Rebellion

how many rebellions were under Henry VII with dates

Lovell Rebellion - 1486Simnel Rebellion - 1486-87Warbeck 1491-99Yorkshire Rebellion - 1489 Cornish Rebellion 1497

nature of the Lovell rebellion

Dynatic Rebellion as they wanted the restoration of the house of york

who led the Lovell rebellion

It was led by Viscount Lovell, Sir Thomas and Humphrey Stafford

where did the Lovell Rebels try to raise an uprising in

Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in Richard III's old stronghold of Yorlshire while the staffords did the same in the midlands

what happened to the Lovell Rebellion

It failed

events and outcome of the Lovell rebellion

The rebellion gained little traction because there was no Yorkist pretender to rally around. Henry VII who was in Lincoln when word of the rebellion reached him, hurried to York and sent his uncle Jasper Tudor to pardon every rebel but Lovell himself which drained all the support. Support for the Staffords collapsed when word reached that Henry was on his way south with an army. Lovell escaped, rallied to support Simnel and after Simnel's defeat escaped to Flanders. Though the Staffords fled to sanctuary they did not escape. Humphrey was exected and Thomas was imprisoned.

why did the Lovell rebellion fail

They had a low level of success and posed little threat to Henry, this is due to certain reasons. They lacked a credible alternative as king, and very few of the commoners were willing to rise in support of a noble leader. Lovell and Stafford were only minor nobles, they had no great wealth and no large group of followers on which they could base a rising. Henry already had an efficient intelligence operation which successfully tracked down the rebels when they fled and did not give them time to become a threat. They had no overseas backing and were put down in one month

motive for the simnel rebellion

It was a dynastic rebellion as it was an attempt by Yorkists to place a pretender on the throne.

what did leading Yorkists realise they had to do with the Simnel rebellion to be successful

Leading Yorkists realised that they needed to change their strategy to be successful. First, they needed a figurehead who would claim to be a Yorkist Prince and that was Lambert Simnel who claimed to be the Earl of Warwick who was imprisoned by Henry

who put the simnel rebellion together

The conspiracy was put together by John De La Pole, the Earl of Lincoln who was a potential Yorkist claimant.

where was Simnel taken to and why

With Lincoln's help, Simon was taken to Dublin in Jan 1487 which was mostly Yorkist and out of Henry VII's reach. He was welcomed by the Earl of Kildare who had him crowned in Dublin as Edward VI

where else did Simnel gain support

Lincoln raised support in Flanders from Margeret of Burgundy, there he met Viscount Lovell

how did henry respond to the simnel rebellion initially

Henry responded by putting the real earl of Warwick on show but the Yorkist forces had landed in Lancashire.

simnel's army

Simnel's army consisted of 2000 German mercenaries paid for by Burgundy. 4,500 irish kerns sent by Kildare, Yorkists under the command of local English gentry

why did simnel fail despite landing in the Yorkist heartland

The rebels failed to raise enthusiasm for their cause despite landing in the Yorkist heartland, only two years into Henry's reign and touring widely (simnel marched through England for two weeks). Earl of N. leading Yorkist in the north, refused to join the rebellion and instead led Henry's forces in the area

what battle was fought with the simnel rebels and when

The Battle of Stoke in June 1487

battle of stoke 1487

The rebels fought Henry in the Battle of Stoke. The Battle was close, Henry had 12,000 men to the rebels 8,000, but not all were fully committed to Henry's cause. It was only when Lincoln, the Irish leader and the German commander were killed that it became clear that the rebels would lose. Henry's victory at the battle of Stoke was very significant

battle of stoke significance

It can be argued that it was this battle rather than Bosworth which really brought an end to the war of the roses and Henry's position became safer though by no means completely secure.

outcome of the Battle of Stoke

Lovell escaped, and Simnel was captured and put into the king's service in the royal kitchen. Many captured Irish troops were hanged but the king choose to punish the other Yorkists leaders with fines rather than arrests.

overall reasons why Simnel failed

1. Simnel was only a 12-year-old child and not an inspiring leader2. He depended on foreign support and this made it much harder to raise support in England as he seemed to be a puppet for foreign interests3. Yorkist leadership was very weak after Bosworth e.g. Duke of Norfolk was killed there and Henry's treatment of the Yorkist nobility after Bosworth was effective, few were executed and he used calculated mercy and certain methods to gain loyalists. This limited the number of those desperate enough to rebel and increased force loyalty. For example, Northumberland's decision to stay loyal despite fighting for Richard at Bosworth4. Exhaustion and poverty - the North had been devasted by war and most were focused on individual survival, not dynastic fighting, therefore there was no common enthusiasm for the cause

arguments that Simnel was not a threat

He lacked support in England as he raised no more than 1,500 men there in two weeks despite landing in the Yorkist Heartland

