Henry VII Threats and Rebellions

Henry VII Threats and Rebellions

Viscount Lovell and Humphrey Stafford

1486

Lovell tried to raise a rebellion in the North Riding of Yorkshire where Richard III had a lot of support and Lovell escaped

Stafford tried to raise forces against Henry in the Yorkist area of the Midlands but was captured and executed. However, his younger brother Thomas was pardoned.

There was little enthusiasm for a Yorkist uprising

Lambert Simnel and the rebellion of the Earl of Lincoln

Leading Yorkists realised that they needed a figurehead and financial support to build a stronger military

Lambert Simnel pretended to be the Earl of Warwick who had been imprisoned by Henry

Crowned as King Edward in Ireland

Organised by John de la Pole

Henry exhibited the real Earl of Warwick in London

John de la Pole fled from the court and joined Lovell at the court of Margaret of Burgundy in the Netherlands

Persuaded Margaret to support Simnel's claim and to pay for mercenaries to invade England

Henry knew it was being planned and reinstated the untrustworthy Earl of Northumberland as Richard III's powerbase was in the North of England (he previously led a large part of Richard's army at Bosworth) and this helped to neutralise the area and ensured that the Yorkist Howard family did not join the conspiracy. He also reinforced coastal defences in East Anglia.

Rebels landed on the northwest coast in Cumberland and crossed the Pennines to get support in the North Riding of Yorkshire but the Yorkist gentry of the North Riding were reluctant to commit

Battle of Stoke Field 1487

Henry gathered advisors including the relatives of former Yorkists who had been victims of Richard III

2 armies met at East Stoke

Henry was worried he may be double crossed like Richard was at Bosworth

Henry's army was led effectively by the Earl of Oxford

The Earl of Lincoln was killed as he had not gathered enough followers to add to the mercenaries

Henry won

Henry had not been very severe in his treatment of those who had rebelled which weakened the Yorkists' resolve to oppose him

Perkin Warbeck

The Cornish Rebellion 1497

The Yorkshire Rebellion 1489

Cloth trader from Tournai in Flanders

Threat over a period of 8 years

Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York

Able to attract patronage from foreign rulers which made him into a potentially serious threat and demonstrated how other rulers saw Henrys's position as fragile

1491: impersonated Richard in Ireland

Went to the Court of Margaret of Burgundy where he was trained as a Yorkist prince and began to draw English courtiers into his conspiracies

Tried to land in England in 1495 but Henry had be informed by a royal agent (Sir Robert Clifford) who had infiltrated Warwick's group

Warbeck was defeated and fled to the court of James IV of Scotland

Sir William Stanley was Henry's step-uncle and Lord Chamberlain and headed the royal household. Sir William Stanley was an accomplice in the threat and also very close to Henry at a time of household government.

The attempt was over after James took Henry's offer of marriage to his daughter Margaret

Warbeck tried again during the Cornish Rebellion 1497 but his forces were crushed and he surrendered to the king

Henry allowed him to stay at court but then put him in the Tower of London after he tried to abscond and he was then executed after being accused of trying to escape with the Earl of Warwick which also enabled Henry to get rid of the Earl of Warwick who was potentially the most obvious Yorkist claimant to the throne

Really brought an end to the Wars of the Roses

Resentment of the taxation granted by Parliament in 1489 to finance the involvement of English forces in the campaign of Brittany

Rebels (his tenants) murdered the Earl of Northumberland outside Topcliffe near Thirsk in the North Riding of Yorkshire in April. Northumberland's retainers allowed the tenants to do so by deserting him as punishment for his own desertion of Richard III at Bosworth.

Need for revenue to finance the campaign against Scotland

Greater threat than the Yorkshire rebellion

15,000 involved

Attempt to exploit rebellion made by Perkin Warbeck

The rebels marched on London and were only stopped at Blackheath which was alarming as they marched a long way before any serious attempt was made to stop them.

Crushed easily by Lord Daubeney and the rebel leaders such as Lord Audley were executed but he was lenient with most of the rebels

Shocked Henry into ensuring that Anglo-Scottish tensions were ended and made him cautious about entering into any foreign conflict