Henry VII Notes
Henry’s claims to the throne & his victory at the Battle of Bosworth
Yorkist Opposition
o Henry’s Lancastrian victory at the Battle of Bosworth (War of the Roses)
against Yorkist King Richard III - August 1485
Henry’s problems
He spoke better English than French
Had very little knowledge of government
Had very little noble support - spent 14 years in exile after Lancastrians defeated at
Tewkesbury = unknown, little noble support
Very weak claim to the throne - Mother, Margaret Beaufort - descendant of Edward III
- legitimised through parliament
He was very isolated
Consolidating his throne
Marriage
Married Elizabeth of York who was a Yorkist, to unite the houses and legitimise the
throne
Didn’t marry her until after his coronation - 30th August 1485- so he could be King in
his own right
Elizabeth gave him a son, Arthur - secured his position and Tudor dynasty
Parliament
Henry had his reign dated from 21st August 1485 - before the Battle of Bosworth =
those who fought against him were traitors
He pardoned the traitors of the Battle of Bosworth
Had his coronation before parliament sat in November - they could never claim they
made him King
Grand coronation ceremony in Westminster - to show power and wealth
Tour of the Kingdom - generate support from the people
Papacy
1486 - Henry’s claim confirmed by the Pope - wrote a letter saying that it is God’s will
that Henry’s will be King. He got the support of the people
Pope made sure that if Henry died only his children could take the throne - Not
Elizabeth’s as she was a Yorkist
Pope support his claim to end the war of roses
Crucial to reduce the threat of foreign invasion
Nobility
. Acts of Attainder against Richard & 28 of his followers - imprisoned ensuring
threat limited
Rewarded his supporters - Lord Stanley honoured with a title, Jasper Tudor given
authority in Wales
Gave Yorkists who supported Richard a second chance to encourage others to
support him - Duke Northumberland restored to control the North
Rebellions
Dynastic threats
,Lambert Simnel 1486-7
Simnel claimed to be Edward, Earl of Warwick - Richard III’s nephew (Yorkist)
He was crowned Edward VI in Ireland & was supported by Margaret of Burgundy,
Earl of Kildare & Earl of Lincoln
o Margaret paid for 2000 mercenaries
Henry found the real Edward and paraded him through London
Simnel captured and worked in kitchens
Irish troops hung and fined Yorkists leader
North devastated by war, Yorkist support weak after Bosworth, no common
enthusiasm for cause - dependant on foreign support
Roger Turvey - “That such a ridiculous scheme almost succeeded shows how fragile
Henry’s grip on the throne”
Lovell and Stafford 1486
Lovell and the stafford brothers tried to raise a rebellion in York and Worcestershire
Dynastic rebellion - wanted to restore house of York
o They were friends with Richard III
Spies heard of rebellion - sent his Uncle Jasper Tudor into the countryside with a
pardon for every rebel but Lovell which drained support
Humphrey Stafford was executed
No Yorkist pretender to rally around, low rebel numbers
Perkin Warbeck 1491-99
Warbeck claimed to be Richard, Duke of York and French Charles VIII received him
in France in 1492 as a Prince
Treaty of Etaples - France and England, agreement not to house rebels in their
country
1493 Warbeck taught Yorkist ways by Margaret of Burgundy - H7 imposed a (cloth)
trade ban on Burgundy for harbouring Warbeck
1495 - fled to Scotland & given royal welcome - married James IV cousin - signed the
Treaty of Ayton = James supplied Warbeck with 1500 troops - unsuccessful invasion
Warbeck landed in Cornwall - profit from anger - Cornish Rebellion 1497 - little
support
Arrested + executed with the Earl of Warwick
Yorkshire rebellion 1489
Yorkshire suffered bad harvest + taxed to raise money for war with France - other
Northern counties were exempt
Army easily crushed by Henry + appointed a representative in the North - Earl of
Surrey
Not a dynastic aim to rally around, no foreign support, royal authority weak in the
North
The White Rose Rebellion: Edmund de la Pole 1499-1506
Edmund de la Pole punished for brother’s role in rebellions & forced to pay £5000 to
inherit some of his father’s land
Edmund was the nephew of Edward IV and Richard III - legitimate Yorkist claim to
throne
1501 Edmund & brother fled and sought help from Maximilian = Henry arrested 51
suspected confederates
3 of Henry’s children died within 4 years inc eldest son - Arthur
H7 gave Maximilian £10,000 to stop aiding pretenders but Maximilian continued - cut
off all trade
, 1506 - freak storm caused Philip of Burgundy to land in England - hand over Edmund
to spare his life & held de la Pole captive in tower
Imprisoned de la Pole’s relations
Sir James Tyrell - forced to confess he killed the 2 princes to prevent more
pretenders
Economic Threats
Cornish Rebellion 1497
Angry at tax to fund war on the Northern border against Scotland & minor gentry rose
up due to discontent of Henry’s governing
Blackheath June 1497 - Royal army of 25,000 crushed rebels
Tortured, fined & executed leaders - no more free pardons
Only 15,000 rebels & 1 noble Lord Audley, numbers declined as rebels approached
London.
