Henry VII was the first Tudor King of England from 1485 to 1509. Although supported by Lancastrians and Yorkists alienated by the previous king, Richard III's usurpation, Henry VII's first task after becoming king was to secure his position. In 1486 he married Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV, thus uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster and bringing to a close, once and for all, the civil unrest which had been the Wars Of The Roses. Henry's reign was troubled by revolts, sometimes involving pretenders (such as Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel) who impersonated Edward V or his brother. In 1485, Henry formed a personal bodyguard from his followers known as the 'Yeomen of the Guard'. Henry strengthened the power of the monarchy by using traditional methods of government to tighten royal administration and increase revenues (reportedly including a daily examination of accounts). Royal income rose from an annual average of 52,000 to 142,000 pounds by the end of Henry's reign. Little co-operation was required between the King and Parliament; during Henry's reign of 24 years, only seven Parliaments sat for a mere ten and a half months. Henry used dynastic royal marriages to establish his dynasty in England, and help maintain peace. One daughter, Margaret, was married to James IV of Scotland (from whom Mary, Queen of Scots and her son, James VI of Scotland and James I of England, were descended); the other daughter married Louis XII of France. Henry spent money shrewdly and left a full treasury on his death in 1509.
Henry VII encouraged the exploration of what was to becone the USA. On March the 5th, 1495, Henry VII granted to John Cabot, his three sons, their heirs and assigns, a patent for the discovery of unknown lands in the Eastern, Western and Northern seas, with a right to occupy such territories and to have exclusive commerce with them, paying to the king one-fifth part of all the profits. The enterprise was to be 'at their own proper cost and charge'. In his book of private expenses for 1497 there is an item, 'To him that found the new isle, £10', no doubt referring to Cabot. Research Henry VII
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