How effective was Henry VII as a monarch?

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How effective was Henry VII as a Monarch?

Throughout the course of Henry’s reign, there were various uprisings against him, not only because he was a usurper to the throne, but also because he had very little history in England. In 1485-86 there were few minor risings in the Midlands and the North, which were of little significance and were dealt with efficiently; Henry showed his seriousness through the execution of Humphrey Stafford after his treacherousness. A more serious threat than the aforementioned was the situation surrounding Lambert Simnel, which was potentially very serious as it led to the Battle of Stoke in 1487. However, after three hours of intense battle the King’s army had the Yorkists surrounded, and most of the key leaders were killed. Again, to show his seriousness Henry charged 28 of the opposing nobles with attainder and sentenced Symonds, the orchestrator, to life imprisonment. In 1489 there was a rebellion in York which was a relatively small tax opposed rebellion which Henry was able to deal with, aided by the Earl of Surrey, who defeated the rebels. Here the King used calculated clemency, as he issued pardons to many of the prisoners as a gesture of conciliation to prevent further uprisings. In 1491, Perkin Warbeck emerged as a threat, ‘pretending’ to be Richard, Duke of York – whose assumed murder in the tower had never been proved. The threat from Warbeck was possibly the greatest that the King faced during his reign, as it lasted for 8 years, and drew much international recognition from areas of Ireland, Scotland and France. This situation, combined with the Cornish Rebellion of 1497, set Henry in a particularly troubled position. Warbeck was under the care of James IV of Scotland; whilst at the same time was under threat from the grieved Cornish – who managed to march to London unopposed. However, James did not take this opportunity to invade and the King’s army were victorious against the Cornish. The Warbeck situation came to a close in 1497, after the efficient work of Henry’s spies had unpicked the conspiracy and support for the pretender had diminished. In 1499 both Warbeck and the Earl of Warwick were hanged. In 1501 Henry faced further threats, particularly from the Earl of Suffolk who had a strong Yorkist claim to the throne and gathered support abroad in Flanders. Henry’s insecurity was evident through his rash behaviour; the King imprisoned Suffolk’s relations in England and charged 51 men who had connections to the Earl with of attainder. In 1506 a storm caused Philip of Burgundy, who had Suffolk in his care, to take refuge off Weymouth with his wife. Henry took this opportunity to persuade Philip to surrender Suffolk in return for sanctuary, and on the condition that Suffolk’s life would be spared. Overall, Henry dealt with the threats he faced rather well; they were never able to progress quite to the point where the crown was in serious jeopardy, although Simnel did get close. Henry’s ability to use clemency enabled him to prevent further uprisings and his opportunistic nature enabled him to use a situation to his advantage and squander the last among the Yorkist threats.

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With regard to foreign policy, Henry had three main aims – these were to further the interest of English merchants, to achieve an effective security system through preventing war, and to be recognised as the rightful King of England. The first major treaty that Henry signed was the Medina del Campo with Spain in 1489, which has been described by Rogers and Turvey as “the most significant achievement of Henry VII’s foreign policy”, and rightly so; Henry achieved all of his main aims with this treaty. The King gained recognition through the treaty as the Spanish Monarchs, who had emerged ...

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