richard iii + henry vii

what happened on april 1483

death of edward iv

what happened on June 1483

lord Hastings, earl rivers, Richard grey and Thomas Vaughan executed

what happened on July 1483

Edward v and Richard, duke of York, last seen in the Tower of London

what happened on October 1483

buckinghams rebellion

what happened on April of 1484

the death of Richard’s only legitimate son, Edward

what happened in march 1485

the death of Queen Anne

what happened in 1485

the battle of bosworth field; Richard is killed and Henry vii becomes king

After his first Coup at Stony Stratford on April 30th Richard entered London, with Edward V, and was named what and did what?

he was declared protector and distributed anti-woodville propaganda

what was the anti-woodville propaganda he spread?

he had never approved of Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth in 1464 , he blamed the queen and her family for the fall and death of Clarence, thing which he deeply and had afterward exiled himself to the north away from them, that they had used up all of Edward iv’s treasure in the days after his death.

was the anti-woodville propaganda true?

* No, Edward IV did not leave any treasure – we know there only £1,200 in the treasury after his death.
* Richard played a full part in Clarence trial and benefited from his death through land grants.
* Evidence also shows that Richard had been on good term with the queen and her family before 1483. The Queen had made his steward of her Bedfordshire estates in 1469 and increased his fee for the role in 1473 showing a working relationship and trust between them, Rivers and Dorset had served under his command happily  in the Scottish Wars of 1481.

what happened during on 30th April 1483 (Richard III's first coup d'etat)

Earl Rivers (Elizabeth Woodville's brother), Richard Grey and Thomas Vaughan are arrested by the Duke of Gloucester and Buckingham.

what happened during on 10th May 1483 (Richard III's first coup d'etat)

Richard is appointed as the Lord Protector, he claims Edward produced a 'will' and the council believes it

what happened during on 19th May 1483 (Richard III's first coup d'etat)

Edward V is moved to the Tower of London

what happened during on 23rd May 1483 (Richard III's first coup d'etat)

Gloucester, Buckingham and the archbishops try and persuade Elizabeth Woodville to leave the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey, but FAIL (all of the Woodville's titles/powers were all stripped away).

what happened 13th June in 1483 (Richard III's second coup d'etat)?

Lord Hastings is immediately executed without a trial, after being charged with treasonable conspiracy with the queen. Archbishop Rotherham of York, Bishop Morton and perhaps Lord Stanley were all imprisoned

* this was illegal behaviour by Richard and everyone was completely shocking and took everyone by surprise as this was the moment that Richard made clear he wanted the throne.

what happened 16th June in 1483 (Richard III's second coup d'etat)?

Edward V's brother, Richard, Duke of York is removed from the sanctuary and is put in the Tower of London.

what happened 22nd June in 1483 (Richard III's second coup d'etat)?

the bastadry of the Princes have been made public at St Paul's Cross in London by Ralpha Shaa.

what happened 6th July in 1483 (Richard III's second coup d'etat)?

coronation of Richard III

what is the issue with the princes in the tower

* while there were sightings of the boys playing on the grounds, they were suddenly no where to be found after July 1483
* their 'murder' is the greatest accusation laid at the hands of Richard III

what did the issue of the princes in the tower mean to the Duke of Buckingham?

Duke of Buckingham, who as a loyal yorkist supporter, wouldn't have turned against Richard and supported Henry Tudor unless he too were convinced that Edward V and Richard were dead.

what did the issue of the princes in the tower mean to the support of Richard III

support for Richard was already weak, and the accusations made it worse and added fuel to the fire but support for Richard in the North was as strong as ever and many members of the nobility supported the usurper king despite his deposition of Edward V and possible murder of the Princes.

why did buckingham resent the woodvilles (join the coups)?

Buckingham claimed to have resented his wife and the Woodvilles as a whole as Elizabeth Woodville had forced him to marry Catherine Woodville when he was only 10!

why did buckingham resent the edward iv (join the coups)?

he may have also resented that Edward IV had refused to grant him half of the De Bohun estates worth £1000 per year

how did Richard iii reward buckingham for his support?

