The War of The Roses

Wars of the Roses

“Have not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” (Mabillard 1). The Wars of the Roses was a furnace that was boiling, it caused many changes for England from rebellions and overthrowing multiple kings and queens, to new dynasties and causing England to change for the better with ambition and thus becoming what it is today.

Wars of the Roses started in England in the 1400s that was a series of wars (Griffiths 1). Started with attacks and rebellions from 1455 to 1487, it has three different stages; the first stage, from 1455 to 1464 started as a rivalry, the second stage from 1469 to 1471 was a more factional war, rather than a rivalry, and the last stage from 1483 to 1487 was an outright dynastic war (Phillips 1). Involving the House of York and Lancaster, York had the white rose emblem and Lancaster had the red rose emblem. Due to the weakness of English forces and government, (Griffiths 1) assassination attempts against Henry IV, war broke out between Wales and Scotland and lasted for two conflicting years (Lunt 260).

King Henry IV held power in 1399 (Griffiths 1). He was very ambitious causing rebellion in his reign, which all began once he celebrated his first yuletide (Lunt 259-260). During his reign, the commons established precedents that secured privileges of freedom of speech and arrest. This declaration helped them have a say in political and local issues (Lunt 270). After Henry IV’s reign was terminated, Henry V accepted power (Phillips 1). Once he was crowned in 1413, he controlled the majority of England’s army, which at the time England needed a reliable army (Lunt 261).

After King Henry V, in 1455 King Henry VI was appointed the throne, but he lacked in...

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...asty from the complete end to Lancaster and York, changing England to become a very ambitious and vigorous superpower.

Works Cited

Griffiths, Ralph A. “Wars of the Roses.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

Greaves, Richard L. “Tudor, House of.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

Lunt, W.E. History of England. 4th ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1957. Print.

Lace, W. William. England. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1997. Print.

Mabillard, Amanda. “Famous Quotations from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.” Famous Quotations from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII. Amanda Mabillard, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. “Wars of the Roses.” Encyclopedia of Wars. Vol. 2. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.