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Summary Richard III History A level thematic essay plans.
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A level History essay plans on Richard III. Extensive thematic plans at A* level, following OCR exam board.
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1. To what extent was Richard’s manipulation of court division the most important reasonthat he was able to gain the throne in 1483?
Theme 1: Manipulation of court division
- One could argue it was indeed Richard’s manipulation of court division that was the most important
reason he was able to gain the throne in 1483; he ultimately toke advantage of the factionist
government which was hurt by feuding nobility and a lack of a united cause.
- Richard was able to usurp the throne of Edward V because of the deep divisions that existed among
those who held power under Edward IV.
- This is evidence by the way in which he generated support through appealing to the common hatred
of the Woodvilles that was present amongst the nobility. They were hugely unpopular, perceived as
greedy and too full of their own self-importance.
- Elizabeth- hated Hastings and had accused him of tempting Edward to excess and womanising, and
Buckingham who hated the Woodvilles and had felt politically marginalised during Edward’s reign by
Woodvilles (he felt they were taking away his rightful position in court). This forged a common ground
amongst the nobility upon which Richard could manipulate to further his own cause; gaining the
throne. He was thus seen to gain support from both Hastings and Buckingham in his rise to power,
and other nobles who too wanted to see the downfall of the Woodville faction. Such was the
unpopularity of the Woodvilles that others were not prepared to support them in their attempt to
prevent Gloucester from being regent, instead the nobility actively prepared to help Gloucester.
Therefore, it is clear that the divisions within court were pivotal to Richard as it provided him with the
support base necessary to remove the opposition the Woodvilles posed to his ascension to the
throne.
- Nevilles and Woodvilles disliked each other; Elizabeth thought to have influenced Edward’s decision
to execute Clarence in 1478, as his wife Anne Neville had a sister who was married to Clarence.
- Hastings was seen to warn Richard that she was plotting to set up a regency council and carry out an
early coronation of Edward V; thus the support he generated from manipulating hatred of the
Woodvilles/court divisions was crucial in his ability to gain the throne.
- Negative cohesion: Richard benefited from the negative cohesion against the Woodvilles.
Theme 2: Weakness of opposition
- On the other hand, one could argue it was the weakness of opposition that was the most important
reason for Richard to be able to gain the throne, as if he had been faced with strong opposition, if
Edward V was of age for instance, its unlikely he would’ve even bothered pursuing the throne.
- If he had been of age its very unlikely Richard would’ve attempted to gain the throne, Edward was just
12 and had been brought up under the influence of the hated Woodville’s.
- Thought of a Woodville clique surrounding Edward V and causing a factional government raised
concern amongst Richard and his supporters- Richard recognised this and used it to advance his
course; so whilst also profiting off the fact that Edward V was weak opposition, his clear manipulation
of court divisions is apparent in his ability to gain support.
- With ease Richard was able to defame the young Edward V and illegitimase his claim to the throne,
this massively helped Richard gain the throne. His claim to the throne was declared null and void in
parliament petition. The fact he was able to so easily defame Edward V, suggests the sheer weakness
of his opposition, and thus this was a clear reason to why he was able to gain the throne.
- Illegitimacy claims were poor and false, yet Richard managed to convince the weak parliament and
people that Edward V was a bastard and that Edward IV was not the son of Richard Duke of York.
- However, the weakness of opposition was arguably exacerbated by the court divisions. Had the court
been strong and not despised the Woodvilles, parliament would’ve likely tried to protect the claim of
young Edward V and put in place a proper system whereby Richard would only remain regent (and
not gain the throne in his own right) until Edward V came of age. Moreover, the parliament petition
which ‘forced’ Richard to take the throne or otherwise they would search for other alternatives (of
which there were none), was clearly the work of his own doing alongside Stafford. He was able to
manipulate the weak nobility into believing the weak illegitimacy claims whilst also convincing the
likes of Stafford to present a petition which gave him government support for his usurpation of the
throne. It is hence clear that manipulation of court divisions underpinned much of Richard’s action
, and was the reason as to why he was able to gain the throne so easily and that opposition remained
weak. Arguably= opposition could have been strengthened had parliament not have been
weak/lacked direction.
