OCR History A-Level

• What year was the battle of bosworth ?

  August 1485 yorkist king Richard III defeated by Henry VII
• What were Henry's problems when coming into power ?

  - lack of knowledge due to years in exile

  - 14 years in exile & had a weak claim due to it being through his mother Margaret

  - did not have the support of country, nobles has remained neutral during battle

  - needed to reward the Lancastrians to ensure their loyalty

  -1489 rebellion

  -the Yorkists challenges
• how did h7 deal with Yorkist challenges?

  -Earl of Warwick - locked up in the Tower of London (but lived in comfort).

  - John de la Pole (Earl of Lincoln) - swore loyalty to Henry and was later asked to join the council.

  - John de la Pole (Duke of Suffolk) - swore loyalty to Henry and left alone.

  -Married Elizabeth of York in January 1486, joined together the white rose of York with the red

  rose of Lancaster to form the Tudor rose.
• how did h7 reward the Lancastrians?

  -Jasper Tudor (Henry's uncle) - became Duke of Bedford and chief justice in Wales. 55 with no

  heirs, so Henry could grant this knowing that his position would not be threatened by Jasper's

  heirs.

  - Sir Thomas Lovell - Made Chancellor of the Exchequer, Treasurer of the Household and Speaker

  of the House of Commons in 1485.

  -order of the garter
• Positives of Henry VII coming into power

  - he was replacing a unpopular and dead king

  - needed a king to offer peace and stability as country was weary of war

  - not beholden to the nobles family for making him king
• What did H7 do to fix his problems coming into power?

  -backdated his reign so anyone who fought against him was considered a traitor- seized their estates as punishments which added to the kings wealth e.g Earl of Warwick an important yorkist claimant sent to Tower of London

  -arranged coronation for October 30 1485 before parliament met so they could not claim they were responsible for him becoming king

  -asked for papa dispensation to allow him to marry Elizabeth of York= uniting Lancaster and York= on January 1486 so it could not be said he owed his crown to his wife.

  -John Morton, Bishop of Ely, who resisted Richard's

  usurpation in 1483 = Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury.
• What was the Yorkshire rebellion?

  -1489

  - led by sir John Egremont

  —Yorkshire rising as H7 tried to raise money to aid Brittany against France though he already had a £100,000 subsidy from Parliament

  - Earl of Northumberland killed when he tried to collect tax

  - Yorkshire annoyed as they had suffered a bad harvest in 1487 and other northern countries had been exempt

  - easily crushed

  - sign of weak royal authority in the north
• What was the Lovell conspiracy ?

  -1485

  - led by yorkist families herberts and Vaughan

  - H7 took progress to the midlands where yorkist support was strongest= unrest came from dissatisfied yorkist

  - put down by Rhys ap Thomas

  -lord Lovell and Stafford brothers= loyal supporters of Richard

  - Lovell fled to Flanders whilst the Stafford's were arrested > Humphrey executed and Thomas pardoned
• What was the lambert simnel rebellion ?

  -1487

  -claimed to be the Earl of Warwick

  -gained support through people like Margaret of Burgundy who sent him money and 2000 mercenaries to assist him in battle

  - uprising became more serious once he landed in Lancashire

  -H7 paraded the real earl of Warwick around London and gave the rebels a pardon, did not stop the rebels

  - June 1487 at Stoke Simnels army faced Henry and lost
• what was the Cornish Rebellion ?

  -1497

  -King James IV of Scotland sought to aid Perkin Warbeck and invade North England

  - Cornish saw little reason as to why they should pay taxes to fund war on England northern boarder

  - 1500 rebels journeyed to England, these numbers declined as they came closer

  - easily crushed by H7's 25000 men

  -H7 more concerned with warbeck
• what was the Perkin Warbeck rebellion?

  -1491-7

  Warbeck pretended to be the Duke of York, Richard

  - if he had gained enough support he could've overthrown H7

  -H7 had poor relations with France & Scotland that they could use Warbeck to undermine the kings power and exert diplomatic pressure on him

  -Treaty of Etaples 1492 between England and france meant that warbeck had to move to flanders where he had support from margaret

  -unable to secure large scale support

  -when H7 gained knowledge of plot he made parliament immediately enforce attainders against those who implicated the plot

  - warbeck tried to run away from court but was captured in 1498 and executed alongside Earl of Warwick after rumoured to be plotting
• what was the Edmund la Pole rebellion?

  -was the nearest Yorkist claimant to the throne

  - despite appealing as loyal, H7 refused to make him Duke of Suffolk like his father

  -fled in 1501
• what were problems H7 faced with his nobility?

  - many nobles still owned large tracts of land e.g Earl of Northumberland

  - H7 was a usurper there was nothing preventing a powerful noble from attempting to overthrow him

  -many had supported Richard III as they had gained rewards

  -"overmighty subjects" even if nobles were killed they were quickly replaced by new families
• what did H7 do to control the nobility?