arguments that Simnel was a threat

- The Battle of Stoke was closely fought and lasted for 3 hours - a long time in this period. While Henry had the bigger and more experienced, better-equipped army, it was by no means absolutely certain he would win- Although the Yorkists had little support from major nobles, the same was true of Henry's army. His only two big supporters were Oxford and Derby. N. joined Henry's army but his loyalty was so suspect that he and his troops were never ordered into battle- Roger Turvey 'that such a ridiculous scheme almost succeeded shows how fragile was Henry's grip on the crown'

date of the Yorkshire Rebellion -

1489, lasted a month

motive of the Yorkshire rebellion

local, economic issues

what sparked the Yorkshire rebellion

It was sparked by resentment towards taxation granted by parliament in 1489 to raise revenue (a subsidy of £800,000) in order to finance the involvement of English forces in the campaign in Brittany

who led the Yorkshire Rebellion

It was led by Robert Chamber, a gentleman of York and later by Sir John Egremont who was a bastard member of the Percy Family.

why did the Yorkshire rebels rebel

They rebelled as they felt Britanny had nothing to do with them and they had a bad harvest in 1488 so having to pay tax was an extra burden for a poor area

what did Henry refuse to do in response to the Yorkshire rebels grievances

Henry VII refused to refrain from taxing Yorkshire

who was killed in the Yorkshire Rebellion and why

The Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy was asked to collect tax and was assassinated by a group of rebels. His death can be argued to have been a result of a family feud as the rebellion was led by an illegitimate member of the Percy family.

events of the Yorkshire Rebellion

The rebels numbering about 5,000 marched south towards Doncaster but retreated a couple of days later and captured York. Henry sent an army of 8,000 led by the Earl of Surrey on 20th May 1489 who reached York and out down the rebellion with ease.

outcome of the Yorkshire rebellion

Henry called the lords to help enforce the subsidy, but the scale of opposition to the tax nationally can be gauged by the fact that only 27,000 was raised.

how successful was the Yorkshire Rebellion

It was quite successful as an attempt to collect tax was abandoned and there was no widespread retaliation by the king who travelled down north to pardon the rebels, but the North came under stricter control as Henry established a Tudor Council of the North with the Earl of Surrey as chief and Lieutenant.

level of threat of the Yorkshire Rebellion

Low - as it had limited support, there was no influential leadership which limited any chance that the rebellion would become widespread and they didn't march south towards London. Though it did force Henry to pursue diplomatic relations with Brittany

date of the cornish rebellion

1497 and lasted about 3 months

motives for the Cornish Rebellion

It was a rebellion against the heavy tax which was voted for by parliament to finance an expedition to resist the invasion of Scotland and Perkin Warbeck. Cornwall was traditionally independent and refused to help defend the borders, it was also caused by new regulations issued by Henry on tin mining and suspended the privileges of the stannaries which were local cornish courts and parliament, this hit the cornish economy and their local independence

who led the cornish rebellion

It was led by Thomas Flammock, a lawyer and Micheal Joseph a black smith - shows the extent to which it was caused by local/economic issues

events of the cornish rebellion

On May 14th 1497, the rebels organised in a group of about 5,000, set out from Bodmin in Cornwall to march on London there they acquired Lord Audley as leader. On June 1497, they became 15,000 in size and reached London and camped outside Blackheath. Henry marched south with an army of about 8,000 gathering more men on his way until he had 20,000.

the battle fought between the king and the Cornish rebels

Battle of Deptford Bridge

Battle of Deptford Bridge

The rebels were defeated with 1000 killed and the rest fled. The leaders of the rebellion - Audrey, Flammock and Josepth were executed, Henry fined others involved and raised £15,000 'the less blood he drew, the more he took in treasure' Francis Bacon

arguments that the cornish rebellion had a high level of threat

15,000 reached the outskirts of London and marched 250 miles away from home which suggests how much taxes were resented. They reached London which was the centre of the government and the country which was quite threatening.

arguments that the cornish rebellion had a low level of threat

1. rebels did not attract support in the south of England as they were too different and did not have the influence to achieve their goals.2. The rebels gained no foreign support although this is not essential for a successful rebellion it meant that there was a lack of money and resources. 3. The rebellion was not an attempt to overthrow the king, it was a rebellion that wanted to force change so neither Henry VII nor his dynasty was directly threatened - although not paying taxes at the request of the king can be argued as a way of threatening his authority. 4. The rebels were poorly equipped and stood no chance against the royal professional army. Though they did not murder a high-profile political figure, their rebellion posed a great threat to the stability of Henry's rule and questioned his government. 5. By reaching London, they were challenging the security of Henry VII's regime. 6. The numbers involved as well as the attempt by warbeck to exploit it - increased the threat

consequences of the cornish rebellion

The rebellion required Henry to recall his army from the Scottish border in other to suppress the rebels he called for Lord Daubeny to withdraw his troops defending the border. It forced Henry to negotiate peace with James IV as he could no longer afford war since the common people were not willing to finance it

date of Warbeck being active

1491-99

nature of the Perkin Warbeck rebellion

It was a dynastic threat used by the House of York to create a plausible pretender to rally support around.

