Lancs and Yorkists BP5

How had Henry Tudors invasion began in 1485?

He had landed in Milford Haven in Wales with 2,000 mercenaries, recruiting more while in wales, with Shrewsbury welcoming his force gracefully. He had gained the loyalty of his men through contracts and mainly through his Welsh descent, giving the troops he recruited more incentive to fight.

He was also heavily supported by the king of France and the Duke of Brittany. Though not fully confident about it, he knew that he could have the support of the Stanley’s, as Richard held Stanley’s son hostage.

Richard had moved from the north to Leicester with ~20,000 men, holding a higher position in Bosworth Field, that combined with his much larger army gave Richard a clear advantage.

How did the Battle of Bosworth go?

Night if 21-22 Aug 1485, there were many defections from Richard’s army, with Richard himself being very worried about the Stanley’s. He never had the hearts and loyalty of his men, only controlled them through fear.

At 5:15am Richard lined up his troops, while the Stanley’s stood aside, still deciding on who to fight for. While Henry had the Earl of Oxford on his side, Richard had the Earl of Northumberland and Duke of Norfolk on his side.

Longbowmen were used first, though not doing much, crossbowmen were much more effective but slower. There was then an hour of hand to hand fighting trying to break the line with personal grudges being dealt with on the battlefield.

Richard ordered the son of Stanley to be killed after seeing he was a no show, though this wasn’t carried out. With Northumberland and his men beginning to slip away from the fight.

Richard saw and then pursued Henry, cutting down his flag bearer but missing him. However it is when the Stanley’s see that Henry’s force is beginning to be run over that they decide to fight for Henry, to turn the tide of the battle and had led to Richard’s horse being cut down, “my horse, my horse, my kingdom for a horse”, who was then killed on the battlefield. Richard’s army had lost.

What was the aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth?

Once Richard was dead, Stanley had placed the crown onto Henry’s head on Crown Hill. With Richard’s body then being stripped, put on public display then being buried in a paupers (commoners) grave.

Bosworth had resulted in lots of titles and lands being opened up because so many nobles had fought and been killed in the battle.

Why could HVII be in a bad situation after Bosworth?

The same as HIV, a usurper status, worse off as his blood link can also be seen as invalid.

Can see many Ricardian supporters rebel against him, such as Clarence’s son and the children of De La Pole.

Sets a precedent of if the people don’t like the king then they have the right to kill him.

How had HVII consolidated his power?

He was crowned in Oct 1485, though liz of York wasn’t.

He completely ignored the princes in the tower, as if they were alive, he would no longer be king

He used parliament to approve his power, saying the claims of the kids of EdIV being bastards were false, though his right to the throne was never explained, and that his reign was backdated to the day before Bosworth.

HVII invited the De La Pole family into the Tudor court.

He married Liz of York in Jan 1486 and had a male child in Sept 1486, Arthur.

Were there any obstacles to HVII’s consolidation?

Ricardian propaganda of him being a bastard was still around.

Autumn 1485 a disease broke out in London, killing a few high positions like the Mayor of London.

A revolt from pro Ricardian supporters broke out in early spring 1486, easily crushed by Owen Tudor.

What was the Lovell Rebellion of summer 1486?

A plot by Viscount Louis Lovett to reinstate the Yorkist dynasty, teaming up with Humphrey and Thomas Stafford. With Lovett trying to catch Henry on his royal process and Staffords heading into Wales. Neither rebellion worked or even properly broke out, though Lovett fled to Margaret of Burgundy and Humphrey executed with Thomas pledging loyalty to HVII.

It was a serious threat as it was an act of treason, Henry did have to raise an army and Margaret of Burgundy did offer safety for them so not properly dealt with. But the plan was flawed as there was no Yorkist alternative and did not gain much support.

This had given the people the idea of “rebel and you either die as a traitor or pledge allegiance to the king.”

What was the Lambert Simnel Rebellion 1486-7?

Nov 1486- rumours of a Yorkist imposter, with many parading round ‘the Earl of Warwick’ (Clarence’s son), with support from Margaret of Burgundy, John De La Pole and the Earl of Lincoln.

May 1487- Simnel and supporters travel to Ireland, where Simnel is crowned king Edward VI, Margaret funded the campaign and sent 2,000 German mercenaries.

June 1487- Simnels army lands in England and march south, looking to gain support. HVII parades the real earl of Warwick around who had been in the tower to nullify Simnel’s claim and then gathered a large army.

16th June 1487- Battle of East Stoke, a HVII victory with Lincoln and Schwartz (German mercenary) died in battle with Simnel taken back with Henry.

Simnel is then turned into a royal kitchen worker and then is promoted to head Falconer.

What was the Perkin Warbeck rebellion from 1491-99 and who did he gain support from?

Perkin Warbeck was a 17 year old French boy who had claimed that he was Richard of York (younger prince in the Tower), saying the executioner couldn’t kill him and he fled to the continent. Before it takes place he is taken to Margaret of Burgundy who teaches him how to be a prince and of the Yorkist dynasty.

There were rumours that he was her son before she married the Duke of Burgundy. The king of France also gets involved as he wanted leverage and to annex Brittany and for Henry to not support the duke there. Which he did and laid siege to Boulogne.

After Margaret made her ‘insatiable hatred’ for Henry clear, Henry then cut off the Wool trade to Burgundy, harming Englands trade but felt he had to.

Though Charles VIII did sign the Treaty of Etaples in 1492, giving Henry a lot of money and him stopping his support for Perkin. However he also had the support of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian who recognised him as Richard IV.

How had the Perkin Warbeck Rebellion ended from 1495-99?

Perkin landed in England in summer 1495, financed by Margaret of Burgundy, though his whole force were slaughtered almost immediately and he fled to Ireland to re group. Though it had seen the death of Lord Stanley, Margaret Beaufort’s brother in law, being executed after being overheard saying if Warbeck was who he said he was then he wouldn’t raise arms against him.

He then went to Scotland where King James IV had allowed him to stay and even a high status marriage to his cousin Katherine Gordon with a large pension. All this prevented him from negotiating the marriage of his son to Katherine of Aragon due to instability in England. Although James abandoned Warbeck after the Treaty of Ayrton was signed, which included the marriage of one of his daughters, Margaret.

Then Warbeck goes back to Ireland and tries another invasion of England in 1497, captured immediately and put in the tower. He was put in a cell next to Warwick’s cell and the 2 planned to break out, though it led to them both being executed in 1499. Warbeck had probably given Henry the grounds to kill Warwick as he had a very strong link to the throne. Rebellion, over.

What was the Yorkshire Rebellion of 1489?

It was a tax revolt as Henry got a grant of £100,000 taxation to help defend Brittany, an English region, from the French. People in Yorkshire didn’t like this as they didn’t pay tax because they defended the Scottish border.

When the Earl of Northumberland was sent to negotiate, he was killed and Henry then raised an army and the Earl of Surrey was sent to crush the rebellion.

It was serious as it had thousands of rebels and led to the death of a major royal official. It also showed HVII’s weak authority in the North and the Gov struggled to get taxation.

But it was only local disorganised, without any real noble support and not really an attempt to get rid of Henry.

Who is Margaret of Burgundy and why was she so important?

Margaret of Burgundy is the sister of Edward IV, Richard III and the Duke of Clarence. She was fully against the regime of Henry Tudor and had involved herself in many anti-Tudor activities.

She had been affected at large by the war of the roses and had her father, uncles and brother killed during it, including Clarence and her cousin Warwick.

She had become a key figure in the Yorkist cause against HVII after the battle of Bosworth Field. She had sheltered many Yorkist exiles who fled England, financed both the Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck rebellions, with her backing Simnel’s claim that he was her nephew the Earl of Warwick and training Warbeck in courtly manners of England and had promoted him as the rightful king.

After her Marraige to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, she became a Duchess and after her husbands death in 1477, she was in charge, holding all the land and wealth that her husband had. This is how she was able to finance and support these rebellions.

HVII considered her one of the greatest foreign enemies he had to deal with because of her links to the royal household, money, political connections to England and always providing a rallying point of Yorkist support.

After the Warbeck rebellion, she remained absent in English affairs and later died in 1503, with her being described as “a mother of orphans, a nurse to the poor and a solace for all grieving hearts.”