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Consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty - Coggle Diagram
Consolidation of the Tudor Dynasty
Henry VII's Consolodation of Tudor Dynasty
Henry VII's character and aims
Henry VII's character
was respected, efficient, intelligent and shrewd, but not popular - he also developed a reputation for greed
Henry VII loved his wife, Elizabeth of York, but gave her no political influence
Margaret Beaufort (Henry's mother), Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Oxford, John Morton and Richard Fox were his closest confidants
understood court politics and did not trust anyone outside of a small group of people
Henry VII's approach to kingship
liked to double-check information he was given
checked all account entries himself
involved himself in everything, even the details of day-to-day government
Henry VII's aims
most important aim was to maintain a strong hold on his throne and pass it on to heirs. To do this he had to:
establish his right to the throne. by winning the Battle of Bosworth, he had right of conquest but disown claim was weak
control the nobility. The War of Roses had been caused by over-mighty nobles and a weak king
strengthen the Crown's control of England
to achieve his aims Henry had to build a financially strong Crown
Henry VII's claim to the throne
weak because it was through his mother and she was descended from a once illegitimate branch of the Lancastarians
there were several Yorkists with better claims than Henry VII which were:
Elizabeth of York - the eldest daughter of Edward IV
Edward, Earl of Warwick - who was Edward IV's and Richard III's nephew by their brother, George
John, Edmund and Richard de la Pole, nephews od Edward IV and Richard III by their sister, the duchess of Suffolk
establishing the Tudor Dynasty
coronation
on the 30th October 1485
highly symbolic event that anointed him by God's grace
involved England's nobles all taking public oath of loyalty to him
parliament
first convened parliament on 7th November 1485
the date is important because Henry made sure he had already been crowned - this meat his authority was not dependant on parliament
legitimising his reign
this meant he could declare all Yorkist traitors and try them fro treason
the Crown could therefore take Yorkist property
Henry VII dated his reign to 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth
marriage
significant because it united the warring families of Lancaster and York - any descendent would come from both houses
a child would mean the Tudoe legacy would live on after Henry VII
on 18th jan 1486, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York
because he was already king, Henry VII made sure his authority was not linked to Elizabeth's heritage
was always aware he could be usurped and to try and prevent this he established it. he needed to legitimise his own authority and have a Tudor line of succession
Henry VII & Succession
securing the Tudor Succession
Perkin Warbeck
in 1497, Warbeck allied himself to King James IV of Scotland
Warbeck landed in England and tried to gather support
was welcomed in France until the Treaty of Étaples and later Burgundy
he was executed in 1499, along with Edward, Earl of Warwick
preteneded to be Richard, Duke of York, the younger son of Edward IV who had disappeared in 1483
Henry VII was able to make useful foreign alliances as he dealt with Warbeck
Edmund de la Pole
fled England for the Holy Roman Empire in 1501
Henry V11 arrested members of his family and friends
he had grievances against Henry VII, including losing some land to the Crown, having to pay a relief of £5,000 and being demoted from Duke to Earl
in 1506, H negotiated the handing over of Edmund from the Holy Roman Empire - he agreed to not execute him
unlike Simnel and Warbeck, he had a genuine claim to the throne
De la Pole stayed in the Tower of London until he was executed in 1513
Lambert Simnel
although the real Earl of Warwick was alive, a rebellion still erupted
the rebels, led by Earl of Lincoln fought Henry VII's forces at the Battle of Stoke in 1487
welcomed in Ireland by Earl of Kildare and was crowned king of England there
several leading Yorkists were killed and Simnel was arrested
pretended to to be Edward, Earl of Warwick
Henry VII capitalised on the death of leading Yorkists and gained oaths of loyalists from other Yorkists
Historical Assessment
Jez Ross (2012) argues that 'Henry VII was never in serious danger of losing his throne to either a rebellion or a conspiracy.'
Two factors would need to combine to make this happen:
'First, those seeking the throne needed to be credible and viable alternatives to him'
'Second, Henry V11 had to be isolated and there needed to be enough domestic support for an invasion to ensure that it did not look like a self-interested act of political speculation by either foreign powers or isolated English malcontents.'
Henry VII's Councils and Parliament
Henry VII's Councils
The Royal Councils
although 227 men were listed, it was a much smaller group that met
John Morton and Reginal Bray were two important councillors
advised Henry and helped him with day-to-day government