The Execution of the ‘Great Pretender’ Perkin Warbeck

By Silva Shahini, 2nd Year History

Perkin Warbeck may not be the first person that comes to mind when one thinks of the Tudors, but he had a significant influence upon Henry Tudor’s domestic and foreign policy, making him a figure whose history deserves to be brought into a more public sphere. This article will analyse the importance of Warbeck’s life by looking at his different identies and the role he played in threatening Henry Tudor’s policy aims.

16th-century copy by Jacques Le Boucq of the only known contemporary portrait of Warbeck

This article cannot properly consider the significance of Warbeck without establishing the position of Henry Tudor. A usurper with a weak claim to the throne through his mother, Henry Tudor was attempting to establish the ‘House of Tudor’.[1] England had been through two decades of a power struggle by the time Henry became King. He wanted to unite England after constant infighting between Lancaster and York, establish his dynasty, secure his finances, and protect his lands from foreign dangers. Warbeck proved to be a large and long-lasting threat to his dynasty.

 There is not much record of Warbeck’s life before his time pretending to be Richard Shrewsbury. It only makes official historical record in his tortured confession.[2] That torture was used makes this source questionable, as it was recorded and produced to reaffirm the narratives Henry Tudor desired. Henry wished for his claim to the throne to not be seen as solely based on conquest, but to be founded on his royal relation to John of Gaunt and his divine right. However, this source is still widely recognised as being accurate, and is supported by notable figures such as Lord Bacon. In his confession, Warbeck is quoted as acknowledging his mother “Katherine De Faro” and father “John Osbeck”.[3] From this information, we can place Warbeck as originating from Tournai, as Osbeck was controller of this town. In this confession, it was learned that his family were alive and indeed well-known in the local community. Having become an apprentice in Middelburg, Warbeck found himself in a position from which he could become a ‘pretender’ to the throne.

In 1491, Warbeck began his journey landing in Cork, where he was promised the support of the Earls of Desmond and Kildare.[4] Historians such as Chrimes believe this landing to be planned all along by Burgundy and France, as Cork was a Yorkist stronghold.[5] Gardiner reasoned that the Duchess of Burgundy planned to have him trained to be the Prince, and to garner more foreign support in preparation for an arrival on English shores.[6] Warbeck continued this pattern, threatening Henry from locations where he had no jurisdiction and with powerful foreign support. This could’ve been an attempt to goad Henry into acting against his limited foreign policy, thereby threatening the Tudor dynasty himself as Warbeck’s support grew. 

In 1492, Charles VIII welcomed Warbeck and 100 Yorkists to Paris.[7] Such support led to Henry taking drastic action with the Treaty of Etaples 1492, where Henry accepted the loss of Brittany in exchange for a French pension and an agreement that Charles would not support Warbeck. Regardless of Henry’s diplomatic moves, Warbeck’s dynastic threat continued to build.

By 1493 Warbeck posed a bigger threat to the crown than other pretenders had (such as Lambert Simnel), due to his significant foreign support. This led to Henry having to engage more with Europe, even to the detriment of his own financial plans. In 1493, Henry cut off trade with Flanders - despite English cloth being a key export - and Warbeck gained support from the Holy Roman Emperor shortly after.[8] The danger Warbeck placed on the dynasty was peaking at this time.

Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the throne of England, in the stocks, 1497. Illustration from A Series of Prints of English History, by Mrs Trimmer

In 1495 Henry passed the Acts of Attainder in order to control English nobles via financial means, and in this same year Warbeck had a disastrous landing in Kent - later sailing to Scotland to regroup.[9] This is where the tide began to turn against Warbeck, and after shutting down some avenues of support, Henry began to successfully combat the threat Warbeck produced, through a combination of foreign treaties and the garnering of support amongst England’s nobility.

By 1497 Warbeck had lost his support in Scotland and returned to Ireland where he was not welcome. Warbeck’s support at this point was virtually non-existent, with Henry having various diplomatic agreements across Europe and a growing popularity within England. A prime example of this was the people of Exeter chasing out Warbeck.[10] Warbeck’s longevity was a large threat, but it is also the reason he failed, as Henry had time to establish himself, his dynasty, his finances and his foreign support.

On the 23rd of November 1499, Henry Tudor arranged Warbeck’s execution. Henry’s final large dynastic threat had been conquered but the consequences of this decade of activity were not erased. Henry had policy aims that he was not always able to fulfil due to Warbeck’s actions. Henry’s key aim of establishing a dynasty was prioritised due to Warbeck’s threat, meaning other aims were damaged in order to shut down the pretender. This meant that, for a decade, Henry’s actions had been severely limited, and the legacy of Warbeck informed all of Henry’s future policies, which were harsh on even potential threats to the throne. The full details of Perkin Warbeck’s life may remain unclear, but his impacts on the Tudor Dynasty in these years are undoubtable.

[1] Griffiths, RA Henry Tudor: The Training of a King University of Pennsylvania Press Vol 49 No 3 Summer 1986 p 199

[2] Arthurson, Ian the Perkin Warbeck conspiracy 1491-1499 pxi (Perkin Warbeck’s confession)

[3] Gardiner, James Richard the Third, Greenwood Press 1969 p266

[4] Gardiner, James Richard the Third, Greenwood Press 1969 p279

[5] Trueman, CN “the Perkin Warbeck rebellion” historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 16 Mar 2015. 21 Nov 2022

[6] Gardiner, James Richard the Third, Greenwood Press 1969 p269

[7] Trueman, CN “the perkin warbeck rebellion” historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 16 Mar 2015. 21 Nov 2022

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.