* he was made chamberlain of both north and South Wales and steward and constabke of all the royal
* he became the most powerful figure in welsh history on that day.
* he finally was given the De Bohun estates he wanted.
* he was given a key role in national politics as he was granted offices of great chamberlain and constable of England.

what were Richard’s motives for his second coup of June 1483

panic, fear of losing his northern lands and personal greed + ambition

what was the reasons for Richard’s panic in his second coup of June 1483

he took the protectorship by force to stop the Woodville's from seizing power HOWEVER he realised that his attack on the Woodville's would have consequences when Edward V got older as the young king had been brought up by his mother's family and was likely to take revenge for Richard's treatment.

what was the reasons for Richard’s fear of losing northern lands in his second coup of June 1483

these lands were illegally given to Edward IV. Richard had extensive lands in the North because the Earl of Warwick and his brother Montague had been attainted and their lands were given to them by Edward IV. when Montague's son died in 1483, the attainder ended and the lands were supposed to be passed to Lord Latimer after Richard's death and not his son. Richard III may have felt that control of government would prevent this from happening.

why was Richard able to take the throne in 1483

* Edward V's age at the time of his father's death as he was a minor
* if he wasn't there, it wouldn't have been a scramble for power between Gloucester, Woodville's and Hastings.
* there was a lot of divison + confusion as the want for land became a scramble for power. hastings + woodvilles despised each other and Hastings was terrified that Woodville would take power so Richard III eliminated both.
* surprise and speed as the execution of Hastings was on the spot and done immediately. The arrest of Rivers at Stoney Stratford was unexpected and this was a MAJOR factor in Richard's success.

what were the consequences of Richard iii’s position as a usurper

* unsurprising that the remaining members of the Woodville family resorted to active conspriacy + many members of the gentry opposed him
* esp. the case in southern + western england.


* opposition was a guaranteed when it came to usurpation as he faced the prospect with rebellion and conspiracy.

the emergence of Henry Tudor

* he had been living in Brittany with his uncle jasper tudor since 1471 and was greatly protected by duke of brittany who saw their value as a bargaining chip in diplomatic relations between England, France and Brittany.
* in 1476, Edward IV wanted the Duke of Brittany to bring Henry back to England, but Henry 'feigned' illness before he embarked on his ship and he returned to Brittany's court. Edward was furious, but there was little he could do about it
* all he could do was exert pressure on the Duke and offer incentives to Henry to return to England.
* after Edward's death and Richard III's usurpation, it dramatically changed the situation and Tudor's position as he was now the biggest rival for the crown and Richard had to negate Henry's position in order for him to stabilise authority and one possible way was for Richard to secure Henry's return to England and to exert full control of him.

what were the dissensions among the Yorkist nobility and who supported Richard III involving old divisions?

Richard's usurpation of the throne revived old divisions between those who supported the king and those who didn't. dividing the Yorkist elite.

Edward IV managed to create an alliance between member of the aristocracy and his wife and the Woodville family, but after his death it was inevitable of dissensions.

what were the dissensions among the Yorkist nobility and who supported Richard III involving

\
* many of the elite showed support and loyalty to Richard including nobles of royal blood like, edward planatgent, EARL OF WARWICK + JOHN DE LA POLE, EARL OF LINCOLN ---> DUKE OF NORFOLK was perhaps the MOST loyal of the non-royal blood, while there were others like LORD STANLEY, EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND + DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM who's loyalties were certainly NOT assures.

what was the aim of Buckingham's Rebellion of 1483?

the aim was place Henry Tudor on the throne but his claim was slightly weak as it was based on his illegitimate descent from the Lancastrian line through the beaufort family.

who started the Buckingham's Rebellion of 1483

the rebellion was brewing as early as september of 1483. The plot was mainly orchestrated by Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, who was still living in sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. She wanted to arrange a marriage between her eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor, which would strengthen his claim to the throne and it would also unite the two sides of the Yorkists and Lancastrians and potentially end the Wars of the Roses

what was the plan for Buckingham's Rebellion of 1483

* Henry was proclaimed king by the rebels and left Brittany with ships and finances to attempt invasion.
* the plan was to raise a revolt in Brecon, South Wales then link up with an invasion force from Brittany combined with the uprisings in southern England, the TIMING was absolutely crucial. however, the news of the plot was leaked by royal spies and Richard III was able to prepare himself. Norfolk was placed in charge of the defence in London while Richard and his supporters focused on defeating Buckingham. Richard's supporters were commanded to prepare defences on the English/Welsh border and mister their troops. royal preparations meant that the rebels could not wait any longer for Tudor to land on English soil.

what did Richard do in Buckingham's Rebellion of 1483

Richard went on to attack against Buckingham and had him surrounded and left him stranded by his Welsh troops and failed to rally any support in Bedfordshire. he went into hiding but was betrayed and captured by Richard III and his execution took place at Salisbury on 2nd November 1483 + the rebel's leader Sir Thomas St Leger was also executed. Tudor's invasion fleet had been scattered in a storm and realised he was too late and turned back to France and the rest of the rebels dispersed.

why did the rebellion fail?

