Henry VII of England: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Henry VII''' (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was [[King of England]] and [[Lord of Ireland]] from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the [[House of Tudor]].{{Efn|a [[Royal house]] of Welsh-French origin}}

Henry's mother, [[Margaret Beaufort]], was a descendant of [[John of Gaunt]], son of [[King Edward III]], and founder of the [[House of Lancaster]], anda soncadet branch of the [[KingHouse Edwardof IIIPlantagenet]]. Henry's father, [[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond]], a half-brother of King [[Henry VI of England]] (also a Lancastrian), and a member of the Welsh [[Tudors of Penmynydd]], died three months before his son Henry was born. During Henry's early years, he supported his uncle Henry VI wasand the Lancastrian cause in fighting [[War of Roses|the civil wars]] against [[Edward IV]], a member of the [[Yorkist]] branch of the [[House of Plantagenet]]. After Edward retook the throne in 1471, Henry Tudor spent 14 years in exile in [[Duchy of Brittany|Brittany]]. He attained the throne when his forces, supported by [[Kingdom of France|France]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]], and [[Wales in the late Middle Ages|Wales]], defeated [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]], the culmination of the [[Wars of the Roses]]. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle, defending it two years later at the [[Battle of Stoke Field]] to decisively end the [[Wars of the Roses]] (1455–1487). HeVindicating the Lancastrian cause, he cemented his claim by marrying the Yorkist heiress, [[Elizabeth of York]], daughter of Edward IV.

Henry restored power and stability to the English monarchy following the civil war. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. His [[#Trade agreements|supportive policy]] toward England's wool industry and his standoff with the [[Low Countries]] had long-lasting benefits to the English economy. He paid very close attention to detail, and instead of spending lavishly he concentrated on raising new revenues. He stabilised the government's finances by introducing several new taxes. After his death, a commission found widespread abuses in the tax collection process. Henry reigned for nearly 24 years and was peacefully succeeded by his son, [[Henry VIII]].

==Ancestry and early life==

Henry VII was born on 28 January 1457 at [[Pembroke Castle]], in the English-speaking portion of [[Pembrokeshire]] known as [[Little England beyond Wales]]. He was the only child of [[Lady Margaret Beaufort]], who was 13 years old at the time, and [[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond]] who, at 26, died three months before his birth.{{Sfn|Rogers|Turvey|2000}} He was probably baptised at [[St Mary's Church, Pembroke]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.henrytudortrust.org.uk/tudor-pembroke.html|title=Tudor Pembroke &#124; Ymddiriedolaeth Harri Tudur &#124; Henry Tudor Trust|website=www.henrytudortrust.org.uk}}; {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcR5DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT21|title=Henry VII: The Maligned Tudor King|first=Terry|last=Breverton|date=2016|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1445646060|via=Google Books}}</ref> though no documentation of the event exists.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Wales – History – Themes – Pembroke The Main Street |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/normans/pembroke-the-main-street.shtml |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> His father died three months before his birth.{{Sfn|Rogers|Turvey|2000}} Henry's paternal grandfather, [[Owen Tudor]], originally from the [[Tudors of Penmynydd]], Isle of [[Anglesey]] in Wales, had been a page in the court of [[King Henry V]]. He rose to become one of the "Squires to the Body to the King" after military service at the [[Battle of Agincourt]].{{Sfn|Kendall|1973|p=13}} Owen is said to have secretly married the widow of Henry V, [[Catherine of Valois]]. One of their sons was Edmund, Henry's father. Edmund was created [[Earl of Richmond]] in 1452, and "formally declared legitimate by Parliament".{{Sfn|Williams|1973|page=17}}

The descent of Henry's mother, Margaret, through the legitimised [[House of Beaufort]] bolstered Henry's claim to the English throne. She was a great-granddaughter of [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]] (fourth son of [[Edward III]]), and his third wife [[Katherine Swynford]]. Swynford was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years. When they married in 1396 they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather [[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset|John Beaufort]]. Gaunt's nephew [[Richard II]] legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by [[letters patent]] in 1397. In 1407, [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]], Gaunt's son by his first wife, issued new letters patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings but also declaring them ineligible for the throne.{{Sfn|Kendall|1973|p=156}} Henry IV's action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an [[act of Parliament]],{{which|date=January 2024}} but it weakened Henry's claim.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} Nonetheless, by 1483 Henry was the senior male claimant heir to the [[House of Lancaster]] remaining after the deaths in battle, by murder or execution of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] (son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois), his son [[Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales]], and the other Beaufort line of descent through Lady Margaret's uncle, [[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

