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  • Essay / The Most Serious Threats Henry VII Faced During His Reign

    Henry VII faced many threats during his reign, the majority being at the beginning of it. The three main threats came from Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck and the de la Pole family; especially Edmond de la Pôle. The threat from the suitors was certainly very serious, but this was nevertheless reflected in Henry's approach to the crisis. The seriousness of the threats weighing on Henry VII will be assessed in depth. The first notable threat to Henry was the Lovell conspiracy. Although a complete farce and fiasco, the Lovell conspiracy laid the groundwork for future rebellions and pretenders. The conspiracy was planned in 1486 by Francis, Viscount Lovell and two important and powerful Worcestershire landowners; Thomas and Humphrey Stafford. The motives for this planned attack are unclear, but we do know that Lovell was an important member of Richard III's household and a close friend, and so we assume he wanted to reinstate a Yorkist king to the throne because he considered the Yorkists legitimate. pretenders to the throne. The plan was to seize the king as he traveled north through the Midlands, kidnap and kill him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Unfortunately for Lovell and the Stafford brothers, the plan failed horribly. The Stafford brothers were arrested and Humphrey was executed. All was not lost, however, as Lovell escaped to the court of Margaret or Burgundy, which, during the years of Henry's reign, proved extremely useful to the Yorkists, providing them with refuge, money and support for decades. As for the seriousness of this threat to Henry VII, this conspiracy was not very serious at all. It was very poorly planned, poorly executed and there is no evidence of support from abroad or from England. At the end of the same year; In 1486, a pretender called Lambert Simnel appeared as a claimant to the throne. The plot was primarily led by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, using Lambert Simnel as a front, who was said to have been abandoned once the plot succeeded and they overthrew Henry. The affair began when Lambert Simnel was chosen to play the son of the Duke of Clarence; Earl of Warwick by an Oxford priest and noted Yorkist; Richard Symonds. The conspirators moved to Ireland, where they gained Irish support for Simnel, probably because Richard, Duke of York had lieutenant of Ireland before Henry's reign. The most famous was the Earl of Kildare. After gaining Irish support from several aristocracies, they moved to the Low Countries, where again Margaret of Burgundy, who was the sister of Edward IV, helped the Yorkists attempt to overthrow Henry by welcoming Simnel into her court and further instructing him in his “role”. At the same time, the Earl of Lincoln also joined Simnel in Burgundy. Already it looked like a serious threat to Henry, with very strong foreign support, mainly from Ireland and long-time English and French enemies; Burgundy. In May 1487, Lincoln and Lovell returned to Ireland and Simnel was crowned King Edward VI (although Edward was known to be held in the Tower of London). Margaret had provided them with 2,000 German mercenaries, another sign that this was a very serious threat to Henry, one that he may not have faced. The plot moved quickly, and soon after the coronation, Lincoln and Lovell led their strong and numerous forces. across the Irish Sea. Their army had doubled in size thanks to their supportIrish and so 4,000 men faced Henry's men at the Battle of Stoke in Nottinghamshire on June 14. Lincoln enjoyed enormous foreign support from Ireland and Burgundy, but had also hoped to gain additional support from northern England, which had largely remained loyal to Richard III. Nevertheless, the response they received was disappointing and the rebels, with 8,000 men, faced Henry's 12,000 men in a field near East Stoke. It turned out that Henry won the Battle of Stoke; the Earl of Lincoln was killed in action, with Viscount Lovell dying shortly afterwards. Lambert Simnel, around whom the plot seemed to revolve, was kept at Henry's court and led a comfortable life in the kitchens and later as the king's falconer. Eventually, Henry spent months traveling through regions he believed did not support him, obtaining loyalty oaths and punishing violators. The Earl of Kildare was spared. Compared to Lovell's conspiracy, Lambert Simnel's plot was very serious for Henry's monarchy; we can even say that he was very close to losing his life. The plan was very well planned; it is clear that the Yorkists learned from their mistakes through the Lovell conspiracy. In addition to support from Ireland, Lincoln showed that he had great support from abroad, notably that of Margaret of Burgundy, who greatly aided Simnel. Margaret proved to be a force to be reckoned with, as she provided military support and money to the rebels. I believe this threat was very serious to Henry VII because it was a battle that Henry could so easily have lost and was far more serious than the Lovell conspiracy. However, because Henry won the battle and defeated the rebels, it not only showed everyone that he was a great leader and fighter, but also that he would be ruthless in the face of rebellions, pretenders and to traitors. The final threat, and probably the most serious threat. came from the pretender “Perkin Warbeck”. Perkin Warbeck was the son of a customs officer from Tournai born in 1475 who posed as the younger son of Edward IV – one of the “Princes in the Tower”. It is said that he was taken to Ireland and posed as Richard, after attracting great interest from the Yorkists. However, Warbeck failed to gain support from the Irish lords and, crucially, the Earl of Kildare refused to help him (he had pleaded his loyalty to Henry after his involvement in the Lambert Simnel affair). After vain attempts to gain Irish support proved unsuccessful, Warbeck traveled to France in 1492 and King Charles VIII welcomed him as prince. Using Warbeck as a negotiating tool, Charles signed the Treaty of Etaples in 1492, meaning that Henry accepted France's control over Brittany and Charles expelled Warbeck from France, as the treaty stipulated that neither could shelter the rebels. Warbeck turned to Margaret of Burgundy, who was once again involved in plots against Henry and she taught him the ways of the Yorkists. This is already proving to be a very serious threat from the Yorkists, as Warbeck once again enjoys the support of Burgundy and foreign support is further increased when Emperor Maximilian welcomes Warbeck into his court and recognizes him as King Richard IV of England and offers him every encouragement. necessary, short of money or military assistance. Further evidence that this was a very serious and potentially damaging Yorkist threat to Henry is when Henry feels compelled to act in England, as he is unable to reach Warbeck and therefore discovers conspirators among his own government. . The most.