To What Extent Was Political Faction Was the Most Important Cause of Rebellion in the Tudor Period?

‘Political faction was the most important cause of rebellion in the Tudor period.’ How far do you agree? [60]

Political factions throughout the Tudor period seem to be a consistent cause of rebellion. Political factions in Tudor times were individuals or groups who were trying to gain favour of the monarch and rise into the Royal Court and from there into the Privy Council - the advisers to & favourites of the Monarch. The closer you were to the monarch, the more power & money/land you would gain from the monarch and the more you could influence law & policy. There were several rebellions that were caused by political factions in England, such as Simnel, Northumberland, and the Northern Earls, as well as in Ireland, such as O’Neill and Tyrone. The objective of most of these rebellions was to remove royal councillors, such as Northumberland, Somerset, and the Cecils, and these rebellions were often large and are seen as quite important. However, it must be acknowledged that there were other causes for rebellion such as religion and socio-economic problems that were more frequent and were more important that rebellions caused by political factions.

When Henry VI took the throne in 1485, he was a usurper, so it was hardly surprising that quickly, there were threats to the throne. One of the first rebellions to be motivated by political factions was Simnel, in 1487. This rebellion involved a pretender, Lambert Simnel, who impersonated the Earl of Warwick. He was supported by many who had political motives, such as John Earl of Lincoln, a leading Yorkist supporter. He was also financially and militarily backed by Margaret of Burgundy, a Yorkist supporter due to her brother being Edward IV, who sent a force of 2000 soldiers to Ireland, where Simnel had been taken as it was the centre of Yorkist support. Correspondingly, Perkin Warbeck, another pretender to the throne, instigated a rebellion when he pretended to be Richard, Duke of York (the younger of the princes in...