Rebellions 1: Lovell + the Staffords and the Simnell + Earl of Lincoln Rebellion

Yorkist pretenders to the throne

• Yorkists regarded Henry’s claim as unsurper

• Yorkist claimants to the throne were Edward IV’s nephews, Earl of Warwick and Lincoln, and the two murdered ‘princes in the Tower’

• However Margaret of Burgundy’s influence was what he feared the most (Sister of Edward IV and Richard III), as she had access to funding the rebellions of Yorkist claiments

Viscount Lovell and the Staffords (1486)

• Rather minor rebellion

• Led by Francis, Viscount Lovell - him and Humphrey Stafford claimed to by key supporters of Richard III

• Their attempt at raising a rebellion in both Yorkshire and the Midlands was quickly shut down

• Lovell escaped, Stafford was captured and executed

Lambert Simnel and the rebellion of the Earl of Lincoln

• Simnel pretended to be the Earl of Warwick, even became crowned as King Edward in Ireland in May 1487

• Conspiracy was put together by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln

• However Henry showed the actual Earl of Warwick to all of London to disprove Simnel’s claims

• Rebellion then persuaded Margaret to support Simnel’s claim and proved mercenaries to invade England.

The Battle of Stoke Field - 1487

• Henry’s army was effectively lead by the Earl of Oxford in East Stoke

• Earl of Lincoln was killed in battle - after being unable to add sufficient followers to the army of mercenaries he had

• Henry’s victory was very significant

• Marked the end to the Wars of the Roses rather than Bosworth

• His mild treatments of Yorkists who rebelled won over some who once opposed him

What did Henry start to develop after the Battle of Stoke Field

• The policy of using bonds of good behaviour to ensure well-behaved landowners who might otherwise face financial ruin