Henry VII

Claim to the throne: 

Henry VII’s claim to the throne was weak and was mainly through his mother, he was the Lancastrian claimant to the throne, and he also had royal blood as his father’s mother was a French princess meaning that he had a close relationship with France, which was vital in maintaining peace with them. In order to strengthen his claim to the throne he dated the start of his reign as the end of the Battle of Bosworth, meaning that anyone who criticised his claim could have their estates seized and would be seen as traitors. 

This was an effective way of removing any opposition as it meant that less people would speak out against his claim to the throne therefore solidifying his position. Henry also arranged for his coronation to be on the 30^th October 1485 so that no one could say that he was king because of parliament as this was before parliament had even met, which quashed disputes and solidified his position. 

Moreover, Henry also married Elizabeth of York in January 1486 soon after his coronation. This untied the houses of York and Lancaster and showed him to be a rational king who did not always jump straight onto the battlefield, it also showed that Henry could achieve peace through strategy.

After the war of the Roses there were still some Yorkists left that had at least a strong a claim to the throne as Henry, however, many of the people that had the strongest claim to the throne had been killed in the war. John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln swore his loyalty to the king, which removed a major threat. In order to strengthen his position, the Earl of Warwick (Edward) who was Richard’s nephew, was sent to the tower which acted as a show of force against his enemies.

When Henry won at Bosworth, he was largely unknown as he had spent 14 years in exile in France after a previous Lancastrian defeat, this meant that many underestimated him, and they thought that his reign wouldn’t last. This theory was supported by the weak claim that Henry had to the throne and his lack of knowledge about the country. However, the people were tired of war and wanted and would support a ruler that brought peace and stability to the country. 

Also Henry’s position was strengthened by the fact that Henry had replaced Richard III who was very unpopular and was now also dead, Henry’s win showed how strong he was and also the fact that he didn’t have to rely on a noble to be in power also emphasised his strength as someone who could finally lead the country into a period of stability. Overall, even though Henry faced many issues about his claim to the throne, his position was strengthened by his removal of opposition and by showing himself as a king who could bring peace and stability to the country that had been previously plagued by war.

Opposition: 

There were six instances of opposition under Henry and many of them lacked support and Henry’s tactics were positive and were able to effectively quash the rebellions.

Lovell-Stafford threat: 

It was a rebellion in the Midlands which involved the Stafford brothers and Lord Lovell, who were all loyal to Richard, the plot failed because Henry found out about the plot and sent armed forces to offer the rebels either pardon or excommunication. The Stafford brothers were arrested, whilst one was executed, the other remained loyal. It wasn’t a greatly serious threat, although it did occur within the first few months of Henry’s reign.

Lambert-Simnel threat (1486): 

Lambert Simnel claimed to be the earl of Warwick and gathered support in Oxford and in Ireland. He was then crowned Edward VI, eh also had support from Margaret of Burgundy who sent money and 2000 mercenaries. Henry didn’t become aware of the threat until 1487 and when he did, he offered the rebels money, but even this didn’t stop the rebellion. The threat became more serious as it had 8000 and Henry won after 2 hours at Stoke in June 1487.

Yorkshire rebellion (1488): 

The rising occurred as a result of Henry calling for money to aid Brittany in its struggle against France. They were annoyed as none of the other northern countries had to pay tax as they had to protect the border from Scotland. Henry didn’t negotiate and the revolt was easily crushed by the royal army.

Perkin Warbeck threat (1497): 

Warbeck appeared in the Yorkist stronghold of Ireland and claimed to be Richard Duke of York, who had supposedly been killed in the tower. At French court he found 100 Yorkist supporters, however, he had to move to Flanders in 1492 because of the Treaty of Etaples, there he gained the support of Margaret of Burgundy as well as HRE Maximilian. In 1497, he went to Ireland to capitalise on the Cornish rebellion but found less support, and he was later executed.

