The 750th Visitor to this Blog

The 750th visitor to this blog was from Cork, Ireland. Could it be Perkin Warbeck? Warbeck first claimed the English throne at the court of Burgundy in 1490. In 1491 Cork played a part in the English Wars of the Roses when Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English throne, landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow Henry VII of England. The mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed. Cork's nickname of the 'rebel city' originates in these events. Warbeck was forced to return to the European mainland. There his fortunes improved. He was first received by Charles VIII of France (who later signed the Treaty of Etaples, agreeing not to shelter rebels, therefore expelling Warbeck) and was officially recognised as Richard of Shrewsbury by Margaret of Burgundy, who was Edward IV's sister and the widow of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy. It is not known whether or not she knew he was a fraud, but she tutored him in the way of Yorkist court. Henry complained to Archduke Philip, who had assumed control of Burgundy in 1493, about the harboring of Warbeck, but the Archduke ignored him. So Henry imposed a trade embargo on Burgundy, cutting off their important trade links with England. Warbeck was also welcomed by various other monarchs; in 1493, he attended the funeral of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, where he was recognised as King Richard IV of England, at the invitation of Frederick III's son Maximilian I. Warbeck also promised that if he died before becoming king, his 'claim' would fall to Maximilian. On 3 July 1495, funded by Margaret of Burgundy, Warbeck landed at Deal in Kent, hoping for a show of popular support. Despite Henry not having unanimous authority over England, Warbeck's small army was routed and 150 of the pretender’s troops were killed without Warbeck even disembarking. He was forced to retreat almost immediately, this time to Ireland. There he found support from the Earl of Desmond and laid siege to Waterford, but, meeting resistance, he fled to Scotland. There he was well received by James IV of Scotland, who would always spring at a chance to annoy England, and permitted him to marry James's own cousin, Lady Catherine Gordon (daughter of George Gordon, the 2nd Earl of Huntly, and his wife, Princess Annabella, the daughter of King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort). In September 1496, Scotland launched an attack on England, but quickly retreated when support from Northumberland failed to materialise. Now wishing to be rid of Warbeck, James IV signed the treaty of Ayton which had Warbeck expelled and so he returned to Waterford in shame. Once again he attempted to lay siege to the city, but this time his effort lasted only eleven days before he was forced to flee Ireland, chased by four English ships. According to some sources, by this time he was left with only 120 men on two ships.
On 7 September 1497, Warbeck landed at Whitesand Bay, near Land's End, in Cornwall hoping to capitalise on the Cornish people's resentment in the aftermath of their uprising only three months earlier. Warbeck proclaimed that he would put a stop to extortionate taxes levied to help fight a war against Scotland and was warmly welcomed. He was declared ‘Richard IV’ on Bodmin Moor and his Cornish army some 6000 strong entered Exeter before advancing on Taunton. Henry VII sent his chief general, Giles, Lord Daubeney, to attack the Cornish and when Warbeck heard that the King's scouts were at Glastonbury he panicked and deserted his army. Warbeck was captured at Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire where he surrendered. Henry VII reached Taunton on 4 October 1497 where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army where the ringleaders were executed and others fined. 'Richard’ was imprisoned, first at Taunton, then at the Tower of London, where he was ‘paraded through the streets on horseback amid much hooting and derision of the citizens’. Warbeck was held in the Tower alongside a genuine claimant to the throne, Edward, Earl of Warwick, and it was alleged that it was he with whom he tried to escape in 1499. Captured once again, on 23 November 1499, Warbeck was drawn on a hurdle from the Tower to Tyburn, London, where he read out a ‘confession’ and was hanged. Perkin reportedly resembled Edward IV in appearance, which has led to speculation that he might have been Edward's illegitimate son, or at least some genuine connection with the York family. Some historians have even gone as far as to claim that Warbeck was actually Richard, Duke of York, although this is not the consensus.