British History - Tudors & Stuarts 1485 - 1714

                                                                     THE TUDORS
                                                                       (1485 - 1603)

THE BEGINNING OF THE Tudor period in British History also signalled the end of the Middle Ages. The old feudal ways of life had largely disappeared and a new aristocracy drawn from the ranks of the growing middle classes was emerging. This was a period of great exploration and expansion in overseas trade, which gave the country a new source of wealth. The ideas of the Renaissance, which revived an interest in the art and learning of ancient Greece and Rome, marked the beginnings of modern culture and science. These ideas were spread by the use of the worst features of the Roman Catholic Church, was adopted in England at first as a political move, and later as a matter of faith. The Tudors finally united Wales and England, so that one set of laws and rights applied to both countries. They also tried to complete the conquest of Ireland by settling English colonists in large estates there which were called plantations. Scotland suffered years of violent conflict.

Henry VII

THE LANCASTRIAN HENRY TUDOR defeated the Yorkist King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and became King Henry VII. This marked the end of the series of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses which had been fought between two leading families called Lancaster (who had a red rose badge) and York (who wore a white rose badge).
Many nobles had been killed or their power weakened. Henry VII made sure this continued by getting rid of their private armies and by executing many for treason against the Crown. He then took over their estates. Henry also married a Yorkist princess to help bring the two families together.

YORKIST THREATS

Despite Henry VII's victory in the Wars of the Roses, he was stil forced to watch constantly for threats to his throne from the few remaining Yorkist supporters. These supporters were often aided by foreign powers. France and Scotland in particular were traditional enemies of England. Richard III's younger sister, Margaret, the Duchess of Burgundy, twice found youths prepared to pretend to be claimants to the throne.

LAMBERT SIMNEL

The first pretender to the throne was Lambert Simnel, the son of an Oxford joiner. Yorkists tried to pass Simnel off as the missing Edward, Earl of Warwick, who had been imprisoned in 1485. The Irish, who had long been supporters of the Yorkist cause, ralllied to Simnel. Lord Kildare, Lord Deputy of Ireland, had him crowned Edward VI in Dublin by the archbishop. Margaret of Burgundy supplied money and arms to support his cause and he sailed for England in 1487. However, Henry VII defeated him at Stoke in Nottinghamshire. Simnel was captured and made a servant in the royal kitchens where he lived for almost 40 years.

PERKIN WARBECK

The second claimant was Perkin Warbeck, son of a Flemish tax collector. Warbeck was supported in turn by the King of France, Duchess Margaret, the Holy Roman Emperor, and James IV of Scotland. He posed as Richard, Duke of York, who had been murdered with his brother Edward V in the Tower. Warbeck claimed that he was spared when his brother was killed. Margaret supported him as her long lost nephew. He stayed with her in Flanders and eventually landed in England but was caught and hanged in 1499. Henry punished Flanders for harbouring Warbeck; he expelled all Flemings from England and moved Edward's wool market base from Antwerp to Calais. Another Yorkist claimant, Edmund de la Pole, known as the White Rose of England, was also supported by Margaret. He was executed in 1513.

IRELAND UNDER POYNINGS

To limit Irish support for Perkin Warbeck and the Yorkist cause, Henry VII sent Sir Edward Poynings to Ireland as Lord Deputy. Poynings called an Irish Parliament, which passed the Statute of Drogheda, also called Poyning's Law: no Irish Parliament could meet without the English king's consent, and no bill could be considered there without his permission. All bills placed before the Irish Parliament had to be passed by the English Privy Council beforehand. Also, all laws passed in England should also be the law in Ireland. This ended home rule in Ireland for centuries.

Henry VIII

HENRY VIII BECAME KING IN 1509 at the age of 17. A short time before that he was betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, youngest daughter of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. She had been married to Arthur, Henry's elder brother, to strengthen an alliance between England and Spain. But Arthur died suddenly, so Henry VII decided his younger son should marry Catherine because he was worried that he may have to return her dowry. The marriage was at first forbidden by the Church because the couple were too closely related, but Henry VII persuaded the Pope to allow it.