Cornish rebellion (1497): 

This was also caused by Henry’s need for money and the subsequent Parliament vote. The threat came from Scotland as James IV sought the aid of Perkin Warbeck and threatened to invade Northern England. The rebels assembled at the Cornish border as they didn’t want to pay taxes to fund a war on England’s northern border. It attracted 15,000 supporters but the numbers declined as they reached London. Henry then assembled an army of 25,000 which quickly crushed the rebels in June 1497.

White Rose Threat: 

Edmund de la Pole was unsatisfied that Henry refused to make him the Duke of Suffolk even though he appeared to be loyal. In 1501 he fled to the HRE court where he met with other Yorkists. In 1506, storms force Philip of Burgundy to land in England and Henry is able to convince him to hand over Suffolk in exchange for his own life. As a result, there were only a few Yorkists remaining and Henry made sure that they were loyal.

Measures against the nobility:

Effective: 

Thomas Howard was imprisoned and attainted, he later took his first steps to rehabilitation as later he only wanted his release from the king, proving his loyalty. Throughout the years, Henry used bonds effectively and efficiently. The recognisances were not a way of raising money, but they were a method of ensuring the loyalty and good behaviour of the nobility. Over half the nobility were given recognisances at some point, it created an atmosphere of watchfulness and suspicion and the policy did not make him popular, however Henry did not care as it made sure that the nobility was hesitant about going against the king. Recognisances were commonly used to limit the likelihood of illegal retaining. 

Not effective: 

The Stanley family were rewarded after the Battle of Bosworth but unfortunately, they used this power to their own advantage.

Strengthening Royal Government: 

Parliament was only called upon when they were needed and only for brief occasions, they usually did what the king told them. There was also the centralisation of government. Henry reformed the chamber in the 1440s meaning that there was a centre for patronage and that there was communication between the king, his court and his ministers. Even though the power of the JPs was increased in 1495, they were still reliant of the king for their power, which increased Henry’s power and authority and decreased the influence of the nobility. 

The council learned in law was also established in 1495 and established bonds and recognisances to keep the nobility in check, they also made sure that Henry’s interests were fulfilled as they were a general institution under Sir Reginald Bray who wanted to move up the social ladder, which strengthened Henry’s power and reduced the nobility’s power. The lack of any serious rebellion could be argued as a reason as to why Henry was able to strengthen royal authority. 

Foreign policy: 

The aims of foreign policy were to avoid costly war especially against France, encourage trade, to ensure dynastic security, which was partially done through his marriage, to legitimise himself as a monarch which was also partly done through his marriage and to ensure national security.

France and Brittany: 

Initially Henry was successful in securing support from abroad as France supported him as he came to the throne, moreover, Brittany also supported him in his years of exile, and he was able to use this link to secure a commercial treaty in 1486. Brittany had its independence, but France wanted it as part of its kingdom, which presented a problem for England as they needed to stop France gaining control of the whole channel coast, but France had previously given financial aid in 1485. 

Henry tried to negotiate between France and Brittany however, the Bretons refused to negotiate and were defeated in battle by the French, the death of the duke of Brittany mean that his daughter came to the throne and she was immediately taken by the French. England couldn’t fight against France, so he renewed the treaty with Maximilian, who then made peace with Spain and France later on. On 3^rd November 1492 the Treaty of Etaples in which it was agreed that no aid would be given to English rebels, especially Warbeck, as well as the paying of a pension of £5000 a year.

Success/failure: 

The league of Venice was established in 1495, in order to keep France out of Italy it was then revamped in 1496 in order to include the Holy League and then England was then asked to join. Henry also secured a trade agreement with France and he didn’t lose his friendship with the Holy League. Overall, he was successful as he managed to keep his lifelong friendship with France after the Treaty of Étaples and he managed to negate the auld alliance that France had with Scotland which was definitely a success for national security. Henry tried to make an alliance with England, France and the Netherlands however, it ultimately failed because Louis was worried about the reaction from Spain and Ferdinand and ultimately it meant that a new anti-Venice agreement was signed, and England was not included. 

Scotland: 

Scotland was a traditional enemy and the auld alliance that they had signed with France in 1295 was dangerous because it meant that England would be attacked from two fronts. Scotland was financially weaker than their counterparts and also had a smaller population. They were also more favourably inclined towards Henry than Richard III which meant that they were less hostile and were on better terms with England, the desire for peace was also shown through the signing of the truce in 1486. 

