Society

• Following the Black Death, social mobility increased and sumptuary laws were unenforceable.
• The nobility were made up of 50-60 men but it wasn't a closed caste because noble families died out often and were replaced by new families. Henry VII was reluctant to create new peerage titles and only trusted a few of them, such as the Earl of Oxford and Lord Daubeney.
• In 1486 Henry forced the nobility to take oaths against illegal retaining, though illegal was undefined. In 1487, he made a law against retaining which was reinforced by the 1504 act that required a licence for retaining.
• The system of Bastard feudalism was seen as dangerous and contributory to the Wars of the Roses so Henry passes Acts in 1487 and 1504 to take action against nobles who abused the system, such as Lord Bergavenny in 1506
• Most of the commoners were farmers, though some had risen to the position of yeomen due to dropping land prices as a result of the Black Death. Enclosure therefore threatened the livelihoods of many.
• There were regional divisions in terms of farming, with the north and west focusing in mixed farming with some pastoral areas, and the east and south focusing on pastoral farming with some arable areas such as Herefordshire.
• The Yorkshire rebellion in 1489 broke out as a result of raised taxes for the Brittany situation. There isn't much information except for the murder of the Earl of Northumberland.
• Some historians believe that the murder of Northumberland was revenge for his abandonment of Richard III during the Battle of Bosworth.
• The 1497 Cornish Rebellion was the biggest rebellion under Henry and was caused by discontent of commoners due to taxes being raised for the invasion of Scotland.
• Though they didn't murder a high profile political figure, the Cornish rebels were more of a threat to Henry. An estimated 15,000 people participated in the rebellion.
• Warbeck attempted to exploit the Cornish Rebellion to claim the throne but failed, as the people were stopped by Lord Daubeney in Blackheath.
• Despite being defeated, the Cornish Rebellion forced Henry to make peace with Scotland, so the rebels achieved their goal.