The Controversy: The War Of The Roses

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The War of the Roses was an English Civil War fought between two royal families, House of Lancaster and House of York, on who would become the next king of the English Monarch.

The reason why this Civil War started in the first place was because there was a controversy on who was the rightful heir to the throne.

King Henry V of England died in 1422 and left behind his heir, Henry VI, who was only an infant.

The House of Lancaster claimed to be the legitimate heirs to the throne from John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, who was the third surviving son of Edward III, who was a King of England.

The House of York challenged the throne and claimed to be the legitimate heirs to the throne from Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley, 1st …show more content…

The first battle of the civil war is called “First Battle of St Albans” which was fought on May 22, 1455. The result of this first battle was a York victory, the death of Edmund, and the capture of Henry VI. After this battle, there was a short period of peace. Though the York family was forced to flee on 1459 due to the dangerous risks of being assassinated.

The fighting between the two begins again on July 10, 1460. The battle was called The Battle of Northampton, which was another York victory. This victory was an easy victory since the main bulk of the Lancaster army surrendered.

York finally has a grip on the throne, and became the ‘Protector of England’. With the Lancasters gathering an army in the north, the Yorks sent an army to suppress them. This battle was called Battle of Wakefield, which was fought on December 30, 1460. This battle was a crushing defeat for the Yorks.

The third battle happened after the Lancaster advanced south and battled the Yorks to take back Henry. This battle was called Second Battle of Albans, which was fought on February 17, 1461. Though the Lancaster did take back Henry, they failed to take London, and thus they retreated back to the