Theme 3: Ruthlessness + swiftness to act
- Alternatively, it could be argued that it wasn’t Richard’s manipulation of court division that was the
most important reason for him to gain the throne, rather it was his ruthlessness and his swiftness to
act that ensured he became King in 1483.
- In his quest to usurp the throne Richard was seen to act with initiative, speed and decisiveness.
- This is evidenced by….
- Interception of Edward and Anthony at Stoney Stratford; this prevented Edward V from reaching
London for his early coronation and meant the fate of the young King was now under his control and
not the control of the Woodvilles. Richard then sent word to council in London, which led to the flight
of the Woodvilles to sanctuary in Westminster. Clearly his swiftness to act was pivotal in his ability to
gain power, for had he not prevented Edward V, Edward would’ve been coronated and the Woodville
faction would have dominated the court. Such swift and decisive action ensured the Queen had lost
her advantage.
Princes in the tower is an excellent example of Richard’s ruthlessness. If proven to be true then he
would not only be responsible for killing his own blood but young and innocent children as well.
- Executing all opponents to his quest for the throne, such as Hastings who had approached the
Woodvilles with the view of stoping Richard; Richard found this out through placing secret spies
within Hastings household and he was thus subsequently charged with treason and executed. Those
captured at Stony Stratford, Rivers Grey and Vaughan, were also put to death which further indicated
that the reason as to why Richard was able to gain power was because he conducted himself in such a
ruthless manner that not only ensured that there were no imminent opponents to him, but it also
instilled fear amongst other nobles that he was not to show mercy to anyone who crossed him. In
essence, he was able to gain the throne through violence and terror.
- Moreover, he allowed sermons to be preached that ruined legitimacy claim of his nephew and
brother; severely tainted his mothers reputation for his own gain- evidence of his sheer ruthlessness.
- However, this arguably links to his manipulation of court divisions as if the court had been united, they
could’ve collectively put a stop to Richard’s actions, but rather the government was in a state of
political disarray with no one possessing any real power; this gave Richard ample opportunity to
establish himself as the authority in which the court lacked, and in doing so he removed all opposition
in his way.
2. Assess the reasons why Richard was able to secure the throne in 1483
Theme 1: Lack of strong opposition
one could argue it was the weakness of opposition that was the most important reason for Richard to
be able to gain the throne, as if he had been faced with strong opposition, it’s unlikely he would’ve
even bothered pursuing the throne.
- If Edward V had been of age (he was only 12 at the time) it's very unlikely Richard would’ve attempted
to gain the throne, Edward was just 12 and had been brought up under the influence of the hated
Woodville’s (who were hated within court/politically) so thus he did not exactly perpetuate the image
of a strong and likeable King given his age and being brought up by ‘political poison’. This contrasted
to Richard who held much political capital during the reigns of Edward, as demonstrated by him
owning the majority of Warwick’s attainted states. Additionally, in the North, he was given the title of
Lieutenant and was responsible for keeping order there and was seen to successful deal with the
Scots. He was seen to revive the fearsome northern host, and reignited anti-northern sentiments in
the south. Therefore, he had the support of the northern nobility in comparison to Edward who had
no political footing of his own yet, and was too heavily associated with the Woodville power base.
- Thought of a Woodville clique surrounding Edward V and causing a factional government raised
concern amongst Richard and his supporters. With ease Richard was able to defame the young
Edward V and illegitimase his claim to the throne, where it was subsequently declared null and void in
a parliament petition. The fact he was able to so easily defame Edward V, suggests the sheer
weakness of his opposition, and thus this was a clear reason to why he was able to gain the throne.
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