How Successful Was Henry Vii in Dealing with Challenges to...

How successful was Henry VII in dealing with challenges to his royal authority in the years 1489 to 1499? Between the years 1489 and 1499, Henry received three main threats to his royal authority: the Yorkshire Rebellion in 1489; the pretender, Perkin Warbeck (from 1491 to 1499); and the Cornish uprising in 1497. All of these threats were quelled successfully; however each one presented problems to Henry and highlighted his instability on the throne. I believe that Henry dealt with the challenges successfully, but his policies suffered as a result. In 1489, the Yorkshire Rebellion arose due to conflict between the Earl of Northumberland and the Commons of Northumberland and Yorkshire, who were reluctant to pay more taxes. The†¦show more content†¦Therefore, although Henry’s swift actions against Warbeck’s invasion successfully dealt with that particular challenge, Stanley’s execution reflects Henry’s paranoia and deep concern. During the years between 1496 and 1497, Warbeck continued to cause Henry trouble – however, Henry became more successful at overcoming these threats. For example, although Warbeck was greeted into Scotland warmly by King James IV, their invasion of England in September 1946 lasted just four days; the English force led by Lord Latimer was too strong. In addition, the northern counties failed to support Warbeck, which is in contrast to his previous international support. At this point, Henry was showing greater confidence against Warbeck. It had seemed as though the marriage of Henrys eldest son, Arthur - to Catherine, a Spanish princess– would be threatened by these anti-Tudor gestures, however the marriage did go ahead in 1501. Despite the failed invasion of England, Henry was still wary of Warbeck’s allegiance with Scotland; he spent the beginning on 1497 raising a huge army to invade Scotland. This dedication – in terms of both time and money – re flects his strength and determination to quell Warbeck once and for all. Unfortunately, 1497 saw the greatest threat to Henry’s authority – the Cornish Rebellion. Described by John Guy as â€Å"the most important revolt in Henry’s reign†, it was sparked by unpopular tax collections (similar to those provoking the Yorkshire