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===Trade agreements===

Henry VII was much enriched by trading [[alum]], which was used in the wool and cloth trades as a [[chemical]] [[dye fixative|fixative]] for [[dye]]ing fabrics.<ref>{{harvnb|Penn|2011|pp=201}}</ref> Since alum was mined in only one area in Europe (Tolfa, Italy), it was a scarce commodity and therefore especially valuable to its landholder, the Pope. With the English economy heavily invested in wool production, Henry VII became involved in the alum trade in 1486. With the assistance of the Italian merchant banker Lodovico della Fava and the Italian banker [[Jerome Frescobaldi|Girolamo Frescobaldi]], Henry VII became deeply involved in the trade by licensing ships, obtaining alum from the Ottoman Empire, and selling it to the Low Countries and in England.<ref>{{harvnb|Penn|2011|pp=203–204}}</ref> This trade made an expensive commodity cheaper, which raised opposition from Pope Julius II, since the Tolfa mine was a part of papal territory and had given the Pope monopoly control over alum.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Henry's most successful diplomatic achievement as regards the economy was the ''[[Magnus Intercursus]]'' ("great agreement") of 1496. In 1494, Henry embargoed trade (mainly in wool) with the [[Burgundian Netherlands]] in retaliation for Margaret of Burgundy's support for Perkin Warbeck. The [[Company of Merchant Adventurers of London|Merchant Adventurers]], the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from [[Antwerp]] to [[Calais]]. At the same time, Flemish merchants were ejected from England. The dispute eventually paid off for Henry. Both parties realised they were mutually disadvantaged by the reduction in commerce. Its restoration by the ''Magnus Intercursus'' was very much to England's benefit in removing taxation for English merchants and significantly increasing England's wealth. In turn, Antwerp became an extremely important trade [[entrepôt]] (transhipment port), through which, for example, goods from the Baltic, spices from the east and Italian silks were exchanged for English cloth.{{Sfn|Williams|1973|pages=167–168}}

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===Law enforcement and justices of the peace===

Henry's principal problem was to restore royal authority in a realm recovering from the Wars of the Roses. There were too many powerful noblemen and, as a consequence of the system of so-called [[bastard feudalism]], each had what amounted to private armies of indentured retainers ([[mercenary|mercenaries]] masquerading as servants).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bastard Feudalism, Overmighty Subjects and Idols of the Multitude during the Wars of the Roses|first=Michael|last=Hicks|journal=History|date=2000|volume=85|issue=279 |pages=386–403|doi=10.1111/1468-229X.00153 }}</ref> Following the example of Edward IV, Henry VII created a [[Council of Wales and the Marches]] for his son Arthur, which was intended to govern [[Wales]] and the [[Welsh Marches|Marches]], Cheshire and [[Duchy of Cornwall|Cornwall]].<ref name="odnb">{{cite ODNB | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/705 | title=Arthur, prince of Wales (1486–1502) | year=2004 | access-date=7 October 2013 | last=Horrox |first=Rosemary | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/705}} {{Subscription required}}</ref><ref name="griffiths">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Wales and the Marches in the Fifteenth Century |encyclopedia=Fifteenth Century England, 1399–1509: Studies in Politics and Society |publisher=Sutton Publishing |location=Bristol |last=Griffiths |first=Ralph |date=1972 |author-link=Ralph A. Griffiths |editor-last=Chrimes |editor-first=Stanley |pages=145–172 |isbn=978-0064911269 |editor1-link=S B Chrimes |editor2-last=Ross |editor2-first=Charles |editor2-link=Charles Ross (historian) |editor3-last=Griffiths |editor3-first=Ralph |editor3-link=Ralph A. Griffiths}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|pp=249–256}}</ref>

[[File:King Henry VII from NPG.jpg|thumb|left|Late 16th-century copy of a portrait of Henry VII]]

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[[File:HenryVIITomb.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Tomb effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, by [[Pietro Torrigiano]], [[Westminster Abbey]]]]

[[File:WLA vanda Henry VII bust.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Posthumous portrait bust by [[Pietro Torrigiano]] made using Henry's [[death mask]]]]

