Check that this is your course

This guide is for AQA A-level History, Component 2B: The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499.

Your course begins with the crisis of Henry VI’s government and ends in 1499, after Henry VII had defeated or removed the most important surviving Yorkist challenges. It is a depth study: you need a precise chain of events, but also an explanation of authority, hierarchy, faction, legitimacy and the effects of conflict on society.

If your course begins in 1399 or continues to 1509, check your board and option again. Pearson Edexcel option 30 and OCR Y105 overlap with this history but have different content and assessment.

What the examination asks you to do

Component 2 is a 2 hour 30 minute examination worth 80 marks and 40% of the A level.

• Section A: one compulsory 30-mark question evaluating the value of three primary or contemporary sources. This is AO2.
• Section B: answer two of three 25-mark essays. These are AO1.
• AQA advises about one hour for the source question and 45 minutes for each essay.

This paper does not test extracts from modern historians. In the source question, value comes from the relationship between a source and the exact enquiry. You must use contextual knowledge to evaluate what the source says, who produced it, for whom, why, and what its style and emphasis allow an historian to learn.

Your route through the course

The simplest useful story is this:

1. Henry VI’s government lost authority.
2. Richard of York offered an alternative but no durable settlement followed.
3. Political rivalry became dynastic war, and Edward IV took the throne.
4. Edward and Warwick split; Henry VI briefly returned; Edward won again in 1471.
5. Edward restored authority, but his sudden death reopened the succession.
6. Richard III displaced Edward V, divided the Yorkists and lost at Bosworth.
7. Henry VII constructed Tudor legitimacy while defeating continuing Yorkist challenges.

Pause here if you need to. Being able to retell those seven steps is already a strong foundation. The sections below add the precision that turns a story into an explanation.

Essential vocabulary

Authority means the recognised right and practical capacity to rule. A king could possess a hereditary title yet struggle to make government obeyed.

Legitimacy means an accepted basis for rule. It might draw on inheritance, coronation, parliament, marriage, law, effective government and victory, but those supports could conflict.

Faction means a political group linked by family, service, patronage or shared interest. Factions were not modern parties and were not automatically illegal.

Affinity means the network of people connected to a lord through service, reward and protection.

Attainder was a legal declaration of treason that could remove status, land and inheritance.

Protector was a temporary governor acting when a monarch could not govern fully. A protector was not automatically king.

Usurpation means taking a throne without the generally accepted hereditary right to it.

Pretender means a person presented as having a claim to the throne. The label may assume that the claim was false, so historians still ask why people supported it.

1. England and the crisis of Lancastrian government, 1450

England in 1450 was not a state without government. Kings ruled through councillors, royal officers, parliament, judges, nobles and local gentry. Great lords maintained affinities, but these connections could help the crown govern as well as enable rivalry. The central problem was that the system depended heavily on confidence in the king.

Henry VI struggled to provide direction, choose trusted counsel and manage competing demands. Military failure in France made that weakness visible. Normandy was lost in 1450, damaging the prestige of a dynasty built on Henry V’s victories. The crown’s finances and distribution of patronage also created resentment.

Cade’s rebellion brought different complaints together: poor counsel, corruption, taxation, failures of justice and exclusion from influence. It did not simply demand a Yorkist king. Its significance lies in showing that dissatisfaction with royal government extended beyond a quarrel among nobles.

The best starting judgement is therefore not “powerful nobles caused the wars.” Political society expected nobles to serve the state. Breakdown developed when weak royal direction, national humiliation, local disputes and rival programmes for reform interacted.

Knowledge check

1. Why did the loss of Normandy damage Henry VI politically?
2. Give two complaints expressed through Cade’s rebellion.
3. Why is “overmighty nobles caused the wars” an inadequate explanation?

Check your thinking: Normandy connected military defeat to the king’s reputation. Cade’s movement raised issues including counsel, justice, taxation and corruption. Noble power mattered, but nobles were also necessary governors; the crisis arose from failed authority and relationships, not noble existence alone.

2. York, Margaret and the failure of settlement, 1450–1459

Richard, duke of York, combined royal descent, enormous landed power and a claim to restore better government. His position did not make conflict inevitable. The crucial question was whether he could be included in government without threatening the king’s advisers or the inheritance of Henry’s son.

Henry’s mental collapse in 1453 created a political vacuum. York became protector, but Henry’s recovery ended that arrangement. First St Albans in 1455 was brief but politically explosive: Yorkist forces killed major Lancastrian opponents and took control of the king. It changed the balance of power without settling who should govern.

Margaret of Anjou became an active defender of Henry’s kingship and Prince Edward’s inheritance. Avoid turning her into a stock villain. Her actions mattered because the succession, court influence and personal security had become inseparable.

Efforts at reconciliation followed, but ceremonies of unity could not remove distrust, armed followings or local disputes. By 1459 both sides feared that losing political control might mean destruction. The uneasy peace failed because no accepted mechanism could guarantee royal authority, York’s safety and Prince Edward’s future at the same time.