The assassination of James III meant that his successor James IV took the throne and he was only young at 15 and was not in control and didn’t want to stir up conflict. However, some of his advisors wanted a closer relationship with France. The nine year truce that was signed short lived as after two years James IV came of age and wanted to prove himself by going to war against the traditional enemy, this desire was aided by the arrival of the Warbeck however, after the invasion was a fiasco that received no support in England, James realised that Warbeck was of no use to him. 

The truce of Ayton was signed in 1497 and was made a full treaty with the execution of Warbeck. Ayton treaty was a significant success as it was the first peace treaty that the countries had signed since 1328, the peace was reinforced by the marriage of Henry’s eldest daughter Margaret to James IV, which helped Henry to consolidate his power on the throne. However, although the agreement stopped the appearance of a full-scale war, it didn’t solve the Scottish problem, as border raids continued to occur because of the auld alliance. Also, James’ navy expansion caused tensions between the two countries later in Henry’s reign showing that Scottish foreign policy was not a total success.

Spain and HRE: 

The Spanish rulers of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were united through the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, which created a dominant European power with whom Henry wanted to strengthen links with in terms of trade and dynastic concerns, therefore commercial concerns were put aside which was made easier by the fact that the two countries had a common enemy with France. In 1488, Henry suggested a marriage between Henry’s son Arthur and Catherine of Aragon even though they were only about three years old, the proposal was very important as it could ensure dynastic security and it also meant that he could gain recognition from another important European power. 

In 1489, the treaty of Medina del Compo was signed which was the most significant foreign policy achievement of Henry’s reign and it agreed that Arthur and Catherine would marry, if either one got into a war with France, the other would intervene immediately, Catherine’s dowry of £40,000 would be paid to Henry in instalments, there would be trade benefits between the two countries and Spain would not help any English rebels. 

The final marriage agreement was not made until 1496 and Catherine didn’t come over to England until 1501, this was due to Henry’s insecure position on the throne due to the problem of Warbeck and Spain didn’t want to send Catherine if there was still a possibility that Henry could be removed from the throne. Joanna Castile’s marriage to Philip of Burgundy also opened up another possibility for an alliance with the HRE. 

Arthur and Catherine eventually married however, within 5 months he was dead, but the alliance between Spain and England was so important to Henry that he made a deal for Catherine to marry his second son Henry VIII, they were betrothed in 1503 but didn’t actually marry for another six years due to the problems in Spain. 

The death of Isabella Castile meant that the marriage between Catherine and Henry was much less beneficial as Aragon was less influential than the whole of Spain. The problems with Joanna and Philip of Burgundy meant that there was a closer relationship between France and Spain meaning that England was forced into a closer relationship with Burgundy. Later the relations between Spain and England broke down because Henry considered marrying Philip’s sister after his wife died. 

In 1508 the attempts for a Spanish, Burgundian and English alliance were abandoned and Henry moved towards an English, French and Burgundian alliance, he revoked the Magnus Intercursus concession in order to speed up the process of Mary marrying Charles of Ghent to try and win the support of Burgundy. However, at the last moment before the agreement, Louis XII decided that he couldn’t antagonise Spain and reached an agreement with Philip which became the 1508 League of Cambrai which left England alone and vulnerable.

Hanse/Baltic: 

The policy towards them was mainly unsuccessful as Henry tried to take an aggressive approach in order to get a beneficial trade policy for England. However, the trading power of the Hanseatic League was too big to muscle in on and he had to be careful as it could have also become a place where pretenders to the throne gathered. In the end Henry was forced into a settlement in 1504, despite the attempts to limit their privileges. 

The agreement restored the favourable position that the Hanse had enjoyed under Edward IV. The main reason for this was because Henry was worried about the Hanse supporting the Yorkist claimant Earl of Suffolk in the same way that they had supported Edward IV. This showed that ultimately trade and foreign policy was secondary to dynastic security.