J.P.D Cooper - ‘Suggested that the protests were more complex... & displayed
resentment against the government’
Henry VII’s Government
Relations with the nobility - Rewards & Punishments
Nobility Threat
Many nobles supported Richard III - gained rewards from him
Could provide leadership & force for a rebellion - usurp H7 the usurper
Poor finances of the crown - civil war
How Henry controlled the Nobility
1. Carrots 2. Sticks
Patronage - Power, titles, Acts of Attainder - Led to a family losing the right
land = loyal service to passes & its land (reversible)
o Earl of Oxford - major o H7 passed 138 attainders & reversed 46
landowner in East compared to Edward IV who passed 140
Anglia for support in o Earl of Surrey fought for Richard III at
Bosworth Bosworth = March 1486 land attained but
o Lord Daubeney restored main Howard estate after quelling
promoted to peerage Yorkshire rising April 1489
- for leading royal
forces against
Cornish rebels
o Truly valued and
wasn’t bestowed
lightly
Order of the Garter - Honour Bonds & Recognisances - Nobles promised
Henry’s claims to the throne & his victory at the Battle of Bosworth
Yorkist Opposition
o Henry’s Lancastrian victory at the Battle of Bosworth (War of the Roses)
against Yorkist King Richard III - August 1485
Henry’s problems
He spoke better English than French
Had very little knowledge of government
Had very little noble support - spent 14 years in exile after Lancastrians defeated at
Tewkesbury = unknown, little noble support
Very weak claim to the throne - Mother, Margaret Beaufort - descendant of Edward III
- legitimised through parliament
He was very isolated
Consolidating his throne
Marriage
Married Elizabeth of York who was a Yorkist, to unite the houses and legitimise the
throne
Didn’t marry her until after his coronation - 30th August 1485- so he could be King in
his own right
Elizabeth gave him a son, Arthur - secured his position and Tudor dynasty
Parliament
Henry had his reign dated from 21st August 1485 - before the Battle of Bosworth =
those who fought against him were traitors
He pardoned the traitors of the Battle of Bosworth
Had his coronation before parliament sat in November - they could never claim they
made him King
Grand coronation ceremony in Westminster - to show power and wealth
Tour of the Kingdom - generate support from the people
Papacy
1486 - Henry’s claim confirmed by the Pope - wrote a letter saying that it is God’s will
that Henry’s will be King. He got the support of the people
Pope made sure that if Henry died only his children could take the throne - Not
Elizabeth’s as she was a Yorkist
Pope support his claim to end the war of roses
Crucial to reduce the threat of foreign invasion
Nobility
. Acts of Attainder against Richard & 28 of his followers - imprisoned ensuring
threat limited
Rewarded his supporters - Lord Stanley honoured with a title, Jasper Tudor given
authority in Wales
Gave Yorkists who supported Richard a second chance to encourage others to
support him - Duke Northumberland restored to control the North
Rebellions
Dynastic threats
,Lambert Simnel 1486-7
Simnel claimed to be Edward, Earl of Warwick - Richard III’s nephew (Yorkist)
He was crowned Edward VI in Ireland & was supported by Margaret of Burgundy,
Earl of Kildare & Earl of Lincoln
o Margaret paid for 2000 mercenaries
Henry found the real Edward and paraded him through London
Simnel captured and worked in kitchens
Irish troops hung and fined Yorkists leader
North devastated by war, Yorkist support weak after Bosworth, no common
enthusiasm for cause - dependant on foreign support
Roger Turvey - “That such a ridiculous scheme almost succeeded shows how fragile
