Britain 1483-1485

The new King

• Richard III arranged his coronation for July 6
• No time was wasted in establishing a new government
• Loyal servants were rewarded with titles (The Norfolk family became Dukes and Earls)
• The greater, loyal magnates guarded sections of the Kingdom
• Forces from Richard's powerbase in the North were deployed to keep order during the coronation
• Promises of peace and to govern justly were made by the new King
• John de la Pole was named as Richard III's heir

(NOTE: Magnates = the most powerful noble families)

The New King's policies

• Stopped the use of Benevolences
• Introduction of bail for criminals
• The Titulus Regius, recognising Richard III as King
• Council of the North governed the North of England and were loyal supporters of Richard III
• Economic reforms were made to protect English merchants
• Attempted to gain Lancastrian support

(NOTE: Benevolences = gifts nobles were obliged to give to Edward IV)

Growing Opposition

• By September opposition began to worry the new King
• Henry Tudor had gained support of the King of France by this time

Causes of this Opposition

• The rumours still circulated surrounding the Prince's in the Tower
• Richard III was accused of poisoning his wife in order to marry his niece
• When rebellions began in 1483 Richard III punished rebels by taking away their land
• Forced Loans were introduced to meet the cost of resisting the Tudor invasion

Buckingham's rebellions

• The Duke of Buckingham was unsatisfied by the little rewards Richard III gave him
• He was also uncertain as to whether the King would turn on him like so many others
• In the beginning, Buckingham considered his own claim to the throne
• John Morton convinced Buckingham to back Henry Tudor's claim instead

• Buckingham's rebellions were not just one rebellion or under one leader
• In July and August, a series of rebellions began in the South-East
• The Duke of Buckingham seized this opportunity an launched an uprising from his power base in South Wales
• He also contacted Henry Tudor in this time, who was in exile in France
• Henry Tudor launched his claim to the throne during the uprisings and set sail from Brittany
• Richard III managed to contain the rebels however, and Henry Tudor retreated
• Buckingham's uprising was heavily affected by the weather which made their journey South impossible and made them vulnerable to Richard III's counter attacks

The aftermath

• Most of the rebel leaders fled from England
• The Duke of Buckingham was executed for treason without trial
• 97 people were attained and lost lands (mainly those in the South)
• Northern nobles were rewarded with land for their loyalty
• Although Richard III managed to suppress the Buckingham Rebellions the consequences of these rebellions were disastrous
• Henry Tudor was now seen as a credible heir to the throne and a threat to Richard III
• Richard III was now unable to depend on many of the nobility
• After the rebellions, Richard III was very open to attack
• To reduce the threat of more rebellions and treachery, Richard III sent loyal Northerners to the South and Midlands as spies

Henry Tudor

• Henry Tudor was being sheltered by the Duke of Brittany
• Richard III negotiated a secret pact with the Duke to surrender Tudor
• This would have eliminated Henry Tudor's threat
• However, John Morton sent warning to Henry Tudor, who then fled to France
• Henry Tudor's claim to the throne was through his mother, Margaret Beaufort
• Margaret Beaufort's marriage to Lord Stanley put her in a very influential position
• She promoted Henry Tudor in England helping to build up hsi public support
• Whilst in exile, Henry Tudor sent agents, such as the Earl of Oxford, over to England to measure his level of public support

Public promise

• Henry Tudor public promised to marry Elizabeth of York
• Elizabeth of York was the daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV and sister to the two Prince's in the Tower
• This promise involved dissatisfied Yorkists in the support for Henry Tudor

The invasion

• On the 1st of August, 1485 Henry Tudor set sail from France
• The King of France had leant Tudor money and 1'800 mercenaries for the invasion which gave Henry an advantage
• On the 7th of August Henry Tudor landed at Mill Bay, South West Wales
• This position was strategic since the landing would be out of sight of Ricardian strongholds in South Wales
• The area around Mill Bay was also an area formerly controlled by Jasper Tudor

(NOTE: Mercenaries = trained forces)

Henry Tudor's advance

• Henry Tudor travelled North at first, gaining support and gathering a bigger army
• Key members of the nobility, such as the Stanley's, had not declared support for either Ricardian or Tudor forces at this time
• As Henry Tudor continued advancing towards Market Bosworth in the Midlands, some members of the nobility began to join him; still no key nobles.
• As Tudor made advances, he took time to send messages to potential allies
• Finally a key noble, Rhys ap Thomas, joined Tudor's forces after being promised the Lieutenancy of Wales under Tudor's reign

Dilemma at Shrewsbury

• When Henry Tudor reached the town of Shrewsbury, the bailiffs would not let him pass
• This could have posed a real threat to Tudor's bid to the throne
• However, Lord Stanley sent a message to the bailiffs to allow Tudor to pass
• They did and Lord Stanley's stepson joined Tudor's forces soon after

Lord Stanley

• Lord Stanley was an extremely powerful noble with a huge powerbase was in Cheshire
• Stanley's intervention in the battle would have been crucial
• Lord Stanley had made excuses when Richard III summoned him for battle
• Richard III could not rely on Stanley's loyalty, mainly because Stanley was married to Henry Tudor's mother
• In a bid to keep Stanley loyal, Richard III held Stanley's eldest son hostage
• This brought Lord Stanley into the battle physically
• Lord Stanley and his brother William Stanley met Henry Tudor at Atherstone and discussed battle tactics
• Neither of the Stanley's declared commitment to Henry Tudor however

Richard III

• Richard III had anticipated an attack from Tudor and had set up in the Midlands so he could access any part of the country
• On the 11th of August, Richard III learned of Henry Tudor's landing
• Richard III summoned his nobles, but he did not rush believing that Henry Tudor would be crushed in Wales
• However, Richard III soon learnt that his nobility in Wales had joined with Tudor
• Richard III declared Lord Stanley and Rhys ap Thomas traitors and advanced to meet Henry Tudor's forces

The battle

• Richard III had 10'000 English men and had the higher ground on Ambien Hill
• Henry Tudor had 5'000 men of varying nationalities
• The Stanley's had positioned their armies on either side of the hill
• Sir William Stanley intervened crucially at the last minute, however Lord Stanley played no part in the battle

Richard's Charge

• Historians believe that the deciding point in the battle was the King's charge
• He charged towards Henry Tudor on a white horse
• Henry Tudor was surrounded by the French mercenaries who were able to defend Tudor with complex Swiss manoeuvres that had never been used in England
• Richard's charge cost him the battle and his life

Richard III

• Richard III's body was stripped naked and slung on a horse
• It was taken to Leicester and put on public display for two days
• Richard III is the only King in British history not to have been laid to rest in a tomb fit for a King
• His body was eventually thrown into a river and lost