Revolts and Risings c. 1460–c. 1570

The Tudor dynasty was plagued by rebellions, provoked by their questionable claim to the throne, and then resentment at Henry VIII’s breach with the Catholic Church. Religion was significant in the Geraldine rebellions in Ireland (1569–73, 1579–83) spearheaded by their captain-general Fitzmaurice and crushed, ruthlessly. It was also a factor in the rebellion of the Northern Earls, Catholic supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots against Elizabeth (1569–70). A pusillanimous affair, the earls fled when an army was sent against them. Cornwall was a centre of rebellion; in 1497, enraged by high tax demands to finance the Crown’ s campaign against the Flemish pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck and his supporter James VI of Scotland, the Cornish, led by a blacksmith, marched on London. They reached Blackheath, near London, before being defeated and Perkin Warbeck was executed in 1499. Over half a century later the Cornish rebelled again over the Book of Common Prayer (1549). With all this insurrection, it was only natural for Scotland to become involved. Their invasion was annihilated at Flodden Field (1513), then, mistrusting their alliance with France, Henry VIII’s ‘Rough Wooing’ (1543–51) including the burning of Edinburgh, which was aimed to stamp out their threat.