Challenging the succession 1485 - 99

Henry Tudor’s hold on the throne, 1485–87: the impact of Bosworth 1485; measures to secure his throne; the roles of the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions.

● The nature and extent of the challenges of Lambert Simnel, 1486–87, and Perkin Warbeck, 1491–99, and how they were overcome.

● The significance of support for the challengers from Burgundy, France, Scotland and Ireland.

How effectively did Henry Tudor secure his hold on the throne in the years 1485 1487?

Intro:

  • After the Battle of Bosworth Henry was seen as a usuper and illegitimate through his mother

  • When he became king in 1485 many rivals had a much stronger claim to the throne than he did :

    • John De Pole

    • Elizabeth of York

    • Earl of Warwick

    • Edward IV’s two sons

  • Henry used a plethora of means to secure his poistion:

    • marriage to Elizabeth

    • Religious means

    • Loop holes

  • However, due to the various rebellions against him, I would argue that these measures were only superficially successful

Secured:

P - Protected his position after the BoB

E - Parl declared his reign started on the 21st August 1485 - the day before Richards death - making HIM the usuper not Henry

E - This is significant because it shows Henry was the rightful king - DROK to religious society and means he cane punish all those who supported Richard. But Henry only punished through cautious recon through land and property - this did not make him look like a merciless ruler

L - This added his position on the throne as he appeared virtuous and gracious - all qualities of a monarch - he was rightful King.

Not secured:

P - Gave in too lightly to traitors

E - Only very limited executions which made Henry look weak under the Act of Attainder ( declare someone guilty of a crime )

E - Within this, he trusted Yorkists such as John De Pole who ended up stabbing him in the back on the Royal Council. John De Pole was then later involved in plot regarding Lambert Simnel in 1486

L - This made Henry look naive as one of those most trusted to him betrayed him. Therefore, I would argue cautious rec was less effective in securing Henry’s position as it made him look like a weak leader and arose questions about his ability to rule

Secured:

P - Reinforced that it was his God given right to rule through coronation

E - Significant in highly religious society in 1485 - allowed him to restore legitimacy. He also claimed that Richards death was punishment from God for the plot against his nephews which was rumoured to get him on the throne

E - This furthered confirmed Henry’s legitimacy on the throne and that he was merely protecting his country from a sinful King

L - The notion that Henry had the god given right to rule held a lot of weight in Catholic England and helped him secure the throne

Not secure:

P - The vast rebellions faced by Henry proves little consent for his kingship by the people

E - After Thomas and Humfrey Stafford and Francis Lovell escaped Bosworth they tried to raise a rebellion in the North in the name of the Earl of Warwick - rumoured to escape the Tower of London

E - Despite Henry putting these rebellions down the very fact that people were willing to rebel proves that significant opposition was faced for Henry. This was then furthered by Simnel and Warbeck

L - The fact opposition were willing to actively rebel against Henry shows that his position on the throne definitely wasn’t secure

Secure:

P - Cancelling out Yorkist threat by marrying Elizabeth and having a child

E - Henry did this by not only marrying Elizabeth yet having a child with her - he was able to do this by the use of the Titilus Regius - declared Elizabeth legitimate. This united the families, not only through religious means of marriage yet through the blood of their baby

E - This was clever as the Yorkists were less likely to rebel with a common family member, especially a baby, uniting their bloodlines - heir

L - Attempted to secure tudor position as well as tudour dynasty but ultimately failed as Yorkists still opposed him actively.

Conc : Superficial success. People were not consenting due to rebellions yet they also weren’t actively opposing ( yet ) and if they were it failed to gather momentum. The fact Henry remained on the throne provides evidence of weak opposition.

How serious was the threat imposed by Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck

Intro:

  • Although both attempted plots amounted to nothing, the threats they imposed at the time were very real

  • Henry was able to put down both of the pretenders and their supporters, however the very fact that he had to battle for his kingship is very significant.

  • I would argue, Simnel more than Waebeck due to the battle, but both should be accurately declared as serious

P - The threat from Lambert Simnel was serious

E - Simnel was impersonating the Earl of Warwick, which Henry had locked up in the Tower of London - very naive error as Henry was simply able to present the real Earl. Neverthless, this rebellion gained momentum with support from:

  • Yorkist John De Pole

  • Francis Lovell

  • Maragaret of Burgundy - who helped finance troops to fight Henry - 2000 German mercinaries

  • Irish nobility - Earl of Kildare

E - They crown Simnel king of Dublin then begin to march South to Stoke for The Battle of Stoke 1487. However, Henry managed to put down the rebellion. As he began to recieve intelligence about where the rebels were.

L - None the less, despite the victory. Simnel imposed real threat to Henry, so much so that he accumulated enough support to make Henry battle for this throne. Amongst the dangerous mix of foreign and Yorkist support, Henry was lucky he had learned from the Battle of Bosworth and was prepared.

P - However, it would be argued that the threat imposed by Simnel should not be over-stated due to lack of popular support

E - The rebels made many mistakes when declaring they had the Earl of Warwick. Furthermore, those die-hard Yorkists who were willing to support Simnel were at a minority by 1487

E - They lacked support. Supporters in the north did not flock to accompany the rebels. Which is significant as the north was a Richard 111 strong hold. If the north were unlikley to participate it is unlikley the rest of the UK will. People arguably preffered stability and order - unwilling to risk property in a rebellion again, so Henry gathered royal support.

L - However, I would still argue that the threat impose by Simnel was serious. De la Pole was on Henry’s Royal Council and supported the rebellion - which reveals Henry’s naivety firstly. Secondly, the very fact Henry had to fight for his throne as a result of a pretender, that he could quite easily dissprove with the real Earl, provides sufficient evidence that Henry felt he was under threat and felt the need to fight back.

