knowledge

• what was Henry's paternal claim to the throne?

  His grandfather married Catherine of France who had also married Henry V so Henry's dad = 1/2 brother of Henry VI
• what was Henry's maternal claim to the throne?

  His mother Margaret Beaufort was a direct descendant of Edward III, her great grandfather was John of Gaunt who was the third son of edward III
• How strong was Henry's claim to the throne compared to Richards?

  Henry's claim was weaker as Richard was a direct descendant of Edward III through youngest son Edmund of York. Henry's direct claim was through his mother's side, less strong a claim than male line.
• what was the lovell conspiracy and was it a threat?

  - it was rebellions which broke out across the midlands, the north and wales as Henry embarked on a royal progress.

  - these rebellions involved Lord Lovell and the Stafford brothers

  - the rebellion failed - Henry sent an armed force to offer the rebels a choice of pardon or excommunication and death

  - the rebels dispersed

  - lovell fled to Flanders which was a Yorkist stronghold

  - the stafford brothers were arrested where Humphrey was executed and Thomas was pardoned and remained loyal

  - NOT A SERIOUS THREAT -> did not prevent royal progress and visit north + seen as a win for Henry so created loyalty
• Who was Lambert Simnel and was he a threat?

  -> he claimed to be the earl of Warwick

  -> HE WAS A SERIOUS THREAT

  -> he first raised support in Oxford, Yorkist stronghold

  -> he was then crowned king of Ireland

  -> Margaret of Burgundy sent him money and 2000 mercenaries

  -> rising became more serious in June 1487

  -> rebels landed in Lancashire and began to march south

  -> faced Henry in STOKE JUNE 1487

  -> Henry won, was viewed by many as the last battle of the war of the roses

  -> HENRY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HIM UNTIL 1487

  -> definitely serious threat as had support from nobles and foreign countries.
• who was Perkin Warbeck and was he a threat?


  -> he claimed to be Richard, Duke of York

  -> he arrived in Ireland in 1491

  -> could have possibly been sent by Charles VIII and Margaret of Burgundy

  -> this international dimension is what made the plot so dangerous

  -> Warbeck was welcomed into the French court in 1492 and joined by 200 yorkists

  -> however the treaty of etaples meant he had to flee to flanders

  -> margaret accepted him as a nephew

  -> the holy roman empire recognised him as duke of York but could not finance him

  -> warbeck then struggled until he found refuge in scotland in 1495

  -> however the scottish invasion was a disaster

  -> then warbeck lost that support due to england-scotland marriage treaty

  -> henry caught warbeck in 1497 - warbeck then tried to run away and was executed

  -> WARBECK A THREAT DUE TO INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT
• What was the yorkshire rebellion and how serious was it?

  -> 1489

  => resulted from attempts to raise money to aid Brittany in struggle against France

  -> Yorkshire particularly annoyed as they suffered a bad harvest in 1488 and other Northern counties were exempt to defend the northern border

  -> Henry refused to negotiate and when Earl of Northumberland went to collect taxes he was murdered.

  -> rebellion led by Sir John Egremont

  -> rising easily crushed but money wasn't collected

  -> SERIOUS AS SHOWED THAT ROYAL AUTHORITY COULD BE CHALLENGED

  -> Henry appointed earl of Surrey as his representative in the north
• what was the cornish rebellion and how serious was it?

  -> 1497

  -> more serious than the Yorkshire rebellion

  -> caused by the same things

  -> the threat was James VI of Scotland who sought to aid Perkin Warbeck

  -> rebels assembled at Cornish town of Bodmin in May 1497

  -> attracted 15,000

  -> rebels made clear tax complaints against 'evil councillors

  -> Henry assembled royal army of 25,000 men who easily crushed the rebels

  -> the leaders of rebellion tortured and executed

  -> others heavily fined

  -> THREAT AS SHOWED LEVEL OF DISCONTENT SURROUNDING HENRY'S FINANCIAL DECISIONS.
• how great a problem were the nobility for Henry?

  -> henry was a usurper and there was nothing to stop powerful nobles from trying to overthrow him

  -> many nobles had large tracts of land - so it was vital that Henry was able to control their authority as land = power

  -> Henry had spent a large majority of his life in exile so he didn't know how to govern and needed help

  -> many of the nobles had supported Richard III

  -> also the war of the roses created many powerful nobles but also killed many of them off which meant Henry didn't have as many to deal with
• how effective were Henry's policies in controlling the nobility?

