The Wars Of The Roses: The War Of The Roses

There have been numerous historians who believe that the end of the Wars of the Roses was at the Battle of Bosworth, when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and the Tudors ascended to the throne. The Wars of the Roses may have ended at this battle, however, it’s legacy carried through and influenced England in the centuries that followed. The Wars of the Roses, a series of battles in fifteenth century England, would commonly through death bring upon the throne, a new king. In the fifteenth century under the weak leadership of King Henry VI, the Houses of Lancaster and York clashed as a result of their different views on government and control of the king. This weak leadership brought about conflict between Margaret of Anjou and Richard, Duke

At the Battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor won leading to his diplomatic marriage to Elizabeth of York, which was a compromise reached by York’s mother Queen Elizabeth Woodville and Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort. The Wars of the Roses allowed for the newly formed Tudor dynasty to thrive, which in the long term brought upon the rule of Queen Elizabeth I who brought stability to England through the Act of Uniformity and the defeat of Philip II during the Spanish Armada. Thus, making England a world power.

Conflict has played a major factor in the world’s history since the beginning of time; the English Houses of Lancaster and York were no exceptions. The houses were two separate branches of England’s government between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, which were represented by the red rose for the

[which] was tainted by illegitimacy” (Kellner et al. 26). King Henry VII’s inability to claim a strong blood tie to the throne put him at risk to losing the throne. This led to the King’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, meeting with Elizabeth Woodville to discuss a marriage agreement (Ackroyd 419). Elizabeth Woodville was the queen consort of the former King Edward IV, the mother of Edward V who disappeared before his coronation, and the sister in law of Richard III, who King Henry VII killed in his battle to the throne. Margaret and Elizabeth decided upon the compromise of a marriage between Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, daughter of Elizabeth Woodville. Thus, the diplomatic marriage united the Houses of Lancaster, Henry’s family, and York, Elizabeth’s family, together (“The Battle of Bosworth”). With the merging of the English houses, each side was forced to compromise in which they put aside their differences, which included the desire for their claimant to be king, in order to support their newly crowned monarch and the wellbeing of their country. The unification led to the suppression of conflict in England which allowed King Henry VII to improve the overall