A History of the 16th Century England
A HISTORY OF 16TH CENTURY ENGLAND
In the late 15th century England was torn by a series of civil wars between two dynasties, the Yorkists and the Lancastrians. The wars ended in 1485 when Henry Tudor won the battle of Bosworth and gained the throne of England.
Henry Tudor (1457-1509) was crowned Henry VII on 30 October 1485 beginning a new dynasty. In January 1486 he married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, uniting the dynasties of York and Lancaster.
However the Yorkists were unwilling to accept the situation. In 1487 they attempted a rebellion. They claimed that a man named Lambert Simnel was Earl of Warwick and tried to put him on the throne. The Yorkists gathered an army in Ireland and landed in Cumbria. However they were crushed at the battle of Stoke on 16 June 1487. Simnel was captured. Henry VII could have executed him but instead he made Simnel a menial servant in the royal kitchens.
Henry VII invaded France in 1492 but the French were preoccupied elsewhere and they quickly made peace. By a treaty of November 1492 they agreed to pay the English money and the French king agreed not to support any pretenders to the English throne.
Afterwards Henry VII followed a policy of peace with France. Wars were expensive and Henry was a prudent man who avoided extravagant expenditure.
Henry also strengthened government by creating the Court of Star Chamber (so called because it met in a room with stars painted on the ceiling). The court dealt with 'unlawful maintenance, giving of licences, signs and tokens, great riots, unlawful assemblies'.
Then in 1497 Henry VII faced two rebellions. First rebels from the West Country marched on London. However they were crushed by a royal army at Blackheath on 17 June 1497.
Later that year a man named Perkin Warbeck claimed be Richard, the nephew of Richard III (one of the two princes who was murdered in the Tower of London). He called himself Richard IV. He landed in Cornwall in September 1497. However royal forces
In the late 15th century England was torn by a series of civil wars between two dynasties, the Yorkists and the Lancastrians. The wars ended in 1485 when Henry Tudor won the battle of Bosworth and gained the throne of England.
Henry Tudor (1457-1509) was crowned Henry VII on 30 October 1485 beginning a new dynasty. In January 1486 he married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, uniting the dynasties of York and Lancaster.
However the Yorkists were unwilling to accept the situation. In 1487 they attempted a rebellion. They claimed that a man named Lambert Simnel was Earl of Warwick and tried to put him on the throne. The Yorkists gathered an army in Ireland and landed in Cumbria. However they were crushed at the battle of Stoke on 16 June 1487. Simnel was captured. Henry VII could have executed him but instead he made Simnel a menial servant in the royal kitchens.
Henry VII invaded France in 1492 but the French were preoccupied elsewhere and they quickly made peace. By a treaty of November 1492 they agreed to pay the English money and the French king agreed not to support any pretenders to the English throne.
Afterwards Henry VII followed a policy of peace with France. Wars were expensive and Henry was a prudent man who avoided extravagant expenditure.
Henry also strengthened government by creating the Court of Star Chamber (so called because it met in a room with stars painted on the ceiling). The court dealt with 'unlawful maintenance, giving of licences, signs and tokens, great riots, unlawful assemblies'.
Then in 1497 Henry VII faced two rebellions. First rebels from the West Country marched on London. However they were crushed by a royal army at Blackheath on 17 June 1497.
Later that year a man named Perkin Warbeck claimed be Richard, the nephew of Richard III (one of the two princes who was murdered in the Tower of London). He called himself Richard IV. He landed in Cornwall in September 1497. However royal forces