  - stopped giving out land as it caused "overmighty subjects"

  -limited the number of nobles he created, only 3 new earls under his reign

  -order of the garter

  -kings council

  -patronage

  -acts of attainder, bonds & recognisances

  - 1504 proclamations

  - relief

  -marriage

  - wardship

  - livery

  - 1486 act of resumption
• what was the order of the garter?

  there were 37 knights of the garter

  - great honour and reserved for excellent service prestige but did not give land or money
• what was the king's council?

  this was a sign of trust and a clever way to ensure noble support for measures, once the nobles had agreed to the policy it was hard for them to criticise it
• what was patronage?

  this was a result of loyal service e.g Earl of Oxford loyal before and after Bosworth
• what were the 1504 proclamations?

  made it so nobles needed license to retain or there would be a heavy fine
• What were acts of attainder, bonds and recognisances?

  signed agreements where nobles who had offended the king either paid for their offence or pay money as security for future good behaviour

  -good behaviour= reversal

  -loss right to posses their land = social and economic ruin

  -H7 passed 9 and reversed 5 during his reign
• what was relief?

  payment to the king once land was inherited
• what was wardship?

  the estate of minors placed under royal control until they came of age, exploited as crown land until then
• how did H7 use marriage to control the nobility?

  profited off arranged marriages
• What was the 1486 Act of Resumption?

  Recovered land granted away since before the wars of the roses
• what was the central government?

  -H7 had over 200 councillors during his reign, he relied on the group for inner efficiency

  -the council learned in law was hated for its many links with bonds and recognisances

  - to ensure that the authority of central gov, H7 developed the Yorkist use of regional councils in the north, wales & Ireland e.g Earl of Surrey appointed deputy in the north

  - hatred became more pronounced in 1504 under leadership of Empson & Dudley who ensured royal rights were thoroughly ensured
• what was the local government under H7?

  -relied on the support of the gentry and nobility to uphold his wishes

  -H7 appointed justices of peace from second rank of landowners, loyalty was ensured as they were to uphold public order and were given rewards for informing

  - these justices of peace were dependant on other officials to bring offenders to them, they were often reluctant to do this as this made them unpopular
• how did parliament work under H7?

  -composed of 2 houses commons and lords

  -NOT a permanent feature of government

  -only met 7 times under H7

  -called when the king needed to pass or law or needed money & establish the law

  -H7 main aim was to restore law and order as this would bring stability and therefor support after the unrest of previous years

  -king could summon and dissolve if he wanted

  -men willing to take on roles like JPs as it brought them social prestige and increased status

  -JPs responsibilities- used to pass acts of attainders against nobles & uphold H7 claim to the throne
• how did royal finances work under H7?

  -attempted to achieve royal finances through: reorganising financial administration, exploit order of ordinary (yearly from crown lands, feudal dues, customs and profits from justice) revenues & and increase income from extraordinary(usually raised in times of need or emergency ) revenue

  -used exchequer but reverted to chamber system in 1487

  -ordinary revenue= most important crown lands x5 larger at the end of H7 reign

  custom duties had dropped £40,000 from £70,000 under H7

  -extraordinary revenue= h7 could ask his wealthy subjects for loans- £203,000 during his reign

  benevolences used in 1491 to raise money for expedition against France
• why was England vulnerable to attack?

  had secured all land on continent except for Calais during hundred year war with France in 1540s

  -had no standing army= venerability to attack from Scotland and France

  -needed to retain a friendship with the Netherlands as they were the centre of cloth trade England's most important export
• what were H7 foreign policy aims?

  -protect the kingdom from possible invasion in the support of claimants and build up financial resources

  -wanted to gain claim to the throne from European powers as a usurper

  -avoid war
• what was H7's foreign policy with Brittany and France?

  -Brittany established its independence, but France wanted to gain it back, This would increase the power of France

  -H7 dilemma: owed France for his time in exile and support in 1485 BUT Francis II (Brittany) sheltered him

  -Henry allowed the unofficial intervention of 500 troops and sent apology to France BUT French defeated Breton Forces (Jul 1488) & Anne of Beajeu took wardship of Anne of Brittany

  -ANTI-FRENCH ALLIANCE (Winter 1488-9)

  H7 reached diplomatic agreement with Brittany, Spain & Burgundy

  -TREATY OF REDON (Feb 1489) Henry agreed to send 6,000 troops to support Breton independence. Anne paid and agreed not to marry without Henry's consent

  -TREATY OR DORDECHT (Feb 1489)

  Maximillian agreed to send 3,000 troops to support H7 but instead made a deal with Spain

  -TREATY OF MEDINA DEL CAMPO (Mar 1489)

  H7 & Spain made an agreement that saw England regain Normandy & Acquitane.

  Prince Arthur would marry Catherine of Aragon, allying England and Spain. Catherine's dowry, paid in instalments to Henry, was set at £40,000.

  Spain promised not to help any English rebels. Reduced tariffs on trade between England and Spain.

  If either country went to war with France, the other one would help

  -BUT Spain withdrew troops

  Jan 1491 Maximilian married Anne by proxy, who was then forced to marry Charles in Dec

  H7 prepared an invasion fleet (£181,500 raised in funds from parliament) in mid Sept 1492 & remained in Calais for a monthThe French wanted a quick campaign (2 days, 12 wounded)

  -TREATY OF ETAPLES (1492)

  French pension (a bribe to remove English troops from French soil - £159,000 to be paid £5,000/annum
• what was H7's foreign policy with Italy?

  -1494 France invaded Italy

  -H7 had to consider that Italian wars distracted the European powers from Warbeck BUT Spain & HRE wanted him to intervene

  -1496 H7 joined the Holy League (persuaded by Ferdinand), but on the condition that he would not attack France

  -This allowed Henry to keep the terms of the Treaty of Etaples (renewed 1492)

  -This kept the English out of Italy's wars which continued until his death
• why was H7 able to avoid conflict with Scotland / scotish foreign policy ?

  -Edward IV had taken Dunbar & Berwick. Scots took Dunbar back in 1486. Henry ignored it and 3 year truce with potential marriage alliance was agreed

  1488 James III killed by rebels, James IV's regency was particularly anti-EnglishScotland was a traditional ally of France (esp. Breton Crisis) & was Sheltering Yorkist rebels

  1492= Earl of Angus establishes control & 9 year long truce established

  1495= James IV came of age and welcomed Warbeck

  Married Warbeck to his cousin, Lady Catherine Gordon

  Gave military support for an invasion and two years of shelter

  1497= Cornish rebellion & Warbeck's departure: H7 raised £120,000 which funded 2 royal armies, 5,000 troops and a fleet

  TREATY OF AYTON (1497)= Brokered peace between England and Scotland + warbeck killed

  TREATY OF PERPETUAL PEACE (1502)= Confirmed the marriage of Margaret and James IV

  
  

  -boarder raids continued

  -auld alliance first signed 1295 posed a threat to eng as they could face battle on 2 fronts
• what was H7's foreign policy with Spain and burgundy?

  -isabella of Castile died > union of Spain collapsed (based on the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon)

  Isabelle's will gave Castile to her daughter Joanna, married to Philip of Burgundy (heir to HRE)

  -Risks Castile being absorbed into HRE

  -H7 sided with Philip and extricated Henry from potential marriage to CatherineFerdinand turned to France (Treaty of Blois) - with French support he could gain acceptance of Castilian nobility

  -Philip ended up shipwrecked on English coast and Henry had to consider:

  risk of Philip's plans

  dynastic insecurity

  importance of Burgundian trade

  de la Pole

  -New treaty in Intercusus Malus signed (though never implemented) - de la Pole handed over to H7, none of the marriage plans went through, H7 agreed to support Joanna & Philip's claim by cancelling debt of £138,000

  -Philip arrived in Castile to supportive nobility - died suddenly in 1506. Joanna had a mental breakdown and Ferdinand assumed contro

  -H7 Needed to sort out marriage alliances 1507: Charles & Mary finalised (later called off)Ferdinand refused marriage between Joanna and Henry

  Catherine and H8 only agreed after the death of H7
• what was H7's foreign policy with Burgundy?

  -direct threat to Henry

  -Margaret sister of Edward IV and Richard III married Duke of burgundy > this offered a base for York claimants to the throne and their supporters

  - main focus of cloth trade, eng had a weak position not strong enough to make favourable trade agreement however the treaty of meldina del campo in 1489 meant that custom revenue rose from £33,000 to £40,000 in 1509

  - Henry placed an embargo on trade with burgundy after maragret supported warbeck in 1493-96 the intercusus ended this

  1506 malus intercusus meant eng would trade with burgundy for free and burgundy would not exclude England cloth from its lands

  -treaty with florence in 1490 established eng market for cloth in pisa
• why was there a threat of invasion for H7?


  -threat of claimants of the throne from spain and france could exploit henry's weak position and launch attacks on England's northern frontier of south Scotland= essentially a back door

  - france allied to Scotland= BATTLE ON 2 FRONTS
• what were dynastic threats and their impacts on H7?

  -H7 had a weak claim to the throne meaning Europeans could exploit this weakness and use it to undermine him.

  - so H7 sought alliances with a number of foreign policies (used marriages) which would give him recognition, protection and guaranteed they would not support other claimants
• what was the financial position of H7 and its impact?

  - weak financial position

  - major aim to avoid war especially with france as they were allied to Scotland and financially stronger than England
• what were H7 economic goals?

  - maintain cloth trade with burgundy > increased revenue from trade strengthen the monarchy

  - develop closer trade relations with other nations like spain

  - had a 1 year negotiated truce with france in 1485 extended to 1489

  - secured commercial treaty with Brittany in 1486

  - had better relations with Scotland and a 3 year truce 1486
• What was the Breton Crisis?

  treaty of Breton 1489-Henry VII would provide 6,000 men from mid-February to November each year

  - the Duke of Britanny died and France seized his daughter and refused to negotiater
• what did henry do to france 1492?

  - wanted to assert claim to French throne which was costly and may make his position at home vunerable

  -spent a year gathering invasion force and crossed the channel in oct 1494

  - the king of france wanted to invade Italy but wanted to be rid of English troops

  - treaty of etaples established on 3 nov 1492 meant france would give no aid to English rebels like warbeck, pay for most of H7's expenses in Brittany= annual pension of £5000 per year 5% of royal income gained