This is a question with no easy answer, but it can be looked at in a number of ways.
If we consider the Wars of the Roses began in 1455 with the first battle of St Albans we should look at the Battle of Tewkesbury as the final battle in these wars.
The origins of these battles had their roots in the rivalry between the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of York. Following King Henry VI 'regaining his senses' Edmund Beaufort was given back his former post. To make matters worse, Beaufort was also given the captaincy of Calais which really rubbed York up the wrong way, eventually, it came to blows at St Albans. You could say that the following fifteen battles, not including Bosworth and Stoke, were just a continuation of this, although there was far more to it than that.
The beginning of the end was the death of Henry VI's son Edward at Tewkesbury, followed seventeen days later by Henry himself.
You could that say the Wars of the Roses did indeed end at Tewkesbury.
The origins of these battles had their roots in the rivalry between the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of York. Following King Henry VI 'regaining his senses' Edmund Beaufort was given back his former post. To make matters worse, Beaufort was also given the captaincy of Calais which really rubbed York up the wrong way, eventually, it came to blows at St Albans. You could say that the following fifteen battles, not including Bosworth and Stoke, were just a continuation of this, although there was far more to it than that.
The beginning of the end was the death of Henry VI's son Edward at Tewkesbury, followed seventeen days later by Henry himself.
You could that say the Wars of the Roses did indeed end at Tewkesbury.
On the other hand, if you consider, like I do, the Wars of the Roses began or at least the seeds were set on the 8th June 1376 with the death of Edward III's heir Edward the Black Prince.
The fallout from the Black Prince's death cannot be underestimated. A boy king, an influential and 'lustful' uncle, an illegitimate brood and a usurper, lead you to follow two lines. Firstly that of the usurper, where you end up at Henry VI and Margaret Beaufort/Henry Tudor and secondly, if you follow the line of John Beaufort, Gaunt's illegitimate son, you get Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor. Which line you follow makes no difference you will end up with events of 1483 to 1485.
With all that in mind, you will have to say that the Wars of the Roses ended at Bosworth.
The fallout from the Black Prince's death cannot be underestimated. A boy king, an influential and 'lustful' uncle, an illegitimate brood and a usurper, lead you to follow two lines. Firstly that of the usurper, where you end up at Henry VI and Margaret Beaufort/Henry Tudor and secondly, if you follow the line of John Beaufort, Gaunt's illegitimate son, you get Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor. Which line you follow makes no difference you will end up with events of 1483 to 1485.
With all that in mind, you will have to say that the Wars of the Roses ended at Bosworth.
Two years after Bosworth the armies of York and Lancaster met again at Stoke Field in Nottinghamshire. Henry VII found himself in the same position as that of Richard III defending his crown and facing a rebel army who were intent on placing a Plantagenet on the throne, albeit an impostor. Lambert Simnel, a claimant to England's throne posing as Edward, Earl of Warwick, was crowned in Dublin by John de la Pole and Francis Lovell. With a Plantagenet claimant as their figurehead, only Henry VII stood in their way.
John de la Pole died on the battlefield, Lovell's body was not among the dead, but his days were numbered. This battle effectively wiped out the last of the Yorkist rebels, enabling Henry VII to establish the Tudor dynasty virtually unchallenged, on the battlefield at least.
Did the Wars of the Roses end with the Lancastrian victory at Stoke Field?
John de la Pole died on the battlefield, Lovell's body was not among the dead, but his days were numbered. This battle effectively wiped out the last of the Yorkist rebels, enabling Henry VII to establish the Tudor dynasty virtually unchallenged, on the battlefield at least.
Did the Wars of the Roses end with the Lancastrian victory at Stoke Field?
What is the answer then Tewkesbury, Bosworth or Stoke?
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