P - It could be argued that the threat from pretender Perkin Warbeck ( 1491 - 99 ) was serious

E - This is because he had strong international dimension in comparison to Simnel including:

  • Charles VIII, king of France

  • Margaret of Burgundy

  • Phillip of Burgundy

  • Holy Roman Empirier Maximillian

  • James IV

  • However Irish less keen this time

E - Warbecks early challenge ( 1491 - 95 ):

  • Initially Warbecks reception was mixed, especially when he arrived in Cork from backlash from Simnel

  • However, he did gain the support of Margaret who said she ‘recognised’ him from when he was 7. So agents of burgundy were already trying to infiltrate England

  • Stanley - Henry’s friend at Bosworth - was also in on this but that got him executed by the plot still continued

    Not very much in beginning

E - Warbecks challenge later ( 1495 - 97 )

  • The king was forced to raise taxes in 1497 to fight Warbeck - provoked a rebellion in Cornwall - this distracted Henry and he had to divert his troops away from Warbeck

  • Significant - this exposed once again Henry’s naivety as he lost focus

L - Despite the victory once again, the fact another opposition broke out with such dimensional international support provides sufficient evidence that Henry was under threat. However, I would conclude that the threat from Warbeck was not as significant as Simnel - this is arguably due to the fact people saw the failure of Simnel. But the fact it happened AGAIN and Henry was prepared to send troops - significant

P - The threat imposed by Warbeck was not significant

E - Warbeck fundamentally lacked sufficient support to fight Henry and win. By the time Warbeck was a threat it was 1491 and Henry had acquirred sufficient loyalty in his 6 years of kingship.

E - John De la Pole dead, Earl of Warwick in Tower - Yorkist threat was extremely minimal. Henry also used his children to build a Tudor dynasty which helped with alliances with places such as Spain - Treaty of Medina Del Camp 1489 ( first time major European power recognised him as rightful king )

E - Henry was able to survive due to having more resources than Warbeck and his position was rather secure by the time he was threat , working simultaneously with the fact Warbeck lacked sufficient support.

L - Despite Warbecks ability to attract foreign support, he was unable to attain them, i.e. James IV grew tired of him after Cornwall. He was unable to attract sufficient domestic support either. The fact Henry faced another pretender is significant as it shows a lack of consent as him for King, esp amongst foreigners. However, the fact this discontent was not strong enough to attain support for Warbeck proves that the threat was not too significant.

The significance of support for the challengers from Burgundy, France, Scotland and Ireland

Intro:

  • Henry faced opposition on the throne from both pretenders Simnel and Warbeck - which was intensified by their foreign support

  • This includes Margaret and Burgundy, Charles VII, Kildare, Emporer Maximillian

  • Arguably there significance wouldn’t have been as dangerous without this support

  • However, none of them actually succeeded so support can not be that significant

P - Some would argue the support from Margaret of Burgundy is the most significant foreign support for the challengers because she was involved in both rebellions and was a powerful Yorkist. Burgundy imposed more of a consistent threat than the others.

E - Lambert Simnel - Margaret raised and funded Simnels army which ultimately lead to the Battle of Stoke

E - Perkin Warbeck - More international dimension - Marg and Maximillian ( funeral of previous empire invite ) through Marg - she recognised him as her nephew as she was determined to remove Henry off of the throne and she sent recruits to infilfrate England to raise an army. She took him in when he fled France

L - However, both Margarets threats failed and Henry remained on the throne. Despite her ability to oppose such a threat Henry had to fight for his throne. BUT Henry did have to take significant actions i.e. trade embargo despite hurting England financially. However, after 1496 their relationship was essentially mended

P - There was significant support from Ireland for the pretenders

E - When Simnel first came on the scene he went to Ireland which was a Yorkist base and Irish nobels such as Kildare declared him King of Dublin. They also helped raise an army and for Simnel to Stoke 1487. This international threat increased danger for Henry.

E - However, the nobels never actually joined the army and by the time the battle took place they just wanted stability.

As well as this, when Warbeck landed in Ireland Cork all 3 times he received no Irish support as similarly by this time they accepted that Henry was King and didn’t want more blood loss. Without Kildares support Warbeck was unable to build an army

L - Superficial Irish threat as it never truley reached the surface as when it came to the actual battel they provided minimal support other than a base.

P - There was significant support for the pretenders from Scotland

E - 1482 James III faced many rebellions when trying to make alliance with England. 1486 they made a truce for 3 years and any threat from Scotland was neutralised. His son took over in 1488 just at 15! He needed to reassert control over Scotland so he did this by supporting Warbeck!

E - He did this by plotting with France and Burgundy, by preparing a marriage with his cousin - Lady Catherine Gordon. This was BAD news for Henry especially when he was trying to form an alliance with Spain. James supplied the army when invaded Engalnd!!

L - However, the invasion was short-lived and by the time Warbeck was actually a threat James was bored. None the less, Henry took measures such as negotating a marriage between James and his daughter to neautrialise the threat. Scotland left foor good July 1497. James married princess Margaret in 1503 and all was well.

P - It could be argued that France offered significant support

E - France was in an alliance with Scotland. The hatred truly began after France siezed Britanny in 1489 even though Henry tried ti defend with 300 troops he failed to do so.

This consequently lead to 1489 revolts. Henry was now extra cautious with foreign policy

E - Therefore, his willingness to invade France in 1492 represented a serious threat from France when supporting Warbeck . Henry wanted to inconvenience France enough so that they did not inavde England. However, ended up negotiating Treaty of Etaples to invade Italy allowing him to revenge after loss of Brittany

L - France entered Italian wars in 1494 which was a lucky escape for Henry as their intentions shifted and they were distracted otherwise France may have been a more powerful threat