The History of England - Vols. 1 to 6 (183 page)
Read The History of England - Vols. 1 to 6 Online
Authors: David Hume
The Online Library of Liberty
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David Hume,
The History of England, vol. 3
[1778]
The Online Library Of Liberty
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Online Library of Liberty: The History of England, vol. 3
Edition Used:
The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688,
Foreword by William B. Todd, 6 vols. (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1983). Vol. 3.
Author:
David Hume
About This Title:
Volume 3 of “Hume’s great
History of England
the theme of which is liberty, above all English constitutional development from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Revolution of 1688. This Liberty Fund edition is based on the edition of 1778, the last to contain corrections by Hume.
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Online Library of Liberty: The History of England, vol. 3
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
Copyright Information:
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Online Library of Liberty: The History of England, vol. 3
Table Of Contents
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[Back to Table of Contents]
XXIV
HENRY VII
Accession of Henry VII. — His title to the crown — King’s prejudice against the
house of York — His joyful reception in London — His coronation — Sweating
sickness — A parliament — Entail of the crown — King’s marriage — An
insurrection — Discontents of the people — Lambert Simnel — Revolt of Ireland —
Intrigues of the dutchess of Burgundy — Lambert Simnel invades England — Battle of
Stoke
The victory, which the earl of Richmond gained at Bosworth, 1485. August 22.
was entirely decisive; being attended, as well with the total rout and dispersion of the royal army, as with the death of the king himself. Joy for this great success suddenly prompted the soldiers, in the field of battle, to bestow on their victorious general the appellation of king, which he had not hitherto assumed; and the acclamations of
Long live Henry the Seventh,
by a natural and unpremeditated movement, resounded from all Accession of Henry
quarters. To bestow some appearance of formality on this species VII.
of military election, Sir William Stanley brought a crown of ornament, which Richard wore in battle, and which had been found among the spoils; and he put it on the head of the victor. Henry himself remained not in suspence; but immediately, without hesitation, accepted of the magnificent present, which was tendered him. He was come to the crisis of his fortune; and being obliged suddenly to determine himself, amidst great difficulties, which he must have frequently revolved in his mind, he chose that part, which his ambition suggested to him, and to which he seemed to be invited by his present success.
There were many titles, on which Henry could found his right to His title to the crown.
the crown; but no one of them free from great objections, if considered, with respect either to justice or to policy.
During some years, Henry had been regarded as heir to the house of Lancaster, by the party attached to that family; but the title of the house of Lancaster itself was generally thought to be very ill-founded. Henry IV. who had first raised it to royal dignity, had never clearly defined the foundation of his claim; and while he plainly invaded the order of succession, he had not acknowledged the election of the people.
The parliament, it is true, had often recognized the title of the Lancastrian princes; but these votes had little authority, being considered as instances of complaisance towards a family in possession of present power: And they had accordingly been often reversed during the late prevalence of the house of York. Prudent men also, who had been willing, for the sake of peace, to submit to any established authority, desired not to see the claims of that family revived; claims, which must produce many convulsions at present, and which disjointed for the future the whole system of hereditary right. Besides, allowing the title of the house of Lancaster to be legal, PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)
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Henry himself was not the true heir of that family; and nothing but the obstinacy, natural to faction, which never, without reluctance, will submit to an antagonist, could have engaged the Lancastrians to adopt the earl of Richmond as their head. His mother indeed, Margaret, countess of Richmond, was sole daughter and heir of the duke of Somerset, sprung from John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. But the descent of the Somerset line was itself illegitimate and even adulterous. And though the duke of Lancaster had obtained the legitimation of his natural children by a patent from Richard II. confirmed in parliament; it might justly be doubted, whether this deed could bestow any title to the crown; since in the patent itself all the privileges conferred by it are fully enumerated, and the succession to the kingdom is expressly
excluded.a
In all settlements of the crown, made during the reigns of the Lancastrian princes, the line of Somerset had been entirely overlooked; and it was not till the failure of the legitimate branch, that men had paid any attention to their claim. And to add to the general dissatisfaction against Henry’s title, his mother, from whom he derived all his right, was still alive; and evidently preceded him in the order of succession.
The title of the house of York, both from the plain reason of the case, and from the late popular government of Edward IV. had universally obtained the preference in the sentiments of the people; and Henry might engraft his claim on the rights of that family, by his intended marriage with the princess Elizabeth, the heir of it; a marriage, which he had solemnly promised to celebrate, and to the expectation of which he had chiefly owed all his past successes. But many reasons dissuaded Henry from adopting this expedient. Were he to receive the crown only in right of his consort, his power, he knew, would be very limited; and he must expect rather to enjoy the bare title of king by a sort of courtesy, than possess the real authority which belongs to it. Should the princess die before him without issue, he must descend from the throne, and give place to the next in succession: And even if his bed should be blest with offspring, it seemed dangerous to expect, that filial piety in his children would prevail over the ambition of obtaining present possession of regal power. An act of parliament, indeed, might easily be procured to settle the crown on him during life; but Henry knew how much superior the claim of succession by blood was to the authority of an assembly,
b