In 1502, Henry VII's life took a difficult and personal turn in which many people he was close to died in quick succession. His first son and heir apparent, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died suddenly at [[Ludlow Castle]], very likely from a viral respiratory illness known at the time as the "[[English sweating sickness]]".{{Sfn|Penn|2011|p=70}} This made Henry VII's second son, [[Henry, Duke of York]], heir apparent to the throne. The King, normally a reserved man who rarely showed much emotion in public unless angry, surprised his courtiers bywith his intense grief and sobbing at his son's death,. while hisHis concern for the Queen is evidence that the marriage was a happy one, as is his reaction to Queen Elizabeth's death the following year, when he shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone.{{Sfn|Chrimes|1999|pp=302–304}} Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death impactedaffected him severely.{{Sfn|Weir|2013|p=404}}

Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. Accordingly, he arranged a [[papal dispensation]] from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. Elizabeth had died in childbirth, so Henry had the dispensation also permit him to marry Catherine himself. After obtaining the dispensation, Henry had second thoughts about the marriage of his son and Catherine. Catherine's mother [[Isabella I of Castile]] had died and Catherine's sister [[Joanna of Castile|Joanna]] had succeeded her; Catherine was, therefore, daughter of only one reigning monarch and so less desirable as a spouse for Henry VII's heir-apparent. The marriage did not take place during his lifetime. Otherwise, at the time of his father's arranging of the marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the future Henry VIII was too young to contract the marriage according to Canon Law and would be ineligible until age fourteen.{{Sfn|Penn|2013|p=204}}

Henry made half-hearted plans to remarry and beget more heirs, but these never came to anything. He entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain – ; [[Joanna of Naples (1478–1518)|Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples]] (a niece of Queen Isabella of Castile), [[Joanna of Castile|Queen Joanna of Castile]], and [[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy|Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy]] (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergenroth |first=G A |title=Calendar of State Papers, Spain: Supplement To Volumes 1 and 2, Queen Katherine; Intended Marriage of King Henry VII To Queen Juana |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/supp/vols1-2 |access-date=7 August 2020 |website=British History Online}}</ref> In 1505 he was sufficiently interested in a potential marriage to Joanna of Naples that he sent ambassadors to Naples to report on the 27- year-old Joanna's physical suitability.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schwarz |first=Arthur L. |title=VIVAT REX! An Exhibition Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII |publisher=The Grolier Club |year=2009 |isbn=978-1605830179 |page=58 |chapter=Henry's Father Searches for a New Wife}}</ref> The wedding never took place, and the physical description Henry sent with his ambassadors of what he desired in a new wife matched the description of his wife Elizabeth.

After 1503, records show thethat TowerHenry of London wasVII never again used the Tower of London as a royal residence by Henry VII, and; all royal births under Henry VIII took place in palaces.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herman |first=Peter C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBEPoST7-ooC&q=henry+vii+shattered+by+death&pg=PT52 |title=A Short History of Early Modern England |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011 |isbn=978-1444394993}}{{page needed|date=August 2021}}</ref> Henry VII falls among the minority of British monarchs that never had any known mistresses, and, for the times, it is very unusual that he did not remarry:. hisHis son Henry was the only male heir left after the death of his wife, thus; the death of Arthur therefore created a precarious political position for the House of Tudor.

During hisHenry VII's lifetime the nobility often criticised Henry VIIhim for re-centralizingcentralising power in London, and, later, the 16th-century historian [[Francis Bacon]] was ruthlessly critical of the methods by which he enforced tax law, but. itIt is equally true that Henry VII was diligent about keeping detailed records of his personal finances, down to the last halfpenny;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Domestic and foreign policy of Henry VII |url=http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20hvii%20policy.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627111129/http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20hvii%20policy.htm |archive-date=27 June 2015 |access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref> these and one account book detailing the expenses of his queen survive in the British National Archives, as do courtiers' accounts of courtiers and many of the king's own letters. UntilFrom thethese deathaccounting of his wifebooks, the evidence is clear fromthat, theseuntil accountingthe booksdeath thatof his wife, Henry was a more doting father and husband than was widely known and there is evidence that his outwardly austere personality belied a devotion to his family. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. Many of the entries show a man who loosened his purse strings generously for his wife and children, – and not just onfor necessities:. inIn Spring 1491, he spent a great amount of gold on a lute for his daughter, Mary; the following year he spent money on a lion for Elizabeth's menagerie. WithAfter Elizabeth's death, the possibilities for such family indulgences greatly diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Henry VII Winter King |url=http://queentohistory.com/book-reviews/documentaries/henry-vii-winter-king |website=Queen to History}}</ref> Immediately afterwards, Henry became very sick and nearly died himself, allowing only his mother Margaret Beaufort near him: "privily departed to a solitary place, and would that no man should resort unto him."<ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|p=304}}; {{harvnb|Penn|2013|pp=110–113}}</ref> Further compounding Henry's distress, within months of her mother's death, his older daughter Margaret, who had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland and within months of her mother's death she, had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Queen Margaret's Arch {{!}} York Civic Trust |url=https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/queen-margarets-arch |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> Margaret Tudor wrote letters to her father declaring her homesickness, but Henry could do nothing but mourn the loss of his family and honour the terms of the peace treaty he had agreed to with the King of Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tudor Times |url=https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/margaret-tudor-life-story/married-life |access-date=9 March 2020 |website=Tudor Times}}</ref>

