Lancaster and York: the Wars of the Roses Free

FREE LANCASTER AND YORK: THE WARS OF THE ROSES PDF Alison Weir | 480 pages | 04 Aug 2009 | Vintage Publishing | 9780099540175 | English | London, United Kingdom Wars of the Roses | Summary, History, Family Tree, & Facts | Britannica The War of the Roses was series of battles from to Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses divided English society along political alignments due to personal ambitions and egos, plus a pure mistrust among the Lancastrians and the Yorkists. In the period between andthe war would swing both sides and would see foreign intervention into the efforts of both the parties to prevent the Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses from being united. When Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York was sent to Ireland he was unhappy with the decision, and skeptical of the move since he feared that Somerset was in a position to climb to the top, a place which he strongly believed to be his. In France, Somerset greatly mismanaged the war effort there leading to embarrassing defeats that made him unpopular at home. Despite this, the King still gave him his backing since he was his cousin. So in the height of Somersets' unpopularity, York set sail from Ireland to England with his supporters. The King was forced from the throne due to mental illness and the perception that he was a weak and ineffectual king. York was appointed the protector of England. He took revenge on his perceived enemies and he had Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses put in prison. The royal nobles took advantage of the situation and started small wars with their rivals. The country began its descent into chaos. He then formed an alliance with Percy, who was the Earl of Northumberland and Clifford. This alliance, known as the Lancastrians, wore red roses and had the support of the king. York was not to be left behind and formed a pact with the Earls of Wawick and Salisbury, later known as the Yorkists, who wore white roses. War broke out between them and it had the support from the neighboring kingdoms who offered asylum and monetary support to the defeated party. They did this in the hope that England would never be strong enough to invade them again. Both sides won a couple of battles and sustained casualties in the process. Warwick was killed in the battle April in Barnet and Edward suffering the same fate in Tewskebury in May the same year which lead to end of Lancastrians succession. He mounted a coup in and ruled until where he was defeated by the eventual winner, Henry Tudor. He reconciled the two houses by marrying the daughter of the late Edward, Elizabeth. Inthere was stability in the country. The War of the Roses was finally over. America's Most Generous Presidents. Wars of the Roses - HISTORY The Yorks and Lancasters were descended from the same family. Nevertheless, when the Wars of the Roses first kicked off, the Lancasters had been entrenched on the throne sincewhen Henry IV usurped power from his cousin Richard II. The Wars of the Roses might never have happened if not for the tenuous state of English politics in the s. The sorry state of affairs was compounded by the weak and witless reign of the Lancasterian King Henry VI, who suffered from a mental illness that often rendered him nearly catatonic. Albans, the first armed confrontation between York and Lancaster-aligned armies. Neither side used a rose as its sole symbol. The Wars of the Roses take their name from the color of the roses—red for Lancaster and white for York—that each house supposedly used as their emblem. This legend took root after William Shakespeare and others wrote about it, but most modern historians maintain that neither side was identified solely by a floral symbol. The white rose was just one of many badges used by the Yorks, and the red rose of Lancaster was likely not adopted until the s, when the conflict was nearly over. Although the Lancasters were nominally aligned behind Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses Henry VI, his ill health ensured that he was never a major player in the Wars of the Roses. The de facto leader of the Lancaster faction was instead his beautiful and cunning queen, Margaret of Anjou. She was later forced into exile in France after the Lancasters were ousted from power, but continued plotting and eventually helped orchestrate a invasion of England that briefly restored her husband to the throne. As brutal as she was brilliant, Queen Margaret showed little mercy to her rivals, most of whom she considered traitors. Both sides gained and lost power multiple times. He quickly won back his kingship and ruled for several years of relative peace, but his sudden death in launched yet another period of infighting that saw his heirs murdered and the Yorkist Richard III and the Lancastrian Henry Tudor both elbow their way into power. In total, the Wars resulted in five different rulers in the span of only 25 years, three of whom were killed or executed by their rivals. The Wars included one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on English soil. Despite dragging on more than 30 years, the Wars of the Roses only amounted to a few months of actual fighting and less than 20 significant battles. The ensuing battle, fought amidst a blinding snowstorm, may have involved as many as 80, men. The two sides began by exchanging punishing volleys of arrows before clashing in fierce hand-to-hand combat. The fighting went on for 10 exhausting hours—contemporary chroniclers claimed a Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses river ran red with blood—but the Yorkists eventually routed the Lancastrians, allowing Edward IV to tighten his grip on the throne. While estimates of casualties at the Battle of Towton vary, it may have claimed as many as 40, lives—more than in any battle ever fought in Britain. Many key figures switched allegiances over the course of the conflict. Double-crossing was rampant during the Wars of the Roses, and many key battles turned on acts of treachery. The coup failed, so Warwick and Clarence fled to France, where they partnered with their former archenemy, the exiled Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou. These unlikely allies managed to briefly unseat King Edward during an invasion of England, but their triumph turned to defeat after Clarence defected back to the Yorkists and Warwick died in battle. The Wars led to one of the most perplexing disappearances in British history. Since Edward was only 12 years old, his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester was made protector of the realm until he came of age. Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses clash ended in a decisive Tudor victory, and Richard III was killed during the fighting by a vicious blow to the head. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History at Home. 9 Things You Should Know About the Wars of the Roses - HISTORY House of York. The Wars of the Roses were a series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet : the House of Lancasterrepresented by a red roseand the House of Yorkrepresented by a white rose. Eventually, the wars eliminated the male lines of both families. The conflict lasted through many sporadic episodes between andbut there was related fighting before and after this Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses between the parties. The power struggle ignited around social and financial troubles following the Hundred Years' Warunfolding the structural problems of bastard feudalismcombined with the mental infirmity and weak rule of King Henry VI which revived interest in the House of York's claim to the throne by Richard of York. Historians disagree on which of these factors was the main reason for the wars. With Richard of York's death inthe claim transferred to his heir, Edward. After a series of Yorkist victories from January—FebruaryEdward claimed the throne on 4 Marchand the last serious Lancastrian resistance ended at the decisive Battle of Towton. Resistance smouldered in the North of England untilbut the early part of his reign remained relatively peaceful. A new phase of the wars broke out in after the Earl of Warwickthe most powerful noble in the country, withdrew his support for Edward and threw it behind the Lancastrian cause. Fortunes changed many times as the Yorkist and Lancastrian forces exchanged victories throughout —70 and Edward was even captured for a time in When Edward fled to Flanders inHenry VI was re-installed as king on 3 Octoberbut his resumption of rule was short-lived, and he was deposed again following the defeat of his forces at the Battle of Tewkesburyand on 21 MayEdward entered London unopposed, resumed the throne, and probably had Henry killed that same day. With all significant Lancastrian leaders now banished or killed, Edward ruled unopposed until his sudden death in Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses His year-old son reigned for 78 days as Edward V. The accession of Richard III occurred under a cloud of controversy, and shortly after assuming the throne, the wars sparked anew with Buckingham's rebellionas many die-hard Yorkists abandoned Richard to join Lancastrians.

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