Henry VII - Rebellions

Date of Yorkshire tax revolt

1489

Why did it happen?

• England wanted to aid Britanny to maintain its independence from France

  • Keep Brittany as an ally

  • Needed 100k funds - raise via taxation

• Henry outright refused Henry Percy's statement to not be seen as a weak leader

• Northumberland murdered after he returned with nothing

 

Economic problems in Yorkshire - bad harvest

 

Hated tax for a war in Brittany - so geographically distant

Why did the rebellion fail?

Egremont the leader was unreliable
Illegitimate to Percy family - less support + power
Fled to Flanders as soon as opposition, Earl of Surrey, put riots down

Surrey crushed the rebellion
One noble and his forces able to destroy the rebellion

However, Yorkshire did not have to pay for the tax

Aftermath

Henry VII issued pardons + governed Surrey to run the North, appointed Lieutenant of the Council of the North

Earl of Northumberland’s lands transferred to the crown

Failed to collect region’s tax quota for the Brittany campaign

Cornish tax revolt date

1496

Causes

Henry needed a loan for war in Scotland - Cornwall was taxed
Not accustomed to the tax - geographical distance

Cornish had little sympathy for English affairs
Didn’t speak it - didn’t see themselves as English

Leaders of the rebellion

Michael An Gof (blacksmith) + Thomas Flamank (lawyer from Bodmin)

James Touchet, 7th Baron Audley,

How many troops recruited + where marched to

15k troops

Marched into Devon then pursued into London

Was it a peaceful march?

Yes

‘Without any slaughter, violence or spoil of the country’

Why did it fail?

Rebels lost support in Kent + clashed with them

Members of the army returned to Cornwall

Date + location of battle

1497

Blackheath

Troops between rebels + King

Rebels - 10k Cornish Stalwarts

King - 25k, Lord Daubeney

Cornish casualties

2k

Consequences

Severe financial penalties crippled Cornwall

Audley, An Gof + Flamank executed (1497)

Publicly displayed on London Bridge

Why was this rebellion the greatest threat to Henry

Demonstrates Henry does not have much control over Cornwall - sizeable part of England

Henry cannot control all his nobility

Size of the armies - reveals extent of the popular opposition