War

The Renaissance: War of the Roses.

 * By gcoryspice.**

With King Henry VI dead and the citizens looking for a new leader, the Houses of York and Lancaster both claimed the throne. These events led up to the start of the War of the Roses.

King Henry VI, the sixth, was mentally and physically ill. The Houses of York, the white rose, and Lancaster, the red rose, were both direct descendants of King Henry VI. The House of Lancaster had already claimed the throne when King Henry started to lapse(britannica). In his failing heath, the House of York also claimed the throne. At first, this only led to some heated debates.(luminarium) Later, conflicts developed into some small skirmishes. Both the Houses of York and Lancaster had private armies. Not just the leaders had armies, but most of the nobles also had private armies. Just before anyone knew what happened, Edward IV, leader of the house of York, attacked a Lancaster settlement. He claimed that he was attacked first and acted only out of self-defense. Soon the Lances, the house of Lancaster, started to attack York troops and settlements. The War of the Roses had officially started, and King Henry VI had finally died of his failing health.(britannica)

During this time when the Houses first started to attack and debate with each other, they failed to keep track of maybe the most important attribute to an army and a king: the citizens and the peasants. Almost as soon as King Henry VI's lapse in health, the citizens started to panic. They didn't know what to do without a leader. They began to panic even more when they heard about the conflict between the houses. They started to riot. They didn't know what to do and they killed officials, soldiers, and even other citizens. They soon stopped the riot, and started looking for a new leader. With King Henry VI dead, and no heir, the citizens needed to look outside of the immediate royal family. They decided who would rule them. The winner of the war was who they started to wait for.(britannica)

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Both houses attacked and defended against each other. No ending for the war could be seen, but one young general of the House of Lancaster saw an end. His name was Henry Tudor. Henry Tudor started plotting to either end the war, or end the House of York. He saw only one way to end the war: to marry the daughter of Edward IV and start a truce (britannica). King Henry VI was found dead in the Tower of London, the perfect opportunity for him to put his plan into effect. He started to court. Eventually, a marriage was set, a truce was negotiated between the sides, and all could see the end. After the marriage, the York House scattered, their armies in confusion. Some Yorks were not happy with the truce or the marriage, and started to rebel. King Henry Tudor, now King Henry VII, quickly put an end to these rebellions. With a king in charge again, the house of York all but gone, the War of the Roses was now over.(luminarium)======

The citizens had finally found their king, King Henry VI's death had made that possible. The House of York was vanquished. The war of the Roses was over. King Henry VII now started the Tudor reign. He would not look to the past, but to the future.

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