Henry VII

• 3 reasons Henry's claim to the throne was weak?

  his claim through his mother was weak

  he was relatively unknown due to being in exile for 14 years

  viewed as only having the throne through defeating Richard III and not legitimacy
• 3 reasons why Henry's position was strong?

  Richard III was unpopular

  country was weary of war following War of The Roses

  Richard III and other big claimants dead
• the war of the roses was from 1455-1485
• the battle of bosworth was august 1485
• 4 ways Henry consolidated his power?

  dated start of his reign before Bosworth - called them traitors and seized land increased his wealth

  set coronation before parliament met

  married Elizabeth of York to unite Lancastrians and yorkists

  gave yorkists supporters second chances
• 3 yorkist opposition were Lovell and Stafford brothers, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck
• Lovell and Stafford brothers were loyal supporters of Richard and attempted to raise a rebellion in spring 1486
• how did henry deal with lovell and staffords so easily?

  he had spies that told him - causing lovell to flee to Flanders and Staffords seek sanctuary
• who did lambert simnel pretend to be?

  Earl of Warwick - Richard III's nephew
• 3 reasons why lambert simnel was a major threat?

  Impersonating the Earl of Warwick forced him into battle

  Henry was not aware of the rising until 1 year later in 1487

  Simnel was crowned Edward VI in Ireland and gained support from Margaret of Burgundy
• Henry dealt with rising by parading the real Earl of Warwick and raised an army to confront Simnel at Stoke - he won the Battle of Stoke
• perkin warbeck pretended to be duke of york - real duke was murdered so Henry could not parade the real one
• which countries did warbeck gain international support from?

  France, Burgundy and Scotland
• warbeck lost international support from france because of henry signing treaty of etaples and lost scottish support after failing to invade england from the north
• warbeck was not a direct threat but lasted a long time before giving himself up in 1497 and executed in 1499
• 2 methods Henry VII used to control the nobility?

  Inductments and Sanctions
• 3 inducement rewards Henry gave out?

  gave second chances to those who fought against him at Bosworth

  established order of the garter (knighthood) for nobles proving their loyal

  issued summons to kings council, showed trust
• 4 sanctions/punishments Henry used on the nobility?

  Acts of Attainder - families lost the right to possess land which brought socio-economic disaster on families

  bonds and recognisances for nobles who offended the king had to pay him money

  henry asserted rights over feudal marriage - you had to pay for arranged marriage

  Act of Resumption in 1486 - allowed Henry to take former royal land
• what were 3 consequences from Henry's nobility policies?

  little noble unrest following Simnel

  number of mighty nobles reduced

  acts of attainder caused disquiet and risk of civil war
• 3 ways Henry VII strengthened royal finance was reorganisation of financial adminstration, exploiting sources of ordinary revenue and increasing income from extraordinary revenue
• ordinary revenue included crown lands, customs and justice and feudal dues
• crown lands was successful as he used Act of Resumption, Acts of Attainder and money from Duchy Lancaster increased 10 fold
• justice and feudal dues were successful as he fined people instead of imprisoning and income increased from £350 in 1487 to £6000 in 1507
• customs failed as he could not match Edward IV's £70000 per annum, he only achieved £40000 through customs due to smuggling
• henry reorganised financial administration by removing the exchequer in 1487 and using the chamber, which dealt with all incomes but the customs - overall it gave Henry more control
• extraordinary revenue was a frequent source of parliamentary taxation and should only be raised in emergency
• Henry maximised extraordinary revenue by asking wealthy subjects for loans, raising money from the church and levying money through feudal aid alongside running a lavish court while income rose to £113,000 per year
• the yorkshire tax revolt was in 1489 and because the north were annoyed that had to pay tax to aid brittany against france as they were usually exempt.
• the cornish rising in 1497 was because they were unhappy to be taxed to pay for englands battle against warbeck in the north
• henry vii's position in Europe in 1485 was weak as it was vulnerable to attack from Scotland and France, yorkist threat for weak position, and a weak financial position
• Henry's 4 foreign policy aims were

  1. eliminate the threat of invasion as they could exploit his weak position - therefore secured truces with both France and Scotland
  2. eliminate dynastic threats like pretenders - so improved relations with major powers like Spain so he gained more protection and recognition
  3. avoid war due to poor financial position - however war did occupy nobles so they could not cause unrest, which led to invasion of France in 1492
  4. improve revenue from foreign trade - led to magnus and malus intercursus.
• 3 phases of relations with France are Brittany affair, War with France and relations after 1492
• Henry wanted to assert his claim to the French throne so went to war in October 1492, however France was busy with campaigning season and Italy so offered peace and Treaty of Etaples
• 3 things the Treaty of Etaples included?

  no aiding English rebels like Warbeck

  pay henry's expenses for aiding Brittany

  give pension of £5000 a year
• League of Venice was established in 1495 and aimed to drive France out of Italy, England was excluded but joined Holy League in 1496
• Henry tried to develop a three way agreement with Netherlands and France which was established as League of Cambrai in 1508 against Spain, however France pulled out and and left England isolated.
• James IV wanted to assert himself against England so supported Warbeck by allowing him to marry James's cousin in 1495 and give him military aid. However the invasion failed and James took the peace offer of the truce of Ayton in 1497
• how did relations with Scotland improve further?

  Henry's eldest daughter Margaret married James IV in 1503
• 2 reasons why Burgundy was important to Henry?

  they were the centre of the cloth trade and England depended on it for exports

  they had a high Yorkists population due to presence of Margaret
• Magnus Intercursus was signed in 1496 to end the trade embargo with Burgundy following their support of pretenders. It allowed English to sell their goods anywhere in Philip's lands without paying tolls