‘The Lancastrian council (of Henry VI) ruled economically and well’ do you agree with Gillingham’s interpretation? Henry VI was born on December 6, 1421 and became king of England on September 1, 1422. Problems began almost immediately, though these problems were not seen as such at the time. First, the power of the king, instead of being entrusted to one man, it was given to a council of magnates. They claimed the ‘precedent of Richard II’s minority to support their actions.’ Though the council did rule fairly on the whole, it created a big problem.
Although Henry did eventually get his Heir to crown it didn’t happen till’ Edward VI in 1537. This means that Henry’s biggest and most important aim was technically a failure during the early years of his reign. Another important goal that Henry VIII wanted to achieve in the early years of his Reign was to bring Honour and Glory to England and for him to be known as a true English warrior to the rest of Europe. Henry did somewhat achieve this goal with his wars with France and Scotland. The battle of the Spurs (1513) and the Battle of Flodden (1513), although to some considered small skirmishes, did make the countries of Europe start to notice England as a possible threat and certainly now knew about Henry VIII.
In 1066, William Duke of Normandy, now known as “William The Conqueror” became king of England for several reasons, after the previous king Edward the Confessor. In the elections in 1066, Harold Godwinson was chosen by the witan to be king. William became king after he had defeated Harold in “The Battle of Hastings”. William won from both, William’s skill and Harold mistakes. William also had the opportunity to become king during the elections, because the other candidates had weaknesses: Edgar Aetheling was only 6 years old and he was too young to become king; Harald Hardrada was a Viking and a foreigner, this was to risky; Harold Godwinson wasn’t related to Edward and wasn’t fully English.
To what extent was Edward the Confessor a successful monarch? Edward was a successful monarch because throughout his reign there were few rebellions and the kingdom was mostly at peace. However, he could also be considered an unsuccessful monarch as he exiled Godwin and his son Swegn and yet after, renounced their exile. Edward brought Normans to England and gave them positions of power. Robert of Jumièges was brought to England and became the Archbishopric of Canterbury from 1051 to 1052.
Fourth, their use of the feudal system, as well as the administration which accompanied it enabled them to keep their kingdoms and subjects in check. Whilst all these factors played a role, without the force of their armies behind them, the ruler’s control of the kingdom crumbled, marking out force as the most important factor enabling effective royal government. The use of force by rulers was crucial in establishing and maintaining effective royal government in the middle ages. By the victories of armies the rulers of kingdoms could be changed in a very short space of time, as the Norman conquest of England in 1066 aptly demonstrates. This ‘Right of Conquest’ gave rulers a legitimate claim to a throne because of their military might.
Henry had to bring stability back to England. The king needed to win over the nobles if he was to remain secure as king, he needed a positive relationship with them. There were some nobles who did support Henry because of their Lancastrian backgrounds, then there were some that supported him due to them seeing him as mean to social and political advancement, then there were the nobles that opposed him; the Lambert and Warbeck rebellions show this. Getting the nobles to support him was a huge challenge that would take years for the king to accomplish as there were more nobles than the king. Over the course of the fifteenth century the English nobility had grown in power, however Henry VII was quite fortunate that 25% of leading noble lines had died out.
The source also goes on to describe Wolsey’s successes of the Field of Cloth of Gold which most pleased Henry as well as the meeting with Charles V at Sandwich and Gravelines in 1520. Other Successes were founded in the first French expedition at the Battle of Spurs which although was over exaggerated to please the population at home felt, it did feel like a huge victory for Henry in which he gained a lot of praise for at the time.
Whilst this played a key role in the Wars of the Roses breaking out, Henry’s ability to isolate important nobles went a long way towards explaining the Lancastrians defeat in 1461. - The role of Warwick The decision of Warwick to switch sides was particularly momentous. He had money, castles and retainers in England, and given his time as Captain of Calais he could command the support of the largest garrison of English soldiers. He effectively led the Yorkist invasion in 1460 and his belated involvement at Towton helped the Yorkists claim
This view is largely accredited because Pitt came into office in a difficult time but events around him seemed to benefit him rather well. Britain was entering the industrial revolution at the time, industry rose up and trade would boom due to expansion of the industries at home and abroad, the advancements of technology meant that Britain was going through a natural change that arguably Pitt was able to captain through leading to better fortunes. The natural opposition from the Whig party against the king led by Charles Fox meant that Pitt naturally had the Kings support against any opposition which could be thrown at him, the king would back him up. The American Revolution and his lack of connection to it meant that he was seen as a new politician not one of the previously failed governments who’s lack of control and rule in a situation. And lastly the regency crisis of 1788 meant that Pitt could use this to gain favour with the king and gather support from his own party and draw it away from the opposition.
Their nomadic lifestyle, families, and wealth made them appear as respectable people. Primarily because the rich culture was described in such a positive manner, Europeans developed a new interest in the people east of them. The results of this include the spread of the compass, papermaking, and printing to Europe which had not occurred before Polo’s book. An instigator¬¬¬ of communication between two completely separate places, Marco Polo made Yuan China and Mongol