (where there were no longer nobles) was absorbed into Henry's personal domain

in what manner did Henry use patronage?

reserved manner

what limiting retaining the carrot or stick method?

stick

what was retaining also known as?

bastard feudalism

what was retaining?

noblemen keeping large personal armies

when were the two laws against retaining?

1485 and 1504

what was the 1485 law against retaining?

parliament swore they would not illegally retain

what was the 1504 law against retaining?

to retain, you had to get a special license

how much did a noblmen have to pay for illegally retaining?

£5 per person per month

how did noblmen avoid being fined for illegally retaining?

they covered records of the wages they paid so no one knew how many men they were retaining

were bonds and recognisances the stick or carrot method?

stick and carrot

in the final 10 years of Henry's reign, what fraction of the nobility were placed under bonds?

2/3

how were bonds and recognisances used by Henry?

anyone suspected of disloyalty could have a bond placed on their good behaviour, fialure to meet the terms meant huge debt

how substantial were the fines involved in bonds and recognisances?

large enough to bankrupt

what was Henry's main method of controlling the nobility?

bonds of recognisances

what did bonds and recognisances do?

encouraged good behaviour and raised money

why were bonds and rcognisances favourable to Henry?

if the person behaved, they were not a threat
if the person did not behave, Henry was financially benefitted

what is an example of a noblemen placed under bonds and recognisances?

Lord Burgavenny
1507
illegally retained 471 men
fined £70,000 (bankrupting)
Henry agreed he could pay £5000 over 10 years but could not walk on family land in that time