the duchess, and exacted money from his subjects in order to prepare for war. This led to a rebellion in the north, in which the Earl of Northumberland was slain. The revolt was suppressed by the Earl of Surrey, but the popular leader, Sir John Egremond, fled to the Duchess of Burgundy. The king sent troops into Brittany, and in 1492 he landed at Calais with upwards of 26,000 men. He besieged Boulogne, but soon afterwards concluded the Treaty of Estaples, by which he agreed to leave France on condition of receiving about £149,000.

PERKIN WARBECK'S INSURRECTION. A formidable insurrection broke out in favour of a pretender who asserted that he was Richard, duke of York, who was supposed to have been murdered in the Tower in 1483. It is said that his real name was Perkin Warbeck, and that he was the son of a merchant of Tournay, in Flanders. Being supported by the Duchess of Burgundy, he landed at Cork, and was well received by the Irish. The king of France, Charles VIII., who was then at war with Henry, acknowledged Warbeck's claim, and invited him to his court. On the conclusion of peace, Warbeck had to quit France, and he retired to the Duchess of Burgundy, who styled him "The White Rose of England." Warbeck's claims were supported by some of the English nobles, and Sir William Stanley was executed in 1495 for complicity in the plot, though he had saved the king's life at Bosworth, and his brother, Lord Stanley, had crowned Henry on the field. In 1495 Warbeck attempted to land at Deal, but failed. He then besieged Waterford, but was unsuccessful, and retired to Flanders. After another unsuccessful attempt in Ireland, he visited Scotland, where he was cordially received by the king, James IV., who gave him his relative, Lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntly, in marriage. The King of Scotland ravaged the northern counties of England, which gave Henry an excuse for levying fresh taxes.

This caused a revolt in Cornwall, headed by Flammock, a lawyer. The Cornish rebels marched to London, being joined

at Wells by Lord Audley, who put himself at their head.

The

rebels were defeated near Blackheath, 1497, by the Earl of Oxford. Audley, Flammock, and the other ringleaders were taken and executed.

The King of Scotland again ravaged the northern counties, but shortly afterwards arranged a truce with Henry, and Warbeck had to leave Scotland. He first visited Ireland, and then crossed over to Cornwall, landing near Penzance. He was joined by three thousand Cornishmen, was proclaimed king, seized St. Michael's Mount, and marched to besiege Exeter. Here he failed, and having raised the siege, marched to Taunton. Learning that the royal forces were marching to attack him, he lost courage, abandoned his army, and took refuge in the sanctuary of Beaulieu in the New Forest, 1498. He was persuaded, however, to give himself up to the king, who caused him to be led in triumph to London, where he was kept in custody. On attempting to escape he was cast into the Tower, where he became acquainted with the unfortunate Earl of Warwick, who was still a prisoner there. In 1499 they were both charged with an attempt to escape. Warbeck was hanged and quartered at Tyburn, and Warwick was beheaded.

RAPACITY OF THE KING. Henry was avaricious to an extraordinary degree. Amassing wealth seems to have been his ruling passion. He extorted money from his subjects on various pretences, employing as his agents for this purpose two lawyers, Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley. The latter was, by the king's influence, made Speaker of the House of Commons. Taxes were laid on the people without necessity, and the nobles were deprived of their lands on frivolous charges of treason. At his death he left an enormous sum of money, which was soon squandered away by his son, Henry VIII.

MARRIAGE ALLIANCES.

(1) In 1502, the king put an end to the Scottish wars, and married his daughter Margaret to James IV., king of Scotland. This was a most important marriage, since it was the origin of the Stuart line of kings in England, and led to the union of the crowns of England and Scotland under James I. in 1603.

(2) In 1501, the king married his eldest son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain.

Arthur, however, died the next year, and the king, unwilling to lose the alliance with the Spanish court, and still more reluctant to give up the large dowry he had received with Catherine, caused her to be contracted to his second son, Henry, now become Prince of Wales, who was only twelve years of age.

MARITIME AFFAIRS. This period is remarkable for great geographical discoveries. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the Bahama Islands in the West Indies. In 1497, Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian navigator sent from Bristol by Henry VII., discovered Newfoundland. In 1498, Columbus discovered the American continent. In 1497-8, Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese, discovered the passage round the Cape of Good Hope.