3. From baronial war to a Yorkist king, 1459–1461

The Yorkists collapsed at Ludford Bridge in 1459 and their leaders fled. This did not end the conflict because Warwick retained Calais, military resources and valuable networks. In 1460 the Yorkists returned and captured Henry VI at Northampton.

York then claimed the crown. The Act of Accord offered a compromise: Henry would remain king for life, but York and his heirs would succeed him. It disinherited Prince Edward, so Margaret and the Lancastrians had powerful reasons to resist.

York was killed at Wakefield in December 1460. The Lancastrians then defeated Warwick at the second Battle of St Albans and recovered Henry. Yet York’s son Edward, earl of March, kept the cause alive. He was acclaimed Edward IV in London and defeated the Lancastrians at Towton in March 1461.

Towton gave Edward military control, but victory was not the same as universally accepted legitimacy. Henry VI remained alive and Lancastrian resistance survived, especially where Scottish support and northern strongholds mattered.

Anchor dates

• 1450: Normandy lost; Cade’s rebellion.
• 1453: Henry VI’s incapacity begins.
• 1455: first Battle of St Albans.
• 1459: Yorkists flee after Ludford.
• 1460: Northampton; Act of Accord; Wakefield.
• 1461: second St Albans; Edward IV proclaimed; Towton.

4. Edward IV, Warwick and the destruction of the Lancastrian cause, 1461–1471

Edward initially needed Warwick and other magnates to secure his new regime. His secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464 changed the politics of patronage and foreign policy. The advancement and marriages of Woodville relatives angered competitors, but “the Woodvilles caused the crisis” is too simple. Warwick also objected to losing influence over the king and disagreed about policy.

Warwick backed rebellions, allied with Edward’s brother George, duke of Clarence, and briefly held Edward. When attempts to control the king failed, Warwick joined Margaret of Anjou and restored Henry VI in 1470. This Readeption demonstrated how quickly political alliances could change.

Edward returned in 1471. He defeated and killed Warwick at Barnet and then destroyed Margaret’s army at Tewkesbury, where Prince Edward died. Henry VI died in the Tower soon afterwards. The immediate Lancastrian royal leadership had been removed.

This outcome should not be explained by Warwick’s nickname, “the Kingmaker,” alone. Edward’s leadership, Burgundian assistance, shifting loyalties, military decisions and the vulnerability of the restored Lancastrian coalition all mattered.

5. What did the wars do to English society?

Battles, executions and attainders inflicted severe losses on particular noble families. Armies required supplies and movement; campaigns could damage crops, property, trade routes and local security. Political uncertainty also disrupted regional government.

But England did not experience continuous nationwide warfare from 1450 to 1499. Fighting was intermittent and concentrated. Markets, agriculture, law and local administration continued across much of the country between crises. Some aristocratic lines were devastated, yet nobles and gentry remained essential to government under every dynasty.

For an essay, replace sweeping claims with a scale judgement:

• intense impact on combatants, defeated leaders and communities in campaign routes;
• uneven political impact across regions and noble networks;
• limited evidence for universal economic collapse;
• important continuity in landed society, trade and local government.

Practice judgement

“By 1471, the greatest impact of the wars was the destruction of the English aristocracy.”

Plan an answer using three tests: numbers and survival of noble families; political power and forfeiture; wider economic and regional effects. Your conclusion should distinguish severe selective losses from the continued importance of aristocratic government.

6. Edward IV’s second reign, 1471–1483

After 1471 Edward strengthened authority through royal lands, household and council government, financial management, patronage and trusted regional agents. These were effective late-medieval methods, not a modern bureaucracy. The crown still depended on cooperation from nobles, gentry and towns.

A decade of comparative peace supported ordinary government and commerce, although experiences varied by region and social group. Wealth from land, office, law and trade could support social mobility into the gentry and urban elites, but hierarchy remained powerful and movement was neither universal nor simply caused by the wars. Hostility to Woodville influence continued, but did not make collapse inevitable.

The crucial weakness appeared when Edward died unexpectedly in April 1483. His heir, Edward V, was a child. The Woodville family, the royal council and Edward’s brother Richard of Gloucester competed over custody, protection and government. A stable adult monarchy became a minority crisis almost overnight.

7. Richard III and the downfall of Yorkist monarchy, 1483–1485

Richard was appointed protector, but moved rapidly against opponents. Anthony Woodville and others were arrested; Lord Hastings was executed without a normal public trial. Edward V and his younger brother were placed in the Tower. Claims that Edward IV’s marriage was invalid made the children illegitimate, and Richard took the throne as Richard III.

The princes disappeared. We should separate three statements:

1. They were in Richard’s custody and ceased to appear publicly.
2. Their removal benefited Richard and damaged his legitimacy.
3. The surviving evidence does not establish with certainty when, how or by whose command they died.

Richard’s seizure divided people who had served Edward IV. Buckingham rebelled in autumn 1483, while Henry Tudor emerged as an alternative claimant promising to marry Elizabeth of York. Richard defeated the rebellion, but could not remove Henry in exile.

