2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 Part 3 Depth Study: History AQA A level Revision.

The triumph of the Yorkists, 1461–1471.

This is related to resisting all temptations and enemies during the reign of King Edward IV, son of Richard of York. King Edward IV reigned from 1461 to October 1470 and later from April 1471 until he died in 1483.
You should know that the House of York had some of the most infamous kings of that time, including Edward IV and Richard III (1483-1485).

The personal rule of Edward IV.

Edward IV took the throne after the Battle of Towton in March 1461. His reign is known as "The Sun in Splendour". His personal reign was marked by many rivalries during the consolidation of royal power and the succession problem that eventually led to the downfall of the House of York.

At the very beginning of his reign, King Edward IV wanted to establish peace and stability in England after the Civil War. Thanks to his military and political education, he succeeded in suppressing rebellions and establishing control over the unstable empire until 1471.

Who is most responsible for King Edward IV becoming king?

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.

At the beginning of King Edward IV's reign, Richard Neville occupied powerful political positions and led English diplomacy until 1464. Considering that Edward IV had no children, many believed that Richard Neville was a candidate for the king. Therefore, King Edward IV wanted to assert his independence and rule independently.

When does the conflict arise between the Earl of Warwick and King Edward IV?

After King Edward IV secretly married the low-class widow Elizabeth Woodville in 1464, the Earl of Warwick became disillusioned with the king and opposed it. The other nobles did not support this marriage either because they believed that the king should marry a French princess to consolidate his power and improve relations with France.

In other words, the fact that Elizabeth was the widow of a Lancaster knight drove a wedge between Edward and Warwick, who could not reconcile with the fact that the king did not want to marry a French princess.

The political impact of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville.

Elizabeth Woodwell was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses. She loved and supported her husband and latently controlled England through him. Her first husband supported the Lancaster house, and she had two sons with him. King Edward IV loved her and accepted her children. He won over different factions in England, especially those against his wife, Elizabeth Woodville.

Her nickname was "The White Queen of England," which refers to the white rose, the symbol of the House of York.

When was Henry Vi captured?

In mid-1465, King Henry VI, together with his wife Margaret of Anjou and son Edward Prince of Wales, tried to regain the throne. However, King Henry VI was captured, and Richard Neville took him to the tower even though he was not on good terms with King Edward IV at the time.

Factional rivalries: Warwick ‘the Kingmaker’.

Factional rivalries arose due to Edward IV's marriage to Queen Elizabeth Woodville. In particular, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as 'The Kingmaker', although he had the main position in the court, appeared less and less at the court, which caused the king to start favouring Elizabeth Woodwill's father, Richard Woodwill. Richard Woodwool supported the king and the Burgundian Alliance, which Richard Neville opposed.

Political power passes from Richard Neville's hands to Richard Woodville's. He turned his back on Edward IV and instead turned his attention to the House of Lancaster.

Burgundian Alliance.

King Edward made a secret alliance with the French enemy, Burgundy, in 1467. This did not suit Richard Neville, who wanted the English to ally with France and who negotiated with the French to marry the king's sister Margaret to a French nobleman.

King Edward married his sister Margaret to the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, and the two planned a joint invasion of France. Richard Neville opposed this, and the conflict between the king and him escalated over time.

What made Richard Neville turn his back on King Edward IV?

King Edward IV refused the marriage between Warwick's eldest daughter, Isabel, and Edward's brother, George, Duke of Clarence.

Factional rivalries: attempts to restore Henry VI; Margaret of Anjou; Edward, Prince of Wales

Richard Neville turned his back on King Edward IV and began advocating for King Henry VI's return to the throne. In this, he was helped by Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, and their son Edward, Prince of Wales.

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, also joined forces with Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, who betrayed his York family and supported the House of Lancaster in 1470.

George, Edward IV's brother, married Neville's daughter Isabel, although his brother did not approve of it. At the same time, Richard Neville promised him that he would become the king of England.

Coup against Edward IV.

In mid-1470, the Earl of Warwick removed King Edward IV from the throne and imprisoned him in the tower for a short time. The Lancastrians took power for a short time and restored Henry VI to the throne.

Henry VI placed Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, in line for the throne after his son, Edward, Prince of Wales.

How did the conflict between George Duke of Clarence and Richard Neville Count of Warwick come about?

After Richard Neville married his second daughter to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VI, George realised that Neville was driven only by self-interest. He then reconciled with his bart.

The crushing of the Lancastrian cause: Barnet and Tewkesbury; the destruction of the Lancastrian nobility

This refers to two key battles, the Battle of Barnet and the Battle of Tewkesbury.

The Battle of Barnet took place in April 1471. Edward's forces defeated the Earl of Warwick's army, and Neville, the Earl of Warwick, was killed.

In May 1471 Edward's forces were again victorious at the Battle of Tewkesbury. During this battle, Henry VI's son, Edward of Westminster, was killed in battle. Shortly thereafter, King Henry VI died, effectively destroying their hopes of reclaiming the throne from the House of York. After that, Edward IV was crowned king again and remained in that position until his death in 1483.

The impact of the baronial wars on English society by 1471: the weakening of the aristocracy.

The impact of the Baron Wars, known as the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485), on English society until 1471 was negative. First, the war led to significant political, economic, and social changes. The battles that the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose) fought for two decades led to numerous conflicts between the barons and the weakening of the aristocracy.

Noble families suffered significant losses because their close people were killed during the war. Political factions fought for the power of the dynasty they supported, and this struggle weakened the cohesion among the aristocrats and called into question their power due to the impossibility of governing the country.

The impact of the baronial wars on English society by 1471: the impact on trade and the economy.

The impact of the baronial wars on English society until 1471 on the economy and trade was also negative. During the war, many trade routes were blocked. Merchants often had to decide who to support. The transport of goods was difficult due to the fact that trade routes were closed, so they suffered a lot of loss.