Key issue: Why were there wars between Lancastrians and Yorkists? Indicative content - Henry VI, “Undermighty” monarchy and “Overmighty” subjects (especially Warwick) - Issues between Lancastrians and Yorkists -The reasons for intermittent warfare up to 1470 Why did the Wars of the Roses break out/ why did Henry fall? Stage 1 Long term - Growth in power of nobility The 14th Century had seen growth in power of the nobles. Nobles were particularly important and they played a key role in enforcement of justice and created a magnate class who married into the royal family and kept retainers. These nobles expected a monopoly of influence over the king.
Henry had a very aggressive policy on France throughout his rein until he eventually decided on trying to become the peacemaker of Europe. Henry wanted to regain the lost territory in northern France so he could be seen as a Great War lord with visions of honour and glory but also to challenge Henry V’s title of the last great English warrior. The first sign of this aim being put into place is the first French war from 1512-1514. However the first expedition on June 1512 was a disastrous failure as Ferdinand of Aragon didn’t hold up his end of the deal for an allied invasion. This shows Henrys naivety in foreign policy and the other European powers were using him to benefit themselves whilst sending him to his downfall.
In source 4 we also learn that much must have depended on diplomatic relations with Maximilian and Ferdinand, however Henry’s allies proved unfaithful and unreliable. Source 4, is written by a member of the Government of England. The government is who Henry and Wolsey would go to for Money for these situations. The Government did not like how much Money Henry kept asking for so this could have been reflected in Keith Randall’s report. Henry spent 1.4 millions pounds on fighting wars between 1511-25 and this set England back a far way.
There are many events that occurred in 1483 as a result of the weaknesses of Edward IV that led to the usurpation of the crown, such as the overmighty nobility, strong division between the Yorkists, the premature death of the King and the opposition of the Woodvilles. However there were also the personal ambitions of his brother Richard III, who had a strong powerbase in the North, needed to protect himself from the Woodville’s revenge, arranged the arrest and deaths of nobles in his way of the throne and imprisoned his own nephews. One of the biggest weaknesses in Edward’s reign was his nobility, who were hugely overmighty despite the fact that he had distributed less patronage in his second reign than he did in his first. Gloucester and the Woodvilles benefited in particular from his extensive patronage. In July of 1471 Gloucester was granted all of Warwick’s northern lands and to help him conduct the war against the Scots in 1480-82 he was also made Lieutenant General in the north.
The rebels made their headquarters in York before moving down to Pontefract on 21st October where Lord Darcy handed over Pontefract Castle; the most important fortress in the North. This fast spreading rebellion could therefore have been a threat to Henry VIII. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in Lincolnshire and the North, supported by over thirty thousand rebels and was
He was a complex man, ruled by his conscience, which he conveniently altered to suit his needs. Before his aims were formed, he made 2 immediate actions; the first was the imprisonment of Empson and Dudley, Henry VII's trusted advisors and secondly, made Catherine of Aragon the new queen of England. Henry VIII's aims for his reign were made clear from the start. These aims included glory in war with France, to reclaim lost territory, to be a popular king and to secure succession of the throne to carry on the Tudor dynasty. Henry's underlining aim was to achieve eternal glory.
Was his victory inevitable? How did he deal with the problem that he was a foreign invader in a land where people did not like him and did not want him? This essay will discuss the importance of Battle of Hastings and reasons for William’s prevail as it was a first big step for William towards conquering England. Also, the significance of the harrying of the North of England and other riot towns will be looked at as it was vital in terms of gaining full control of England. The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October, 1066 and it was the Normans who eventually came on top as Harold ll was slain and his army was crushed.
This was the starting point of the Anglo-French rivalry, being that it was humiliating for one king to be vassal to another. The French Capetian kings, likewise, resented a neighboring king holding vast tracts of land within their realm. The result of this situation was constant strife between the kingdoms of France and England. Furthermore, in 1154 Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, and a close cousin to the king of France, succeeded to the English throne. Two years prior to Henry’s coronation, he married Eleanor, duchess of Aquitaine, the former wife of the King of France.
I personally think that Henry failed in his foreign policy because he didn’t end up gaining a full grasp on France, this was the main precedence. The initial aim was to capture more land, gaining more land meaning capturing France and knowing Henry’s ambitious mindset, he most probably had his whole mind set on creating an empire and France was a good place to start. Had Henry been what he said he was ‘a warrior king’ he wouldn’t have been used as a toy twice throughout this unsuccessful foreign policy. Charles took advantage of Henry. At the Battle of Pavia, the French were defeated and Francis along with his strongest supporters were held captive.
Buckingham had too much influence with the King; this meant he was seen as one of the main causes to the break down in parliament. James wanted money from the Parliament in 1625 because of the war with Spain. Parliament decided to grant a tonnage and poundage as the monarch’s main source of Revenue. Opposition MPs discussed Parliament choosing the Kings ministers for him and also the impeachment of those who gained undue influence over him; this was especially aimed at Buckingham. A breakdown in parliament then occurred because Charles realized the parliamentary attack on Buckingham was increasing so in 1625 dissolved his first Parliament in order to protect his close companion.