who was Warbeck

Warbeck was a 17-year-old trader from Tournai in France who was a persistent irritant to Henry VII over the period of 8 years during which he claimed to be Richard the Duke of York.

what was Warbeck a tool for

He was a tool of Yorkist and Foreign interests

who did Warbeck receive backing from

Maximillian James IV of Scotland Margeret of Burgundy Charles VIII of FranceEarl of Desmond of Ireland

what did foreigners backing of Warbeck mean for Henry VII

His ability to attract foreign support transformed him from a deluded pest to a potentially serious threat which demonstrated how fragile Henry's position was considered to be by other rulers.

SB Chrimes interpretation of Warbeck

SB Chrimes argues that Warbeck was used as a tool by Charles VIII of France and Margeret of Burgundy to destabilise Henry VII. Charles did it to prevent Henry from supporting Britanny which he wanted to annex and Margeret because she was a major Yorkist supporter.

warbeck and France

Charles welcomed Warbeck and took him into the French court and by 1492 around 100 Yorkists had joined him in Paris. This led to the Treaty of Etaples which Henry signed to limit the threat - the treaty ended his support for Britanny in exchange for the French pension and the agreement by the French to expel Warbeck

Warbeck and Burgundy

Warbeck fled to Burgundy where he was accepted by Margeret as her nephew. Henry showed how concerned he was by breaking off all trade links with Flanders in 1493, this was bad for the cloth trade which was important to the English Economy.

who was involved with Warbeck at home

Henry had a network of spies and they informed him of who was involved at home and abroad, in1495 - a number of attainders were passed due to fear of disloyalty and the most important victim was Sir William Stanley

William Stanley and Warbeck

He was Henry's step-uncle, who was overheard saying that if it could be proven that Warbeck was who he said he was, he would not take up arms against him, He was one of Henry's most trusted officials, this betrayal worried Henry and he was executed as a result.

where and when did Warbeck land in England

Warbeck landed in England in 1495 in Kent and attempted to land an army deal, he failed to gather sufficient local support and his landing was opposed by local forces

after landing in Kent where was the next place Warbeck went to

Ireland

Warbeck and Ireland

Warbeck sets sail for Ireland where he found it difficult to gain support, Warbeck returned to Ireland again only to be met with the same fate as Henry was working actively to deprive him of backing. For example, the Earl of Desmond who had received Warbeck but offered little support was persuaded to swear loyalty to Henry in 1496 as a result when Warbeck returned to Ireland in 1497, both Kildare and Desmond attempted to capture him, forcing his flight to Cornwall.

Warbeckk and Scotland

James IV of Scotland welcomed the opportunity to provoke England and gave Warbeck refuge. He gave his cousin as his wife as well as an annual pension of £1200.

james and warbeck invasion

They invaded in 1496 but it was a disaster. Warbeck got no support south of the border this was because the English were horrified by the way the Scots raided and pillaged the countryside. James took advantage of the Cornish rebellion to launch another attack but failed. - Peace treaty with Scotland - Warbeck had to find refuge someplace else

where did Warbeck find refuge after Henry's peace with Scotland

South-west England

Warbeck in South-West England

Warbeck set sail for south-west England, he hoped that this traditionally rebellious area would support him but he was disappointed, he landed in Devon and he was driven out.

warbeck's capture

In 1497, he was persuaded to give himself up and made a full confession, he was a foreigner and could be charged with treason under English law so Henry allowed him to remain at court with his bride but Warbeck ran away in 1498 he was recaptured and imprisoned and hanged in 1499

argument that Warbeck had a low level of threat

- despite attempting to seize the throne for 8 years he spent less than 50 days on England and Irish Soil and failed to attract the support of an important English or Irish Backer, in stark contrast to the support he received from foreigners - Warbeck was kept in court rather than in prison after his capture. This suggests that Henry did not see him as a major threat

warbeck had a high level of threat

- Warbeck's threat was his persistence - he attempted 5 invasions and two escapes from captivity- Foreign backing was substantial until after the debacle in Kent. At one point Max gave his wife as surety for a loan so he could send 6000 mercenaries

medium level of threat - Warbeck

Warbeck was active for many years and a more convincing pretender than Simnel. - He obtained foreign support - Failed to gain significant support and backing in England

historiography of warbeck

The event cannot be written off as a farce which had no chance of success. It proved costly for Henry because the conspirators had an accomplice in the heart of Henry's government. He was described by historian Christine Carpenter as a conspiracy that revealed Henry at his most vulnerable in a place where he should have been most secure.