The hundred years’ war , War of the Roses

The hundred years’ war (1337-1453)
- Edward III. whose mother was a French princess, pretended that he had a right to the French throne. He began a war that was to last for more than a hundred years
- during Edward’s reign, England’s population was almost halved by the Black Death. So the few free workers were paid much better, nut the serf had to work even harder. Under Richard II peasant revolts broke out but were crushed. To save labour, landowners enclosed their fields to use them as a sheep pasture and to profit from England’s wool trade.
- In 1399 Richard II was deposed by Henry IV of the House of Lancaster. His son, Henry V. devastated the north of France.
- At last the French agreed to accept his son as King of France, but his sudden death and the national uprising led by Jeanne d’Arc against Henry VI caused the English to lose everything except Calais

War of the Roses
- 2 house were fought – the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose)
- Henry VI was deposed by the House of York. After his death, his brother Richard III had Edward’s 2 sons murdered to become a king - he was finally defeated by a Welsh Lancastrian, Henry II. Tudor, in the battle of Bosworth (1485)