Essay Plan – ‘Eliminating pretenders to the throne from 1490 onwards was the greatest success of
Henry VII’s consolidation of power’.
Paragraph One – establishing right to rule vs Perkin Warbeck
Establishing right to rule at start of reign greatest success as that was when Henry was at his
most precarious – backdated reign and Parliament (see essay)
However, this had only consolidated power in the short-term. After thirty years of turbulent
conflict between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, many were war-fatigued and thus acquiesced
simply out of an unwillingness to fight.
When PW began to impersonate the DoY in 1491, this was not the case – garnered support
of foreign powers with the resources to fight.
PW not a threat in himself – support from foreign leaders made him serious threat.
Warbeck was the most persistent and serious threat – over period of 8 years.
Received hospitality of Charles VIII, Margaret of Burgundy and James IV
Henry adopted a pragmatic and discriminative approach to mitigate threat, ensuring
national security not destabilised by invasion from more powerful countries.
Henry placed an embargo on the Burgundy between 1492 in response to Maximilian and
Philip of Burgundy offering hospitality towards Perkin Warbeck.
Henry exhibited his readiness to sacrifice trade for dynastic recognition to ensure his
priorities were fulfilled. The embargo eventually led to the expulsion of Perkin Warbeck from
Burgundy in 1496 with the ratification of the major commercial treaty, the Intercursus
Magnus, which restored trading links between England and Burgundy.
Scotland, as Steven Gunn notes, ‘was perhaps the greatest crisis of Henry VII’s reign’, with
Perkin Warbeck crossing into the English border in 1496, leading an army funded by James
IV. Although the invasion was a fiasco, the betrayal of Sir William Stanley revealed how
Henry could be double-crossed even by those in his inner circle – serious threat
After attempting to exploit in the 1497 Cornish Rebellion, Warbeck was captured and
eventually executed in 1499: as Elton notes, he had ‘earned his fate several times over 1’.
Despite this, Henry’s swift mobilisation of the English army, which led to Warbeck’s retreat,
bolstered England’s national security and eventually led to the expulsion of Warbeck from
Scotland after 1497 Truce of Ayton.
Overall, Henry valued dynastic and national security the most – seen in willingness to
sacrifice trade. Perkin Warbeck, as historians readily agree, was greatest and most persistent
threat to stability – therefore greatest success in consolidating power.
Paragraph Two – Battle of Stoke Field 1487 vs Edmund de la Pole, Earl Suffolk
Still faced threats from abroad in 1487. John de la Pole was a nephew of Edward IV and
Richard III – strong claim to the throne. Lambert Simnel, as Elton notes, ‘first of the serious
conspiracies’
Margaret of Burgundy persuaded to support Simnel’s bogus claim and paid for a force of
mercenaries to invade England
Henry’s release and reinstatement of the Earl of Surrey in the North in April 1489 proved to
be an astute move as Surrey ultimately quashed two uprisings in Yorkshire. Additionally,
Henry entrusted the Earl of Oxford at the Battle of Stoke in June 1487 which was an equally
tactical move.
1
Geoffrey Elton, England Under the Tudors, 3rd edition, 1991
Henry VII’s consolidation of power’.
Paragraph One – establishing right to rule vs Perkin Warbeck
Establishing right to rule at start of reign greatest success as that was when Henry was at his
most precarious – backdated reign and Parliament (see essay)
However, this had only consolidated power in the short-term. After thirty years of turbulent
conflict between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, many were war-fatigued and thus acquiesced
simply out of an unwillingness to fight.
When PW began to impersonate the DoY in 1491, this was not the case – garnered support
of foreign powers with the resources to fight.
PW not a threat in himself – support from foreign leaders made him serious threat.
Warbeck was the most persistent and serious threat – over period of 8 years.
Received hospitality of Charles VIII, Margaret of Burgundy and James IV
Henry adopted a pragmatic and discriminative approach to mitigate threat, ensuring
national security not destabilised by invasion from more powerful countries.
Henry placed an embargo on the Burgundy between 1492 in response to Maximilian and
Philip of Burgundy offering hospitality towards Perkin Warbeck.
Henry exhibited his readiness to sacrifice trade for dynastic recognition to ensure his
priorities were fulfilled. The embargo eventually led to the expulsion of Perkin Warbeck from
Burgundy in 1496 with the ratification of the major commercial treaty, the Intercursus
Magnus, which restored trading links between England and Burgundy.
Scotland, as Steven Gunn notes, ‘was perhaps the greatest crisis of Henry VII’s reign’, with
Perkin Warbeck crossing into the English border in 1496, leading an army funded by James
IV. Although the invasion was a fiasco, the betrayal of Sir William Stanley revealed how
Henry could be double-crossed even by those in his inner circle – serious threat
After attempting to exploit in the 1497 Cornish Rebellion, Warbeck was captured and
eventually executed in 1499: as Elton notes, he had ‘earned his fate several times over 1’.
Despite this, Henry’s swift mobilisation of the English army, which led to Warbeck’s retreat,
bolstered England’s national security and eventually led to the expulsion of Warbeck from
Scotland after 1497 Truce of Ayton.
Overall, Henry valued dynastic and national security the most – seen in willingness to
sacrifice trade. Perkin Warbeck, as historians readily agree, was greatest and most persistent
threat to stability – therefore greatest success in consolidating power.
Paragraph Two – Battle of Stoke Field 1487 vs Edmund de la Pole, Earl Suffolk
Still faced threats from abroad in 1487. John de la Pole was a nephew of Edward IV and
Richard III – strong claim to the throne. Lambert Simnel, as Elton notes, ‘first of the serious
conspiracies’
Margaret of Burgundy persuaded to support Simnel’s bogus claim and paid for a force of
mercenaries to invade England
Henry’s release and reinstatement of the Earl of Surrey in the North in April 1489 proved to
be an astute move as Surrey ultimately quashed two uprisings in Yorkshire. Additionally,
Henry entrusted the Earl of Oxford at the Battle of Stoke in June 1487 which was an equally
tactical move.
1
Geoffrey Elton, England Under the Tudors, 3rd edition, 1991