* bad, stormy weather when Tudor was trying to get to England.
* the plot was revealed so Richard could act swiftly and place defences.
* Richard had a lot of nobility support him ---> Duke of Norfolk and the Stanley family + nobles in South backed Richard.
* the rebel in Kent started a lot earlier, therefore no coordination between the counties

what were the consequences of the rebellion

* Richard planted Northerner's in Southern counties after the rebellion such as Sir Richard Ratcliffe given lands in Devon, Somerset and Dorset.
* Southerners absolutely resented the Northerners and referred to them as 'aliens'
* here had always been a massive divide between the two with language and culture.
* even though DoB was eliminated, Henry Tudor rose to popularity and on Christmas Day of 1483, he swore to marry elizabeth of york, if he became king
* this would create a permanent alliance between 2 families.
* after the rebellion, the rebels who hadn’t been caught by Richard, escaped across the English channel to Tudor
* therefore, Tudor now had a group of gentry, nobility + bishops surrounding him.
* the rebellion put Richard into SIGNIFICANT debt, he had to pay wages for soldiers, arrows, food, equipment and arrows which cost a fortune.
* he had to start taking benevolences from his subjects, which did not make him any more popular as promised he wouldn't do this in the first place.

what were Richard’s strengths as a king?

some commited support amongst the nobility and gentry amongst those with a personal vested interest, richard’s position as a king - as opposed to Tudor’s role as a rebel, attempts to reform and good government

what were Richard’s weaknesses as king?

a lack of support in the south which was made worse by his plantation of northerners, continuing opposition and limited finance to deal with it after buckinghams rebellion the death of his wife anne neville and son prince Edward, his plan to marry Elizabeth of York alienated his neville supporters, he failed at foreign policy and an inability to get a hold of Henry Tudor drained his finances

what was Richard's defensive organisation in 1485?

* his strategy was to shut off Tudor as he knew he lacked support and knew many supported Henry Tudor which contributed in Richard losing the battle.
* Henry landed in Wales and traditonally invaders land her
* Francis Viscount Lovell, Richard's closest ally, never actually made it to the battle.

how was Tudor's invasion force?

* he had 500 exiles. mostly those who had fled after Buckingham's rebellion and they were mostly southerners but this was an insignificant number as Richard's army was around 10,000.
* between 2-3 mercenaries hired with French support and they sponsored the whole invasion as Scots were in alliance with the French, they supported Tudor. most of the army was foreign, but the force wasn't big.
* rhysap thomas was a welsh prominent member of gentry and his job was to let Richard know what was going on which was an important role. but, he sent false info to Richard and lulled him into a false sense of security. he supported henry.
* gilbert talbot, sir john savage, sir thomas bouchier. all slipped off into Henry's army and Richard army was a leaky sieve. Henry picked up another 1,000 totalling up to 4,000 men.
* STANLEY FAMILY: always decided at the **last minute** to join a side. Richard took lord strange captive and threatened to chop his head off so Stanley in an awkward position.

how significant was the role of France in Henry Tudor's victory?

* Commynes and Molinet (French writers who worked for the French crown at the time) claimed that the French supplied 'a large sum of money and some artillery' and that Charles VIII delivered to Tudor __60,000 Francs, 1800 troops, artillery and ships__.
* Henry was encouraged to use his loans on high quality french troops, pikemen as they were highly effective and prevented the enemy coming towards you, but would only work if they were in a formation.

what was the traditional view of the battle?

1. Henry Tudor is advancing, BUT, Richard gets there first + has the largest army.
2. the fighting starts with the Duke of Norfolk, where most of the troops were. there were lots of cannons firing at all times.
3. Norfolk eventually dies as Richard figures out he's losing his vanguard and losing in general as once a major commander loses, it reduces morale.
4. the stanley’s are set up either side of the battlefield to see who is winning but only joins winning side at last minute.
5. Tudor marches down to Stanley's to ask their verdict. Richard sees this and is charged with several hundred knights towards Tudor. high-risk strategy, it is almost a suicide mission.
6. Stanley decides to join Tudor's army very last minute and surrounds him and he is hacked to pieces

* Lord Strange (George Stanley) survives as death wasn't carried out by the time Richard died + Henry Percy didn't even end up fighting and just stayed there and did nothing.

how did Henry Tudor secure his position on the throne?

* his first business after parliament after Bosworth was to hold a parliament to establish his claim to the throne so he could attaint those who had fought against him (Richard Ratcliffe and Francis Lord Lovell).


* he claimed the throne through his own lancastrian bloodline, through his mother ---> he DID NOT mention his marriage to Elizabeth of York
* marriage to Elizabeth of York compensated for his own weak claim to the throne + tied Yorkist supporters to his dynasty. He delibrately wanted to make York's claim not as strong

how did Henry Tudor secure his position on the throne internationally

* in March 1486, INNOCENT VIII (8th) approved Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York + his title as King and strengthened his position even more.
* diplomatic treaties signed w/ England's neighbours reduced the chances for foreign aid for English rebels ---> TREATY OF ETAPLES in 1492 ---> recognised Henry as the RIGHT KING.

what were threats towards Henry and the throne?

* edward, earl of warwick was arrested at just 10 in 1485. he was allowed to succeed his lands in 1490 but kept in the tower until his death in 1499, son of Clarence. extreme threat as he had a much stronger claim
* Margaret of Burgundy had resources available and was keen to sponsor Yorkist plots. She hated henry vii with a passion. she was the ruler of Burgundy as her husband Charles, Duke of Burgundy died.
* Francis Lord Lovell was still at large and there was still general sympathy for Richard III North as people still loyal to Richard.
* the earl of kildare and the irish lords,nsupported the house of York

who did Henry give out lands + titles to?

the north: after Bosworth, Henry Percy (Earl of Northumberland) was restored to power in the North as warden of the march with Scotland but with reduced powers \n \n wales: jaspter tudor was handed the power to operate the council of wales with prince arthur (Henry's son) as the nominal head as prince of wales until his death in 1495. \n \n earl of oxford: Henry allowed him to control 4 counties; essex, norfork, suffolk + hertfordshire.

what was the Lovell Rising in 1486?

* Viscount Francis Lovell organised the first yorkist rebellion along with 2 brothers - thomas and humphrey stafford
* the plan was that he would raise the 'ricardian north' and ambush the king who was on travelling there. meanwhile the Staffords would raise men in Worcestershire.
* the Stafford Brothers failed to raise support in the Midlands, but Lovell raised a significant force from Richmondshire and Middleham.
* Henry Percy's actions were crucial as he joined Tudor at Doncaster with 33 knights and each had their own private army each (2K men), this led to Lovell's defeat.
* when the plot failed, Lovell fled to burgundy and the brothers went into sanctuary in Hampshire where they were then dragged out and Humphrey was executed.

how did Henry's own actions help to ensure that the rising was easily suppressed?

he gave out pardons to all men involved in the rising

what was the Lambert Simnel Rising between 1486-1487

in 1487: a priest named richard symonds (trained him to be a Yorkist Prince + to impersonate Edward, Earl of Warwick) confessed that he'd taken a 10-year-old boy called Lambert Simnel from oxford to ireland. it was here that Simnel began his imposture as Edward, Earl of Warwick (son of George Duke of Clarence)

who was the simnel rising sponsored by and the leaders?

* margaret of burgundy sponsored the plot, she provided 2,000 German pikemen under the mercenary caption - martin schwardz who led everyone (ultimately ends up being overwhlemed by sheer number of Henry's army - rebel army killed + dies at battle of stoke in 1487)
* plot leaders were Francis Lord Lovell, who escaped and John De La Pole (Earl of Lincoln) who ends up dying.

why did Simnel get a lot of support in Ireland?

* he was accepted as Warwick in Ireland + won the support of the earl of kildare (Deputy of Ireland) as he was crowned edward VI in Dublin Cathedral and was provided with around 5,000 Irish troops
* in June 1487, the Yorkist army led by the Earl of Lincoln landed in Furness, Lancashire and crossed into Yorkshire. they hoped to capitalise on Richard's northern supporters but failed to recruit well + partly due to the speed of their march.
* lords scrope of bolton and masham attacked York created a diversion which distracted henry percy + prevented him from joining the royal army in the midlands. the Brothers Scrope were loyal to the Neville family.

what was the Battle of Stoke in 1487?

* Lincoln + Simnel had around 8,000 men, mostly German and Irish, the Irish were not very good and had no armour and they were not experienced on the battlefield, however, they were very brave to fight.
* Henry's army outnumbered them and had a way larger army led by the Earl of Oxford (rumoured to have around 25,000 men)
* Simnel is then given a job in Henry's court and he turns him into cook.

what were strengths of the simnel rising?

* Simnel had support from Burgundy, qualified professional pikemen soldiers, led by martin schwarz.


* Ireland made Simnel a figurehead, they could promote him.
* lot of support from ireland - earl of kildare, Irish church + 5,000 men.
* john de la pole’s decision to switch sides (he'd been on Henry's council).
* scrope brothers ---> attacked York, distracted Percy.

what were weaknesses of the simnel rising?

* Irish troops weren't well trained/equipped to fight.
* Henry VII had real Earl of Warwick.
* seen as a foreign invasion, not a lot of support from England


* parading real warwick on the streets, completely diminished the plot.

what was the Topcliffe Rebellion of 1489?

* parliament voted Henry £100,000 in his quest to support brittany against France, particularly resented in Yorkshire bc other northern counties did not have to pay bc they were involved in defending the scottish border.
* sir john egrem led the rebels and Henry Percy was murdered while trying to enforce the tax at Topcliffe
* the rebellion was soon put down when Henry raised an army including Shrewsbury, Lord Hastings, Sir William Stanley and Thomas Bourchier + earl of surrey. he arrived with royal forces and Egremont fled to burgundy.
* the conflict demonstrated that Northerners were not prepared to pay for the defence of the southern border which they saw as far away.

what were the strengths of the Perkin Warbeck conspiracy between 1491-1499?

* this was the largest conspiracy against Henry VII happened for a whole decade!


* Warbeck won support of the earl of desmond ---> when Warbeck arrived in Cork, ireland he was proclaimed as richard iv (younger son of Edward IV, who escaped from the tower). he came into the city in finely dressed clothes as was proclaimed as the Yorkist Prince by the local population.
* Warbeck won french support where he was welcomed as prince and now a bargaining chip to Charles in diplomatic relations with England. Henry's response was to mount a full-scale invasion of France in October 1492
* given that October was the end of the campaigning season, Henry VII's intention was probably always to force the French to agree terms rather than fight a military campaign. Charles promised not to aid English rebels and Warbeck was EXPELLED from France.
* he gained support from Margaret or burgundy as she recognised him as her nephew said she noticed a birthmark + backed by MAXIMILLIAN (Holy Roman Empire).
* diplomatic pressures failed as Maximillian responded by blockading burgundian ports, preventing trade and banning all English wool import - England suffered badly, did this bc Henry sent out spies to uncover Warbeck's true identity to put pressure of Margaret of Burgundy for supporting claim of a commoner to the English throne
* Burgundians did not give Warbeck up and instead Maximilian took him to his father’s funeral in vienna in December 1493. this was a mark of favour and brought him even greater international recognition

what were the weaknesses of the Perkin Warbeck conspiracy between 1491-1499?

* Scottish participation was doomed to failure - wasn't well supported by James I
* after the conspirators, Stanley caught + arrested.
* Warbeck + Desmond failed to lay seige to the Castle of Waterford - after 11 days of Bloody activity Henry VII's Lord Deputy of Ireland arrived with a large company of reinforcements, Warbeck and Desmond were forced to retreat and de Lalaing lost three ships including the 'le Mare' and Warbeck fled to cornwall
* not a single major English figure, or even member of the gentry, backed Warbeck.

what were successful actions taken by Henry VII during the Perkin Warbeck conspiracy?

* Henry was very popular, so was able to raise forces to put rebels down.
* sent a strong force to Ireland under Ormond + Garth - forced Warbeck out of Ireland.
* Henry sent a full scale invasion to France in October 1492 - TREATY OF ETAPLES (Henry got paid the pension) and Warbeck expelled from France.
* his archers were well organised and the signals fires worked well.
* Henry's Deputy of Ireland forced Warbeck and Desmond out of Waterford + De Lailang lost 3 ships.

how did Margaret of Burgundy's involvement in English politics end in 1498

Warbeck blamed Burgundy as she knew he was fake. the confession was sent all over Europe and she was heavily embarrassed + resigned from politics

what was the outcome of Warbeck?

Warbeck fled to sanctuary at Beaulieu in Hampshire, where he was captured. Although at first treated leniently, he was hanged after trying to escape from the Tower of London.

what was the Cornish Tax Rebellion of 1497?

* in January 1497, Parliament voted for a tax to finance the campaign against James IV of Scotland + Warbeck, the Cornish refused to contribute the tax that was to pay for a campaign in the North - this had no impact on Cornwall
* the rebels set out from Bodmin - they marched East and gained the noblemen LORD AUDLEY as their leader at Wells. Henry had sent out an army North for the anticipated clash with James IV but now had to recall the forces back to defend london. the king's army led by LORD DAUBENEY had little trouble beating the rebels who though large in number were effectively leaderless. some 1,000 of the rebels were killed at the so-called battle of Blackheath, the leaders were put to death including Joseph and Lord Audley