Henry Vi's Wars Of The Roses

Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars from English history whose violence and civil disobedience came before the strong government of the Tudors. The series of civil wars lasted from 1455-1485 and were fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York for the English throne. The series of wars were named many years later after the supposed badges of the two parties: the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. The two houses claimed the throne through the descent from the sons of Edward III. Because the Lancastrians held the throne since 1399, the Yorkists may have never pressed a claim but for the near anarchy in the mid-fifteenth century. In 1422 Henry V died therefore Henry VI took the throne. During …show more content…
One of his main lieutenants was his nephew Richard Neville who was the earl of Warwick. In 1453, Henry became insane and a powerful baronial group, backed by Warwick, made York, as protector of the area. Henry recovered in 1455 and reinstituted the authority of Margaret’s party, which forced York to take up arms in self-protection. The first battle took place at St. Albans on May 22, 1455 and resulted in a victory for the Yorkists and four years of unstable truce.
The next phase of the civil war started in 1459 when York rebelled for the final time. The Yorkists proved successful at Blore Heath but became strewn about after a skirmish at Ludford Bridge. York fled to Ireland, and the Lancastrians were allowed to execute any of their opponents that they could find. After that the struggle was bitter for both sides. Both groups struck down their opponents without any mercy. Warwick regrouped the Yorkist forces in France and went back to England in June 1460. York to claim the throne but was okay with the right to succeed upon Henry’s death. This disinherited Henry’s son, Prince Edward, and made Queen Margaret continue with her