War Of The Roses

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The War of the Roses (1455-85) marked the struggle for the english throne between the houses oh York and Lancaster. After VI attempted to override a power grab by Richard , Duke of York , the fighting began with the 1455 Battle of St. Albans. The Battle of Towton in 1461helped establish Richard's son, Edward IV as king , though Henry eventually returned to power. Edward reclaimed the throne with his victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 but his death in 1483 begat more conflict. Henry Tudor finally stablized the throne after defeating Richard III in 1485 , his marriage to Elizabeth of York the following year uniting both houses.

These occasional, brief civil wars in England commenced in the 1450s with rebellions led by Richard, Duke of York, who had been excluded from power at the court by Henry Vi of the house of Lancaster.From 1461-1471 the wars escalated into struggles for the throne …show more content…

The use by opposing sides of English longbowmen famed for their skill reduced the effectiveness of archery.Field artillary was often deployed , and companies of hand -gunners occasionally but neither apparently to decisive effect. As civil conflicts, the Wars of the Roses were notable in that they did not produce widespreaded destruction and economic recession.The participants lacked the necessary muscle for prolonged warfare and could only have developed it, or resorted to terror tactics, at the expense of alienating public opinion. Attempts to revive dynastic rebellion against Edward IV's brother Richard IIIat Bosworrth Field (1485) were thwarted by the lack of convincing Yorkist candidates for the throne and by Henry's effective spy service and international diplomacy. Discount was damped down by his use of revitalized Crown revenues to buy off potential oppoition and to run a magnificent court, which attracted services to the monarch and propagandized the ethic of loyalty to the

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