In 1484 the death of Richard’s son Edward created a succession problem; Queen Anne died in 1485. Richard still had royal resources and important support, particularly in the north, but his regime faced distrust and an organised rival.

Henry landed in Wales in August 1485. At Bosworth, Richard had the larger army, but the Stanleys delayed and then William Stanley intervened for Henry. Richard’s direct attack failed and he was killed. The outcome was contingent: different decisions by major commanders could have produced a different result.

Knowledge check

1. Why did Richard’s actions in June 1483 weaken Yorkist unity?
2. What can and cannot be stated securely about the Princes?
3. Why was Bosworth not simply a victory for the stronger hereditary claim?

Check your thinking: Richard displaced the expected succession and removed Edwardian leaders. The disappearance and custody are secure, but the precise fate is not. Henry had a weak hereditary claim and won through invasion, alliances, defections and battle.

8. Henry VII and Yorkist opposition, 1485–1499

Henry Tudor did not become secure merely by winning Bosworth. He strengthened legitimacy through coronation, parliament and marriage to Elizabeth of York. He dated his reign from before Bosworth, allowing Richard and his supporters to be treated legally as traitors. This shows law being used to turn conquest into recognised kingship.

Yorkist resistance continued:

• Lovell’s rising (1486) failed but showed that former Ricardians remained active.
• Lambert Simnel (1487) was presented as a Yorkist prince, supported by Margaret of Burgundy and crowned in Ireland. Henry defeated his forces at Stoke.
• The Yorkshire rising (1489) grew from resistance to taxation and regional grievance, reminding us that not all opposition was purely dynastic.
• Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Richard, duke of York. Burgundy, Scotland and other foreign interests found him useful. His Scottish-backed attempt and connection with Cornish rebels made him more than a harmless impostor, even though he failed to take the throne.

Warbeck and Edward, earl of Warwick, were executed in 1499. Their deaths removed two potential focuses of Yorkist opposition. Henry’s position was much stronger, but the result came from repeated survival and political construction, not from inevitable Tudor destiny.

9. What had changed by 1499?

Henry used household government, finance, law, patronage, bonds, recognisances and selective punishment to strengthen royal authority. He built on Yorkist and Lancastrian practices rather than inventing an entirely new state.

Regional government still relied on local elites. Noble families had experienced death, forfeiture and changing favour, but the aristocracy had not disappeared. Trade and economic life survived the intermittent wars, although campaign damage and political disruption were real for affected communities.

By 1499 the Tudor dynasty was more credible because it had defeated rivals and governed successfully. The strongest overall judgement is consolidation after repeated contingency: authority had strengthened, but no single battle created peace and no sharp line separated medieval from modern government.

How to answer the source question

For each of the three sources, use this sequence:

1. Identify the argument or information relevant to the enquiry. Do not summarise everything.
2. Test the content with exact contextual knowledge. Confirm, qualify or challenge particular points.
3. Place the source. Who produced it, when, for whom and in what circumstances?
4. Explain why provenance changes its value. A proclamation may reveal what a regime wanted accepted even when its claims are disputed. A private letter may reveal uncertainty but still contain rumour.
5. Judge value for the precise question. Avoid a final label such as “biased, therefore useless.”

Short source practice

Imagine three sources on Richard’s accession: a royal justification, a merchant’s rumour-filled letter and a foreign observer’s report.

• The royal text is valuable for the regime’s public case and legal language, but requires testing against the coercive events surrounding it.
• The private letter can reveal contemporary confusion and fear, even where its details are uncertain.
• The foreign report may preserve information unavailable elsewhere, but its access, diplomatic interests and distance from events must be investigated.

Your task is not to select one “reliable” source. It is to explain the different historical value of each for the stated enquiry.

Essay method

A strong 25-mark essay:

• defines the question’s key term;
• establishes two or three criteria for judgement;
• organises evidence by argument rather than narrating year by year;
• covers an appropriate span of the period named;
• connects causes, consequences, change, continuity, similarity, difference or significance as the wording requires;
• reaches a substantiated conclusion that answers “how far” or “how important.”

Essay practice

1. How far was the weakness of Henry VI the main cause of political conflict in the years 1450 to 1461?
2. To what extent did Edward IV create secure royal authority in the years 1471 to 1483?
3. “Richard III’s own actions were the main cause of his downfall.” Assess this view.
4. How successful was Henry VII in ending Yorkist opposition in the years 1485 to 1499?

Final retrieval check

Without looking back, explain:

1. why weak authority is not the same as absence of government;
2. why 1455 did not make continuous war inevitable;
3. how Edward IV lost and recovered the throne;
4. why the effects of war must be described as uneven;
5. why 1483 divided the Yorkist regime;
6. how Henry VII converted victory into legitimacy;
7. why 1499 represents consolidation rather than a complete historical break.

If one answer is missing, return only to that section. You do not need to reread everything.

Your next achievable step

Choose one twenty-year stretch and make a single-page timeline containing five turning points. Beside each event, add one sentence answering: How did this change authority or legitimacy? Then attempt one knowledge check without notes.