1. Perkin warbeck
By Squad

2. Background
He was a young Flemish boy, born in Tournai in the Netherlands 1475, who impersonated Richard the younger son of Edward IV with Yorkist backing
He was a servant for Sir Edward Brampton, a Yorkist which enthralled Perkins interest in the Yorkist court and affairs
He became a major foreign policy concern of Henry VII for much of the 1490’s and an effective weapon for the Yorkists

3. What happened?
In 1490 he became a model for a prosperous Yorkist clothier, who took him to Ireland the next year alongside another Yorkist, John Taylor, to impersonate Edwards IV younger son Richard
Most Irish lords including the prominent Kildare refused to give Warbeck their backing. Henry had dispatched troops to Ireland.
In 1492, Warbeck travelled to France where Charles VIII received him as a Prince
Henry and Charles signed the Treaty of Etaples agreeing to not harbour rebels, forcing Warbeck to seek tutorage from Margaret of Burgundy
He tried tirelessly to find a safe haven but nobody was willing to aid him, even in Cornwall where there was a growing antagonism for Henry

4. The outcomes for Warbeck
Warbeck was arrested in Cornwall in 1947
Transferred to the Tower of London
Warbeck was finally hanged alongside the Earl of Warwick after being said to be plotting to escape the Tower

5. Successes for henry?
He was able to ward off a strong and organised attack on the crown
Increased relations with foreign dignitaries:
Treaty of Etaples with Charles VIII
Treaty of Ayton with James IV
Was able to stop any internal plotting before it occurred
Showed how many people were loyal to the King

6. Historians comments
Polydore Vergil – Warbeck’s story was ‘not merely believed by the common people, but… many important men… considered the matter genuine’
Audrey Williamson – Questions the official story that was documented and highlights how it would be strange for a man to show up and suddenly be convinced to maintain a treasonous masquerade in her book ‘The Mystery of the Princes’