Preceden

Henry VII

Events

Death of Prince Arthur

April, 1502

Death of Queen Elizabeth of York

1503

League of Cambrai formed

1508

Rebellions

Yorkshire Rebellion

April 1489

Henry asked for tax from Parliament to fund the aid of Brittany - this lead to widespread resentment - Yorkshire was particularly resentful as they had already had a bad harvest. - also taxes were exempt from people in the north as they were protecting England from the Scots

Cornish Rebellion

May 1497

Henry tried to raise tax to get money to resist the expected invasion by the Scottish king, James IV and Perkin Warbeck.
The Cornish refused to pay for something happening so far away - their rebels made it to the outskirts of London (which while is close, was not a significant threat as was quickly crushed - but did show Henry that he couldn’t afford a serious campaign against Scotland.

Foreign Policy

Lambert Simnel Imposture

11/01/1486 - 06/16/1487

Brittany Crisis

1487 - 1492

Charles VIII of France and his sister Anne of Beaujeu set their sights on recovering Britanny in 1487.
The Duke of Brittany, Francis II was desperate to preserve Brittany independence but was old with no male heirs. Anne of Beaujeu wanted to marry her brother to Anne of Brittany.
This concerned Europe hugely (as it would make France even more powerful).
Ferdinand of Spain and Maximillian of the Habsburg Empire both tried to intervene by sending troops into Brittany.

For Henry this meant
Francis II of Brittany had sheltered Henry during his years in exile and he didn’t want France to gain even more power as it increased the likeliness of an invasion.
BUT - He didn’t want war with France / to antagonize so early into the reign/ he had been given help by the French with his invasion.

Treaty of Medina del Campo

1489

Treaty of Redon

1489

Under the Treaty of Redon (1489) Maximilian (heir to the HRE) agreed to use English troops to relieve Maximillians garrisons- Maximillian didn’t honour the part of the agreement that was using his troops to help to save Brittany’s independance and he made peace with France in July.

Treaty of Etaples

1492

France agrees to give financial compensation in return for England removing all its troops from French soil (except Calais).

Italian Wars

1494 - 1559

Warbeck + supporters invade England by sea

1495

Truce of Ayton

1497

Peace treaty after Warbeck - James gave up Warbeck. Margaret Tudor is betrothed to James IV.

Treaty of Windsor

1506

Maximilian's son, Philip of Burgundy, was blown off course while sailing, and reluctantly and unexpectedly became a guest of Henry VII. Needing to set sail again in order to claim his wife's inheritance (Castile),

Nobility

Laws introduced outlawing retaining

1487

Retaining was where great lords recruited those of a lower social status as their followers or servants and a retainer’s job was to advance their lord’s position within the land and this included the use of arms if this was felt necessary.
By allowing retaining a king could all but guarantee social stability in his kingdom. Retaining also served another purpose – the king frequently needed a large army at short notice to fight foreign campaigns and retaining effectively allowed a king to gather around him a sizeable number of trained men at short notice.In 1487 and in 1504 laws were passed which seemingly outlawed the practice. - but it only meant people could retain within the law even if it was restricted.
Henry was obviously successful in moving retaining into a system, which he felt in control of. The number of retainers fell as his reign progressed. - but some got around it like Northumberland and Buckingham.

Imprisonment of Edmund de le Pole

1506

Legislation

More laws outlawing retaining

1504

Government

Poyning's Law

1494

Introduction of The Council Learned in the Law

1495

most members had some kind of legal training - introduced in 1495 to defend Henry’s position as a feudal landlord. Essentially dealing with crown lands. Its connection to bonds and recognisances is what made it hated and criticised. Empson and Dudley - harshly enforced the penalties Henry had for the nobles. They often acted illegally and manipulated the system falsely claiming people owed feudal dues when they didn’t.

Trade

Navigation Acts

1485 - 1486

Those in the Hanseatic League dominated trade.
Henry sought to reduce foreign control over English trade and break the Hanseatic control.
Navigation Acts of 1485-6 -- he attempted to limit the foreign grip on English trade - it forbade Englishmen to load their goods on foreign ships when English ones were available.
A further act meant English merchants had to use English ships if they were available in 1489.

Magnus Intercursus

1496

Trade agreement between England and Burgundy signed in 1496.
Embargo benefitted no one and Warbeck had failed at this point.
Philip of Burgundy needed English support against France
Meant English merchants could sell anything in Burgundy’s regions without tolls or customs.