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Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII

Enquiry: The Outbreak of the Wars 1445–1450 and The early actions of Richard, Duke of York

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 1

Overview

Recall questions on the Government of England c.1445, the growth of opposition, Henry’s illness, the problem of the nobility, Somerset and York, failure in France to 1450 and its impact on Government, York’s return from Ireland, York’s attempted coup.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Why was the state of the nobility itself a cause of the wars?

Key term

Name the leading advisers blamed for Henry VI's misgovernment.

Who and when

How did the birth of Henry's heir in 1453 change York's position?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the government of England in about 1445, and how opposition to it grew.

    Model answer

    Henry VI's personal rule was dominated by a narrow court clique that monopolised patronage while the king gave away lands and offices with no thought for the cost, so that as debt mounted the Commons refused to keep funding a war being lost by a court they thought corrupt, and demanded resumption of royal grants instead of new taxation.

  2. 2

    Name the leading advisers blamed for Henry VI's misgovernment.

    Model answer

    William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and James Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele.

  3. 3

    How did failure in France to 1450 damage the government at home?

    Model answer

    The secret surrender of Maine, the collapse of Normandy and the defeat at Formigny discredited the court that had made the peace, brought unpaid soldiers home to a disorderly countryside, and gave critics an unanswerable charge of betrayal.

  4. 4

    What were the grievances of Cade's rebels in 1450, and what did they do?

    Model answer

    They attacked the corrupt councillors around the king, extortion by officials such as Lord Saye and Sele, the loss of France and the exclusion of the Duke of York from the king's counsels; they beat a royal force at Sevenoaks, held London briefly and executed Saye and Sele before pardons dissolved the rising.

  5. 5

    Why was the state of the nobility itself a cause of the wars?

    Model answer

    Private feuds went unpunished because the crown would not or could not arbitrate, so the Percy and Neville families fought openly in the north and the Courtenays and Bonvilles in the west, and each side sought a patron at court.

  6. 6

    What was the quarrel between Somerset and York about?

    Model answer

    York held Somerset responsible for the loss of Normandy, resented his monopoly of the king's favour and of crown patronage, and was owed enormous sums for his own service in France while Somerset's debts were paid.

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