Prior to Henry VII’s success at the Battle of Bosworth Britain was a fundamentally broken country split between two powerful royal families who benefitted from the broken feudal system. Henry VII made extensive changes to the feudal system in response to this to effectively reduce the power of the opposing house and make his house unopposed. Firstly, he banned all private armies with a punishment of treason which reduced his opposition immensely and damaged the ability of opposing claimants to raise successful armies. Secondly, he heavily taxed Barons and imposed bonds and recognizances to secure their loyalty through underhanded tactics. His heavy taxation severely inhibited the ability of Barons to raise armies and fund Henry VII’s opposition.
