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What Were The Wars Of The Roses And How Did It Affected English History?

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The Wars of the Roses were a series of battles fought in England between the cadet houses of Lancaster and York from the Plantagenet Dynasty. It would be a struggle for power during a thirty year period that would last from 1455 to 1487 ( Deary and Brown, Measly Middle Ages 142 ). These series of wars greatly affected English history in several ways. In this text it will be shown that the Wars of the Roses changed England politically, by bringing in the Tudor Dynasty, which would reign over England from 1485 to 1603 ( Deary and Brown, Terrible Tudors 7 ). The Wars of the Roses were ignited due to social and financial problems after the Hundred Years War. The Hundred Years War was an 116 year war, between the English and the French, lasting from …show more content…

In this war the English lost important territory to France. The aftermath of this war, alongside the weak rule and mental incapacity of Henry VI, triggered this war. There were various relatives ( see Figure 1 ) of Henry VI who saw this as a chance to gain power over the kingdom. In 1460 Henry VI was seen unfit to rule after a mental breakdown due to his losses in the Hundred Years War. Richard duke of York was to act as a regent on his behalf until the king recovered. This started the Wars of the Roses, and on 10 June 1460, Henry VI was taken prisoner by Richard Duke of York, only to be saved again by forces loyal to Margaret of Anjou ( Henry's wife ). However, in 1461, the king was deposed, due to the war at Towton, to which he lost to Edward IV (Richard's son). This led to Henry VI suffering another mental breakdown, and despite Margarets efforts, in 1465 Edward had him locked up in the Tower of

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