  -> he limited the number of earls to 3 created compared to 9 created in Edward VI's reign

  -> carrot and stick method used to ensure loyalty and increase crown revenues

  carrot = inducements

  stick = sanctions

  -> Henry created 37 knights of the Garter which gave prestige but not land or power

  -> he continued the use of patronage - a result of royal service instead of the hope of it

  -> king's council sign of trust

  -> used notorious sanctions - acts of attainder = declared guilty of treason and loss of crown property, bonds and recognisances = like bail

  -> acts of attainder especially damaging to families as they lost right to possess their land

  -> Henry also asserted his feidal rights - head of social ladder and all of land held directly by him

  HENRY WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL AS THERE WAS LITTLE UNREST AFTER SIMNEL AND NUMBER OF 'OVERMIGHTY' SUBJECTS EVIDENTLY REDUCED.
• how did henry restore the royal finances ?

  . reorganised financial administration

  . exploited sources of ordinary revenue

  . increase the income of extraordinary revenue
• what were examples of ordinary revenue?

  -> most important source was crown lands - income rose from £29,000 to £42,000 by 1509

  -> Henry did not take back all entitled land so he didn't antagonise nobility

  -> custom duties not that successful

  -> profits from justice varied as Henry did best to exploit system

  -> income from feudal dues rose massively from <£350 to >£6000

  -> bonds and recognisances ensured loyalty as well as increased revenue
• what were examples of extraordinary revenue?

  -> most frequent source was parliamentary taxation

  -> Henry did not misuse this source or means of raising money as rebellions showed how unpopular taxation was

  -> during emergencies - loans were asked for

  -> subjects could be asked to support the king

  -> the church would make contributions

  -> feudal aid was received on special occasion

  -> the french pension bought in annual income of around £5000
• how much was the crown income yearly?

  £113,000

  small compared to £800,000 a year for french king
• what was Henry's central government like?

  - the kings council chosen by the king and although there were 200+ councillors, meetings were attended by a much smaller number and relief on an inner group so that the efficiency of central government was improved

  - Henry did not rely on particular families but instead drew his chief advisors from the lesser landowners, gentry or professional classes

  - council learned in the law was hated by many due to links with bonds and recognisances

  - exploitation of royal rights was the most noticeable change and caused such hatred that Empson and Dudley executed by Henry VIII upon his succession
• what was the regional government like?

  - Henry used the Earl of Northumberland to act as deputy in North, replaced by Surrey after yorkshire rebellion

  - the council of the north had responsibility to defend the northern border

  - henry revived the council of wales to increase his control

  - henry was forced to rely on rule of traditional families in Ireland due to how costly alternatives were
• what was local government like?

  - Henry developed justices of peace

  - this role included implementing social and economic statutes, dispensing justice and trying criminal offences, upholding public order ect.

  - henry was heavily dependent upon goodwill to ensure justice was implemented locally.
• what was Henry's foreign policy like in the first three years of his reign?

  focused on consolidating support. He negotiated one-year truce with france which was subsequently extended to jan 1489. In July 1486, negotiated a commercial treaty with Brittany. In January 1487, concluded treaty with HRE.
• how did Simnel impact foreign policy?

  resulted in Henry playing a more active role than originally intended. Burgundy antagonism was unusual with them offering 2000 mercenaries for Simnel's cause. Acted as a warning as it showed the vulnerability of his kingship.
• when was the treaty of redon?

  1489
• what did the treaty of redon do?

  it was a treaty with Brittany in which the bretons promised to pay the cost of 6000 men Henry undertook to send to them to defend brittany.

  However, spanish and HRE support unreliable so Brittany's independence ended in 1491.
• when was the treaty of etaples?

  1492
• what was the treaty of etaples?

  an agreement made with france after Henry announced his intention to assert his claim to the french throne.

  French promised to give no further aid to rebels and to pay England's cost of intervening with Brittany. This totalled 745,000 gold crowns.
• when was the treaty of medina del campo?

  1489
• what was the treaty of medina del campo?

  a marriage agreement with spain in which Arthur would marry Catherine.

  recognised the legitimacy of the tudor dynasty + spain promised not to help any rebels.
• what was the holy league?

  a group consisting of the pope, ferdinand, maximilian, venice, milan, and Henry.
• when was magnus intercursus?

  1496
• what was magnus intercursus?

  a trade agreement with brittany which opened the international wool trade to England.
• how did Warbeck impact foreign policy?

  it complicated the marriage alliance with spain as they did not want to marry their daughter to an insecure throne. A temporary embargo on commercial dealings was placed on the netherlands in 1493 due to their aid of warbeck.
• when was the treaty of ayton?

  1497
• what was the treaty of ayton?

  a truce between scotland and england which sealed the marriage of james to margaret. However, scotland didn't abandon its pact with France.
• when was malus intercursus?

  1506
• what was malus intercursus?

  the second of the trade agreements with burgundy - Philip of Burgundy had to take shelter in England due to storms and Henry utilised this.

  Only lasted 1 year though, main benefit of treaty was Henry getting De la Pole back.