To what extent was Henry VII a successful monarch?

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Zafar Abbas Naquvi 12L

To what extent was Henry VII a successful monarch?

Henry of Lancaster, the first Tudor monarch and establisher of his dynasty, defeated Richard of York at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. It ended a long tradition of the monarchs from the house of York, bringing back old memories of the Battle of Roses.

In some ways it can be said that Henry VII was a very tactful and intellectual monarch. The first thing he did after establishing himself as monarch of England was to marry Elizabeth of York, a marriage consummated in 1486, to end the rivalry between the houses of York and Lancaster.

Although Henry VII had established himself well as a monarch, there were plenty of pretenders to the throne, and they never let him forget that his crown was never secure and that he was under constant threat.

Having said that, one of Henry VII’s greatest successes was that he was the first king in a century to pass down the throne to his son without any disagreements and bloodshed, he also became one of the few monarchs who transferred a ‘solvent’ crown to his son. In fact, he died £9,000 in credit.

Traditionally, the monarch would nominate large numbers to the noble classes. Not so Henry VII. He has reported to have said,

“The kings, my predecessors, weakening their treasures have made themselves servants to their subjects”

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Not surprisingly, he appointed very few nobles and it was to his great advantage that many of them had deceased at the Battle of Bosworth. He also used other tactics. To limit the growth of the noble classes, he forbade inter-noble marriages. This enabled him to limit the birth of “pure” nobles.

Another way to keep the nobles in line was the use of the Act of Attainder. This particular act was an act of parliament which registered people’s conviction for treason and would have to surrender all their assets to the king. This was very useful, as ...

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