The Second Cornish uprising occurred in September 1497 when the pretender to the throne

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...

landed at

Whitesand Bay Whitesand Bay ( kw, Porth Senan, meaning ''cove at Sennen'') is a wide sandy bay near Land's End in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It stretches for one mile between the headlands of Pedn-mên-du and Aire Point. and contains the villa ...

, near Land's End, on 7 September with just 120 men in two ships. Warbeck had seen the potential of the Cornish unrest in the 1st Cornish rebellion of 1497 even though the Cornish had been defeated at the Battle of Deptford Bridge on 17 June 1497. Warbeck proclaimed that he would put a stop to extortionate taxes levied to help fight a war against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and was warmly welcomed in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. His wife, Lady Catharine, was left in the safety of

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount ( kw, Karrek Loos yn Koos, meaning " hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a causeway of granite se ...

and when he decided to attack

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

his supporters declared him ‘Richard IV’ on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

. Most of the Cornish gentry supported Warbeck's cause after their setback previously in June of that year and on 17 September a Cornish army some 6,000 strong entered Exeter, where the walls were badly damaged, before advancing on

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

. 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 Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

he panicked and deserted his army. Warbeck was captured at

Beaulieu Abbey Beaulieu Abbey, , was a Cistercian abbey in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1203–1204 by King John and (uniquely in Britain) populated by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order. Th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, where he surrendered. Henry VII reached Taunton on 4 October 1497, where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army. The ringleaders were executed and others fined an enormous total of £13,000. 'King Richard' was imprisoned, first, at Taunton, then in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he was ‘paraded through the streets on horseback amid much hooting and derision of the citizens’. On 23 November 1499 Warbeck was drawn on a

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

from the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

to Tyburn, London, where he read out a ‘confession’ and was hanged.Bodmin - Centre of three Cornish uprisings
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, uprising of 1497

Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Cornish 1497 in England Conflicts in 1497 15th-century rebellions

Military history of Cornwall

Battles involving England Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe Tudor rebellions Henry VII of England Perkin Warbeck

See also

References