Henry VII Was Never Really Threatened by Rebellions: A Discussion
How far do you agree that Henry VII was never seriously threatened by rebellions?
Henry VII ascended to the throne in 1485 with a weak claim due to dynastic issues following on from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Despite discontent and rebellion within Henry VII’s reign, it is debatable whether the monarch was actually threatened by rebellions due to the simple reason that Henry VII was able to remain on the throne and secure a succession until his death, however the challenge to his authority and succession seen in Lovell, Simnel and Warbeck shows clear instability throughout areas of his reign. However the Yorkshire and Cornish rebellions, which aims were focused around issues of tax, did not pose as much of a threat during Henry VII’s reign but were able to achieve some of their aims.
An important factor to consider when assessing how threatening a rebellion was during Henry VII’s reign is issues of location and the size of the rebellion. During Henry VII’s reign, only rebellions in close proximity of London would be posed as threatening as London would’ve been Henry and any other monarch’s central location and biggest area of threat. Rebellions far from the centre would cause minimal disturbances to government and consequently only cause limited threat. In Henry VII’s reign, rebellions occurred in Yorkshire, Cornwall and Ireland (mostly in the North), however it could be argued that Perkin Warbeck’s rebellion was more of a threat than others as it managed to reach Hampshire, which whilst is still not placed centrally, is closer to the monarch and therefore more threatening. Following on from this, the size of a rebellion is crucial to determine how far the majority supported it and if so, how easily it would be to remove. The largest of the rebellions was the Cornish uprising of 1497, an army of 15,000 made their way to London from Cornwall facing little resistance along the way until they reached London where there weak force was faced with Henry’s
Henry VII ascended to the throne in 1485 with a weak claim due to dynastic issues following on from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Despite discontent and rebellion within Henry VII’s reign, it is debatable whether the monarch was actually threatened by rebellions due to the simple reason that Henry VII was able to remain on the throne and secure a succession until his death, however the challenge to his authority and succession seen in Lovell, Simnel and Warbeck shows clear instability throughout areas of his reign. However the Yorkshire and Cornish rebellions, which aims were focused around issues of tax, did not pose as much of a threat during Henry VII’s reign but were able to achieve some of their aims.
An important factor to consider when assessing how threatening a rebellion was during Henry VII’s reign is issues of location and the size of the rebellion. During Henry VII’s reign, only rebellions in close proximity of London would be posed as threatening as London would’ve been Henry and any other monarch’s central location and biggest area of threat. Rebellions far from the centre would cause minimal disturbances to government and consequently only cause limited threat. In Henry VII’s reign, rebellions occurred in Yorkshire, Cornwall and Ireland (mostly in the North), however it could be argued that Perkin Warbeck’s rebellion was more of a threat than others as it managed to reach Hampshire, which whilst is still not placed centrally, is closer to the monarch and therefore more threatening. Following on from this, the size of a rebellion is crucial to determine how far the majority supported it and if so, how easily it would be to remove. The largest of the rebellions was the Cornish uprising of 1497, an army of 15,000 made their way to London from Cornwall facing little resistance along the way until they reached London where there weak force was faced with Henry’s