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KF5JRV > TODAY 22.05.19 13:34l 70 Lines 3864 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36760_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - May 22
Path: IW8PGT<IR2UBX<IW2OHX<IQ2LB<IR2UFV<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190522/1130Z 36760@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
The War of the Roses begins
In the opening battle of England’s War of the Roses, the Yorkists defeat
King Henry VI’s Lancastrian forces at St. Albans, 20 miles northwest of
London. Many Lancastrian nobles perished, including Edmund Beaufort, the
duke of Somerset, and the king was forced to submit to the rule of his
cousin, Richard of York. The dynastic struggle between the House of
York, whose badge was a white rose, and the House of Lancaster, later
associated with a red rose, would stretch on for 30 years.
Both families, closely related, claimed the throne through descent from
the sons of Edward III, the king of England from 1327 to 1377. The first
Lancastrian king was Henry IV in 1399, and rebellion and lawlessness
were rife during his reign. His son, Henry V, was more successful and
won major victories in the Hundred Years War against France. His son and
successor, Henry VI, had few kingly qualities and lost most of the
French land his father had conquered. At home, chaos prevailed and lords
with private armies challenged Henry VI’s authority. At times, his
ambitious queen, Margaret of Anjou, effectively controlled the crown.
In 1453, Henry lapsed into insanity, and in 1454 Parliament appointed
Richard, duke of York, as protector of the realm. Henry and York’s
grandfathers were the fourth and third sons of Edward III, respectively.
When Henry recovered in late 1454, he dismissed York and restored the
authority of Margaret, who saw York as a threat to the succession of
their son, Prince Edward. York raised an army of 3,000 men, and in May
the Yorkists marched to London. On May 22, 1455, York met Henry’s forces
at St. Albans while on the northern road to the capital. The bloody
encounter lasted less than an hour, and the Yorkists carried the day.
The duke of Somerset, Margaret’s great ally, was killed, and Henry was
captured by the Yorkists.
After the battle, Richard again was made English protector, but in 1456
Margaret regained the upper hand. An uneasy peace was broken in 1459,
and in 1460 the Lancastrians were defeated, and York was granted the
right to ascend to the throne upon Henry’s death. The Lancastrians then
gathered forces in northern England and in December 1460 surprised and
killed York outside his castle near Wakefield.
York’s son Edward reached London before Margaret and was proclaimed King
Edward IV. In March 1461, Edward won a decisive victory against the
Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton, the bloodiest of the war. Henry,
Margaret, and their son fled to Scotland, and the first phase of the war
was over.
Yorkist rivalry would later lead to the overthrow of Edward in 1470 and
the restoration of Henry VI. The next year, Edward returned from exile
in the Netherlands, defeated Margaret’s forces, killed her son, and
imprisoned Henry in the Tower of London, where he was murdered. Edward
IV then ruled uninterrupted until his death in 1483. His eldest son was
proclaimed Edward V, but Edward IV’s brother, Richard III, seized the
crown and imprisoned Edward and his younger brother in the Tower of
London, where they disappeared, probably murdered. In 1485, Richard III
was defeated and killed by Lancastrians led by Henry Tudor at the Battle
of Bosworth Field.
Henry Tudor was proclaimed King Henry VII, the first Tudor king. Henry
was the grandson of Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V, and Owen
Tudor. In 1486, he married Edward IV’s daughter Elizabeth of York,
thereby uniting the Yorkist and Lancastrian claims. This event is seen
as marking the end of the War of Roses; although some Yorkists supported
in 1487 an unsuccessful rebellion against Henry, led by Lambert Simnel.
The War of Roses left little mark on the common English people but
severely thinned the ranks of the English nobility.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.COM
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