To what extent was Henry VII a successful monarch?

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To what extent was Henry VII a successful monarch?

Henry the VII was a shrewd, enigmatic king whose meticulous manner contributed to his avarice, whilst he ruled over England. He was by no means the best King, but he was extremely successful in the fact that he had a strong hold over his reign, there was little war and conflict – shy of the Battle of Bosworth 1485 and the Battle of Stoke 1487 - and, most importantly, he was the only Tudor to come out of the throne not in debt; showing his capabilities with finance and control over the economy and expenditures. All these, and more, aided him in the establishment of his power and a dynasty.

Henry’s strong power and authority is shown by his winning of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. This shows that he is capable of being a strong warrior king, and the fact that he lead a French army, meant that he must have had leadership skills and strong determination – which are traits needed for being king. His first few years were probably the hardest. There was great unrest amongst some of the people and there were also some minor rebellions arising – which meant that he had to secure his dynasty and his monarchy fast. He was a swift and decisive king who imprisoned and executed rebels such as de la pole – this was all done to neutralise opposition so that he could succeed in his reign. This worked with great success as by the end of his reign, there was no opposition to be heard of.

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Other than being bloody and ruthless, Henry also used diplomatic tactics to secure his throne. His treaty and trade treaties with France and within his own towns meant that alliances and security could be founded and built. This meant that Henry would have the upper hand if internal opposition should arise, because he had the power to cut off trade – usually wool – and call in his security – usually foreign countries. He also – quite cleverly – married Elizabeth of York in order to end the war of the roses and unite York and Lancaster. This greatly pleased ...

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It would have been better to have scrapped this final paragraph and written even a short conclusion summing up the relative importance of the factors that contributed to Henry's strong hold on power. It is not sensible to try to cram too much in to an essay. Planning the key points and being selective is all part of the task. Without a conclusion a judgement has not been reached and this will often keep an essay out of the upper gradings. ***