Henry’s grip on the throne”
Lovell and Stafford 1486
Lovell and the stafford brothers tried to raise a rebellion in York and Worcestershire
Dynastic rebellion - wanted to restore house of York
o They were friends with Richard III
Spies heard of rebellion - sent his Uncle Jasper Tudor into the countryside with a
pardon for every rebel but Lovell which drained support
Humphrey Stafford was executed
No Yorkist pretender to rally around, low rebel numbers
Perkin Warbeck 1491-99
Warbeck claimed to be Richard, Duke of York and French Charles VIII received him
in France in 1492 as a Prince
Treaty of Etaples - France and England, agreement not to house rebels in their
country
1493 Warbeck taught Yorkist ways by Margaret of Burgundy - H7 imposed a (cloth)
trade ban on Burgundy for harbouring Warbeck
1495 - fled to Scotland & given royal welcome - married James IV cousin - signed the
Treaty of Ayton = James supplied Warbeck with 1500 troops - unsuccessful invasion
Warbeck landed in Cornwall - profit from anger - Cornish Rebellion 1497 - little
support
Arrested + executed with the Earl of Warwick
Yorkshire rebellion 1489
Yorkshire suffered bad harvest + taxed to raise money for war with France - other
Northern counties were exempt
Army easily crushed by Henry + appointed a representative in the North - Earl of
Surrey
Not a dynastic aim to rally around, no foreign support, royal authority weak in the
North
The White Rose Rebellion: Edmund de la Pole 1499-1506
Edmund de la Pole punished for brother’s role in rebellions & forced to pay £5000 to
inherit some of his father’s land
Edmund was the nephew of Edward IV and Richard III - legitimate Yorkist claim to
throne
1501 Edmund & brother fled and sought help from Maximilian = Henry arrested 51
suspected confederates
3 of Henry’s children died within 4 years inc eldest son - Arthur
H7 gave Maximilian £10,000 to stop aiding pretenders but Maximilian continued - cut
off all trade
, 1506 - freak storm caused Philip of Burgundy to land in England - hand over Edmund
to spare his life & held de la Pole captive in tower
Imprisoned de la Pole’s relations
Sir James Tyrell - forced to confess he killed the 2 princes to prevent more
pretenders
Economic Threats
Cornish Rebellion 1497
Angry at tax to fund war on the Northern border against Scotland & minor gentry rose
up due to discontent of Henry’s governing
Blackheath June 1497 - Royal army of 25,000 crushed rebels
Tortured, fined & executed leaders - no more free pardons
Only 15,000 rebels & 1 noble Lord Audley, numbers declined as rebels approached
London.
J.P.D Cooper - ‘Suggested that the protests were more complex... & displayed
resentment against the government’
Henry VII’s Government
Relations with the nobility - Rewards & Punishments
Nobility Threat
Many nobles supported Richard III - gained rewards from him
Could provide leadership & force for a rebellion - usurp H7 the usurper
Poor finances of the crown - civil war
How Henry controlled the Nobility
1. Carrots 2. Sticks
Patronage - Power, titles, Acts of Attainder - Led to a family losing the right
land = loyal service to passes & its land (reversible)
o Earl of Oxford - major o H7 passed 138 attainders & reversed 46
landowner in East compared to Edward IV who passed 140
Anglia for support in o Earl of Surrey fought for Richard III at
Bosworth Bosworth = March 1486 land attained but
o Lord Daubeney restored main Howard estate after quelling
promoted to peerage Yorkshire rising April 1489
- for leading royal
forces against
Cornish rebels
o Truly valued and
wasn’t bestowed
lightly
Order of the Garter - Honour Bonds & Recognisances - Nobles promised
