The Children of Adam and Eve

Henry VII (of England), often called Henry Tudor (1457-1509), king of
England (1485-1509) and first ruler of the house of Tudor, whose reign
initiated a period of national unity following the strife of the 15th
century.

Henry, the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond (1430?-56), and Margaret
Beaufort, countess of Richmond and Derby (a direct descendant of John of
Gaunt, duke of Lancaster), was born on January 28, 1457, in Pembroke
Castle, Pembrokeshire. After the Yorkist king Edward IV seized the throne
from the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1471, Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, took
refuge in Brittany. He became head of the house of Lancaster on the Death
of Henry VI in the same year. In 1483, taking advantage of the indignation
aroused against Edward's successor, Richard III, whose nephews, Edward V
and Richard, duke of York (1472-83), were murdered in the Tower of London,
presumably on Richard's order, Henry Crossed over to Wales, where he
gathered an army of supPorters. In 1485, at Bosworth Field in England, he
met and defeated Richard, who was killed during the Battle. Henry Tudor
was subsequently crowned Henry VII in London. In the following year he
married the Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth (1465-1503), eldest daughter of
Edward IV, uniting the houses of York and Lancaster and ending the Wars of
the Roses.

After his accession Henry had to contend with several Yorkist uprisings,
notably one led by the English impostor Lambert Simnel (circa 1471-1534),
who claimed to be Edward, earl of Warwick (1475-99), the last Yorkist
claimant to the throne. The real earl of Warwick was actually imprisoned
by Henry in the Tower of London at the time. Another revolt was led by the
Walloon impostor Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard, duke of York,
the Younger of the murdered sons of Edward IV. Although both impostors had
Strong backing in England and aBroad, their forces were defeated by Henry.
In 1494 Henry sent the English statesman Sir Edward Poynings (1459-1521)
to Ireland to reestablish English control in that country. Henry managed
to maintain peaceful relations with Austria, Spain, and France throughout
most of his years as king. The reorganization in 1487 of the Star Chamber
was one of several means by which Henry strengthened the royal power over
the nobles. He died in Richmond, Surrey, on April 21, 1509, and was
succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII.