Timeline
o April 1486 – uprising of Lord Lovell and the Staffords
o January 1487 – Lambert Simnel in Ireland
o 16 June 1487 – the Battle of Stoke.
o 28 April 1489 – death of Northumberland and beginning of the Yorkshire uprising.
o November 1491 – Perkin Warbeck in Ireland.
o 3 November 1492 – Treaty of Etaples.
o February 1495 – execution of Sir William Stanley.
o November 1495 – Perkin Warbeck in Scotland.
o September 1495 – Perkin Warbeck and James IV of Scotland invade northern
England.
o June 1497 – Cornwall rebellion.
o September-October 1499 – Perkin Warbeck surrenders.
o November 1499 – execution of Perkin Warbeck and Edward, Earl of Warwick.
• Tudor was able to gain some control by restoring his supporters to the positions they held
before 1484, and elevating the positions of his most loyal supporters. For example, Jasper
Tudor was newly created the Duke of Bedford.
• However, there was still the issue of the many leading families that had relied on Richard III
to support their interests, such as the Scrope and de la Pole families. The death of Richard III
also caused instability in northern England, due to the extent of Richard’s power in the
region. The instability in the North was exacerbated by the Scottish border. There were
increased raids into England from 1482 and Henry VII had to restore the Earl of
Northumberland. Henry VII began a royal progress to the North in March 1486 to
consolidate his personal authority. Many former Ricardians and former northern supporters
shifted their loyalty to Henry, such as Sir John Conyers.
Rebellions against Henry VII’s rule – the Yorkist threat
• April 1486, Lovell revolt – Viscount Lovell and Sir Humphrey Stafford raised rebellions in
Richmond and the West Midlands. Henry summoned his nobility against Lovell and Stafford,
and dispatched a force of 3000 men to deal with the rebellion. The royal troops caused the
rebels to disperse; Lovell and Stafford fled. Many historians think that the rebellion posed no
real threat to Henry’s regime. Regardless, the Lovell revolt showed that there was some
discontent with Henry’s rule.
• 1487, Lambert Simnel – Lambert Simnel was taken to Ireland and accepted as the Earl of
Warwick, the heir to the throne. Simnel’s supporters had the support of Margaret of
Burgundy and other opponents of Henry VII. Simnel was crowned ‘Edward VI’ on 24 May by
a group of rebels. In June, the rebel invasion force landed at Piel Castle. The king summoned
his Council to discuss military plans, and expected that some in England would sympathise
with the rebels. However, the rebels did not have much support in England.
• Battle of Stoke – Henry’s forward forces, under the Earl of Oxford, arrived at Stoke and
attacked the rebels. Oxford’s forward troops included experienced members of the
aristocracy, and far outnumbered the Earl of Lincoln’s force. The Irish rebels were ill-
equipped and unable to fight off the king’s forces. Lambert Simnel was captured.
• April 1489 – Henry VII imposed taxation so that he could renew war with France.
Resentment towards the taxation caused riots in Yorkshire and Durham. Northumberland
was unable to get the northerners to pay the tax and had to use force. Northumberland was
killed due to his retinue failing to protect him. The rebels were unable to attract support
from the gentry. Henry VII led a large army into northern England and attacked the rebels.
The Earl of Surrey became the suitable candidate to rule the North in Henry VII’s interests
due to his role in suppressing the rebellion. This strengthened Henry’s positions in the north
and against pro-Yorkist opposition.
• November 1491 – Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Edward IV’s son, Prince Richard of York, and
arrived in Ireland. Henry VII sent a force to Ireland in December, and Warbeck fled to France
in early 1492. Henry VII invaded France in October 1492 with the support of Archduke
Maximilian. Maximilian’s forces were slow to arrive, and gave time for Henry to agree on a
truce with France, the Treaty of Etaples in November 1492. Charles VIII agreed to stop
sheltering Henry VII’s rebellious enemies.
• After being banished from France, Warbeck fled to the Low Countries. He had the support of
Margaret of Burgundy and Maximilian. Warbeck’s arrival in Flanders was exploited to raise
doubt about Henry VII’s legitimacy. Henry VII sent a military expedition to Ireland to assess
the situation in March 1493 and considered the possibility of Warbeck’s invasion. After
discovering Warbeck’s associations with Margaret of Burgundy, Henry VII sent ambassadors
in July 1493 and blockaded the Low Countries to reduce support for Warbeck. In response,
Maximilian, now the Holy Roman Emperor, banned the import of English wool.
• 1494/1495 – Warbeck’s supporters in England were discovered by Henry VII’s spies. Evidence
was gathered against plotters in 1494. In January and February 1495, several men were put
on trial for treason for contact with Warbeck, including Sir William Stanley. Most of them
had links to senior members of the House of York.
• Pretenders like Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck showed that Henry VII’s succession was
not entirely secure. Henry had two more sons in the 1490s, and created Prince Henry the
new Duke of York in November 1494.
• Warbeck continued his invasion plans with the support of Margaret of Burgundy and other
European powers. His forces invaded Kent in July 1495, but were deterred by the local
population, who were loyal to Henry VII. In late 1495, Warbeck received support from James
IV of Scotland and was offered to marry the Earl of Huntly’s daughter. They both planned for
an English invasion in September 1496. The Scottish forces that invaded Northumberland
were quickly deterred by Lord Neville’s large forces. Unlike the Yorkshire rebellion, the
northern nobles did not exploit the invasion for their own purposes. This showed that the
Earl of Surrey was important in consolidating Henry’s authority in the North.
• 1497, Cornish rebellion – the South West revolted due to the issue of raising taxation and
levies of ships for an expedition to Scotland, compared to other regions. The army advanced
through England and wanted to punish the Councillors who had passed the taxation. The
Cornish rebels did not have support from London or Kent. The rebel camp was overcome in
June, and pardons were granted after the Battle of Blackheath. The rebels had called on
Warbeck to lead them, and Warbeck reached a new agreement with James IV. Warbeck left
Scotland in July 1497 after James IV rejected him in favour of preserving his international
reputation.
• James IV withdrew his protection of Warbeck and aimed for a truce with England. Warbeck
continued his invasion plans and was supported by the men of Cornwall. When attacking
Exeter in September 1497, Warbeck had no support among the aristocracy. Warbeck was
trapped in Taunton and was captured after seeking sanctuary. Warbeck was used as a
propaganda tool and was paraded through London.
• Henry VII used Warbeck in negotiations to remedy the trade dispute between England and
the Low Countries in summer 1498. Warbeck admitted that the deceit was caused by
Margaret of Burgundy, who renounced her support.
• Summer 1499 – sympathisers in London aimed to free Warbeck and Warwick, and place
either of them on the throne. Warbeck and Warwick were inextricably linked in the plot.
Warbeck and Warwick were executed in November