Henry VII died of [[tuberculosis]] at [[Richmond Palace]] on 21 April 1509 and was buried in [[Henry VII Chapel|the chapel he commissioned]] in Westminster Abbey next to his wife, Elizabeth.<ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|pp=313–314, n5}}</ref> He was succeeded by his second son, [[Henry VIII]] (reigned 1509–47), who would initiate the [[Protestant Reformation]] in England.<ref>{{harvnb|Hunt|Towle|1998|p=69}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Lockyer|2014|p=88}}</ref> His mother died two months later on 29 June 1509.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/margaret-beaufort-countess-of-richmond |access-date=10 January 2021 |website=Westminster Abbey}}</ref>

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Amiable and high-spirited, Henry was friendly if dignified in manner, and it was clear that he was extremely intelligent. His biographer, Professor Stanley Chrimes, credits him – even before he had become king – with "a high degree of personal magnetism, ability to inspire confidence, and a growing reputation for shrewd decisiveness". On the debit side, he may have looked a little delicate as he suffered from poor health.<ref name=Chrimes53/><ref>{{Cite journal |first=Desmond |last=Seward |title=The Wars of the Roses |journal=Nature |year=2010 |volume=467 |issue=7316 |page=318|doi=10.1038/467744a |bibcode=2010Natur.467..744B |s2cid=4350364 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Comparison with contemporaries==

==Legacy and memory==

Historians have always compared Henry VII with his continental contemporaries, especially [[Louis XI of France]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]]. By 1600 historians emphasised Henry's wisdom in drawing lessons in statecraft from other monarchs. In 1622 Francis Bacon published his ''[[History of the Reign of King Henry VII]]''. By 1900 the [[New Monarchs|"New Monarchy"]] interpretation stressed the common factors that in each country led to the revival of monarchical power. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. In the late 20th century a model of European state formation was prominent in which Henry less resembles Louis and Ferdinand.<ref>{{harvnb|Gunn|2009|pp=380–392}}</ref>

==Family==

{{More citations needed|section|date=October 2020}}

[[File:The Family of Henry VII with St George and the Dragon (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Henry VII (centre left) with his family, as depicted at [[Hampton Court Palace]]]]

Henry VII and Elizabeth had seven children:{{Efn|[[Roland de Velville]] (or Veleville), who was [[knight]]ed in 1497 and was Constable of [[Beaumaris Castle]], is sometimes presented as the clear "[[Legitimacy (family law) |illegitimate]] issue"son of Henry VII of England by "a [[Bretons|Breton]] lady whose name is not known". The possibility this was Henry's illegitimate son is baseless.<ref>{{harvnb|Chrimes|1999|p=67 n3}}</ref>}}

* [[Arthur, Prince of Wales|Arthur]] (19 September 1486 – 2 April 1502), [[Prince of Wales]], [[heir apparent]] from birth to death (named after the legendary [[King Arthur]]){{sfn|Wagner|Schmid|2011|p=1104}}

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{{chart/end}}

{{chart bottom}}

{{chart top|min-width=45em|width=100%; max-width:1024px|Family tree of the principal members of the house of Tudor<br/>{{Red|Red text indicates [[Monarch of England]].}} {{Blue|Blue text indicates [[Monarch of Scotland]].}}}}

{{wide image|House of Tudor.png|1024px}}

{{chart bottom}}

{{Wars of the Roses family tree}}

==See also==

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{{S-hou|[[House of Tudor]]|28 January|1457|21 April|1509}}

{{S-reg}}

{{S-bef|before=[[Richard III of England|Richard III]]}}

{{S-ttl|title=[[List of English monarchs|King of England]]<br />[[Lordship of Ireland|Lord of Ireland]]|years=1485–1509}}

{{S-aft|after=[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]}}

{{S-reg|en}}

{{S-bef|before=[[Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond|Edmund Tudor]]}}