The Wars of the Roses

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The Wars of the Roses began in 1455 after the people of the House of Lancaster and the House of York began to dispute over the throne of England. The Wars of the Roses was a time of multiple civil wars between the two houses of the Plantagenet royal house over the throne of England. The war consisted of a total of seventeen battles. Both houses were traced back from their ancestor King Edward III. The House of Lancaster was associated with the red rose and the House of York was associated with the white rose. “Wars of the Roses” was not used during that time period because the ones in wars often wore badges of their protectors. The red rose was associated with the House of Lancaster, and the House of York was associated with the white rose. The wars were fought by the aristocracies and the ones who kept up the feud between the two. Each person who supported a certain side of the war depended on the marriages or the tenures they held during that time.
The problem all started with the overthrowing of King Richard II by his distant family member Henry Bolingbroke, who at the time was the Duke of Lancaster. Later, because Richard II’s government was highly disliked, Bolingbroke was crowned King Henry IV. He was crowned king in 1399 and was the first one to hold the Lancaster throne. During his reign he was he was very lawless. After he was crowned, Henry was greeted with many rebellions in Cheshire, Wales, and Northumberland. All these rebellions later ceased. Henry IV died in 1413 and his successor was his son, Henry V, who was also a brilliant soldier and had much success in France in the Hundred Years’ War.
After King Henry V’s very short reign ended, the Duke of York, Richard, the son of Richard, Anne Mortimer, and the Earl of C...

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...d to be murdered. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, King Richard III was defeated by the Lancastrians and was also killed.
Henry Tudor was then awarded king and was known as King Henry VII. He was the first Tudor king. He was the grandchild of Catherine of Valois, who was the widow of Owen Tudor and King Henry V. Henry married Elizabeth of York who was Edward IV’s daughter. This caused the merging of the two houses and was known as the end of the Wars of the Roses.
Today, there is a small percent of doubt that the Wars cause a political uprising and made a difference in the balance of power. One of the main effects was that the Plantagenet dynasty was crushed and was replaced by the Tudor dynasty. The war was very bad for England on the already deteriorating relationship with France, and over the years the few props that were earned vanished when Queen Mary reigned.

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