Henry VII. encouraged commerce, and laid the foundation of English naval supremacy. He built a large war-ship called the Great Harry, of one thousand tons burden.

CONSTITUTIONAL. The reign of Henry VII. is important in the history of the English constitution. The king acquired great power, owing chiefly to the breaking up of the Feudal system. Most of the great English nobles perished in the Wars of the Roses; their power passed into the hands of the king, whose authority was not yet checked by the growth of freedom among the great body of the people.

The Court of Star Chamber was instituted, or rather remodelled, in this reign. It dealt with cases lying out of the reach of the ordinary courts, decided without the intervention of a jury, inflicting any punishment short of death, and even that punishment it could cause to be inflicted. It became an instrument of oppression, and was used by the king for the purposes of extorting money.

A law was passed enabling the nobles to break up and dispose of their lands. This tended to lessen their power, and led to the rise of the middle class of yeomanry.

The authority of the clergy was diminished by their being made amenable to the ordinary law courts. It was decreed that no person could be tried more than once in the ecclesiastical courts.

HENRY'S DEATH. The king died at Richmond, of consumption, 1509. On his death-bed he repented of his extortions and injustice, and ordered that restitution should be made to those who had been wronged.

HENRY VIII. (1509-1547).

BIRTH. Henry VIII. was the second son of Henry VII. He was born at Greenwich, 1491.

MARRIAGE. Henry had six wives in succession :

(1) Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. She married Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII., in 1501. Arthur died in less than a year, and she was shortly after betrothed to his brother Henry. Henry VIII. married her shortly after his accession. She bore several children, who all died young, except Mary, who became queen. After some years, the king became tired of her, and wished to marry Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine's maids of honour. He now professed to have scruples of conscience as to having married his brother's widow, and endeavoured to gain a divorce. This was brought about by Cranmer in 1533, when the king married Anne Boleyn. Catherine died three years afterwards, at Kimbolton (in Huntingdonshire), and was buried in Peterborough Abbey.

She never recognised the validity of the divorce, but considered herself Henry's lawful wife till her death.

(2) Anne Boleyn (1501-1536), daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and niece of the Duke of Norfolk. She was made Marchioness of Pembroke, and the king marrried her privately in 1533, some months before the divorce with Catherine was effected. After a time, the king's affections fell on Jane Seymour, one of Anne Boleyn's maids of honour. Anne was accused of infidelity to her husband, committed to the Tower, and after

a mock trial beheaded, 1536. She left a daughter, Elizabeth, who was declared illegitimate, but afterwards became queen.

(3) Jane Seymour, daughter of Sir John Seymour. She married Henry VIII. the day after the execution of Anne Boleyn. She died the next year, leaving a son, Edward, who became king. She was buried at Windsor.

(4) Anne of Cleves, daughter of John, duke of Cleves. Her marriage was brought about by Cromwell, who thought the union would strengthen the Protestant cause, since she was sister-in-law to the Elector of Saxony, the champion of Protestantism. The king is said to have been pleased with a portrait of her by Holbein, but to have been disappointed in his expectations when she arrived, 1540. In six months Henry procured a dissolution of the marriage from the parliament. She quietly acquiesced in the divorce, and lived at Richmond on friendly terms with the court till her death in the reign of Queen Mary, 1557. Cromwell was executed, 1540.

(5) Catherine Howard, daughter of Lord Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk. She became maid of honour to Anne of Cleves, and Henry married her soon after the divorce of his fourth wife, 1540. Before long she was accused of improper conduct before her marriage, the parliament passed an act of attainder against her and her associates, and she was executed with them, 1542.

(6) Catherine Parr, daughter of Sir Thomas Parr. She was a well educated and accomplished lady. She married Lord Brough, then Lord Latimer, and then Henry VIII., 1543. She was a strong supporter of the Reformation. Her position as Henry's wife was one of great danger. She was more than once in great peril of her life from her imperious, fickle, and cruel husband, but she succeeded with great tact and courage in retaining his favour till his death. After the death of the king she married Lord Seymour, and died in child-bed, 1548.

ISSUE. Henry left three children, Mary (by Catherine of Aragon), Elizabeth (by Anne Boleyn), and Edward (by Jane Seymour), all of whom succeeded him.