Scotland en

companied

During thefe tranfactions, Perkin Warbeck in- a. C. 1496, finuated himself so far into the good graces of the The king of Scottish king, that he undertook to place him on ters Engthe throne of England, and being affured that the land, acEnglish would declare for him in great numbers, by Perkin as foon as he should appear in that kingdom, pro- Warbeck, perly attended, he raised a numerous army, which he conducted in perfon to Northumberland, accompanied by the pretender. There he published a manifefto, in which he inveighed against Henry, as an ufurper, tyrant, and murderer; and promised honours and advantages to thofe who fhould join their lawful prince, and help to destroy the robber who had deprived him of his throne. This, Bacon, though a fpirited remonftrance, had very little ef fect upon the English, who were nationally averfe to the Scots, and by this time fo intimidated by the fuccefs and severity of the reigning king, that they would no longer rifque their lives and fortunes in behalf of a stranger, even though they believed him to be the fon of Edward. James, feeing no hopes of being joined by the English, and unwil ling to lose his labour, ravaged the county of Northumberland with fire and fword. Then Perkin, pretending to be touched with the misfortunes of the people, conjured him in public, with tears in his eyes, to fpare his wretched fubjects; protesting he would rather live the life of a fugitive and vagabond, than be the caufe of mifchief to his Countrymen. The Scot anfwered, with a farcaftic fmile, that he was too generous and tender of that which did not belong to him; and that he would' make an excellent steward for his adverfary. James hearing that an English army was on the march to give him battle, was loth to expofe the immenfe booty he had obtained to the chance of an engagement; and therefore retired with expedition into his own country. Henry was not a little difgufted

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ISTORY O

HISTORY OF ENGLAND. A.C. 1496. gufted at this expedition, though it had not been attended with any important confequence. He knew his fubjects were generally difaffected; that the Irish were ftrongly attached to the house of York; and that Perkin was ftill at hand, to profit by the firft favourable opportunity that might occur. In order to fecure himself on all hands, he granted a general amnefty to all the Irifh who had declared for the pretender, that they might not be induced to rebel again by the fear of punishment. He employed Richard Fox bishop of Durham, to enter into a negotiation with James, as of his own accord, and treat of a marriage between that prince and his eldest daughter Margaret: he had already engaged in the league of Italy against Charles VIII. of France; and now he fent ambaffadors to Ferdinand and Isabella, to confirm the former alliance, and renew the engagements for the marriage between his fon Arthur prince of Wales and their third daughter Catherine.

With refpect to Scotland, notwithstanding the plan he had formed for a pacification with that kingdom, he would not let flip any opportunity of demanding a fubfidy from parliament, which he A. C. 1497. therefore convoked in the month of January. In a fpeech to both houses, he expatiated upon the infult he had received from the king of Scotland; drew a pathetic picture of the miferies which the people of the North had undergone, in the time of a truce, when they had no reafon to expect fuch, hoftilities; and declared, that the honour of his crown, and the duty he owed to his fubjects, would not permit him to bear fuch an indignity, without taking fignal vengeance on the invader. The parliament understood the hint, and voted a fubfidy of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, befides two fifteenths; which were no fooner granted than the affembly was difmiffed. He did not at all doubt

that

1

A. C. 1497*

Infurrection

that his negotiation with Scotland would fucceed; and therefore, that he might have the fubfidy in his coffers before the peace fhould be concluded, he ordered his commiffioners to levy it with all poffible difpatch. These collectors met with unex- of the Copected oppofition in the county of Cornwal, the nishment inhabitants of which loudly complained that they fhould be faddled with such a grievous impofition, on account of fome damage which had been done at the other end of the kingdom. Thefe murmurs. were encouraged by one Michael Joseph, a popular and factious blacksmith of Bodmin, and Thomas Flammock a lawyer of a very turbulent difpofition, who affured the common people, that the fiefs depending upon the crown were the proper funds affigned for the maintenance of war; that the poffeffors of those fiefs held them on condition of defending the frontiers; that the king ought to apply to them, in cafe of an invasion from Scotland, and not pillage the kingdom under the fanction of parliament. He faid it would be shameful to fubmit to fuch impofition, which was the work of evil minifters, that made their court to the king at the expence of the poor people; that they ought to take arms in their own defence; without injury to any perfon whatsoever, go and present a petition to his majefty, intreating him to ease them of fuch a burdenfome tax, and punish his pernicious counsellors, the chief of whom were archbishop Morton and Sir Reginald Bray, the two minifters whom he confulted in all his money tranfactions. The populace being thus inflamed, the lawyer and the blacksmith offered to conduct them, until they fhould be headed by fome perfon of quality, which they were affured would be the cafe; and they forthwith armed themselves with fuch weapons as they could procure. Under the direction of thefe two incendiaries, they marched through

Bacon,

AC. 1497. through the counties of Devon and Somerset, their numbers continually increafing in their route. At Taunton they murdered a collector, who had been very rigorous in the execution of his office; and this was the only act of violence the y committed. At Wells they were joined by the lord Audeley, an unquiet and ambitious nobleman, who, being chofen their general, conducted them to Salifbury and Winchester, without allowing them to do the leaft injury to the places through which they paffed. Inftead of marching directly to London, according to their original defign, they turned off towards Kent, in hope of being joined by the people of that county, who were faid to be very zealous for the liberty of the subject: but they were disappoint ed in their expectation. The noblemen and freeholders of Kent had taken fuch precautions to prevent an infurrection, that the Cornishmen were not joined by one perfon in the county: a circum1 ftance which discouraged a great number of the infurgents to fuch a degree, that they retired to their own habitations. The reft, however, animated by the backwardness of the king, who had made no attempt to stop their progrefs, continued their march, boafting that they would either give him battle or take London under his eye. With this refolution they proceeded as far as Blackheath, and encamped between Eltham and Greenwich.

When the king first heard of this infurrection he had already raised an army for the Scottish war, and given the command of it to the lord chamberlain Daubeney; but now he refolved to keep the beft part of the troops in the fouthern part of the kingdom, and fent the earl of Surrey with a de tachment to guard the northern frontiers. Underftanding that the rebels did not waste the country in their march, he continued inactive, that he might judge of the difaffection that prevailed in the counties

They are

counties through which they paffed, by the number A. C. 1497. that would join them in their route: he was not without hope that they would difperfe of themselves, tired of the length and hardships of their march; and, fhould they proceed to the neighbourhood of London, he forefaw that they would be more eafily and effectually crufhed, at fuch a diftance from their own country, than they could have been in the western parts of England. The citizens of London were overwhelmed with confternation at their approach, until they faw the king exert himfelf in earnest for their defence, and even place himself be tween them and the danger. He no fooner under- defeated on ftood that they had encamped at Blackheath, than Blackheath. he divided his army into three bodies, one of which, commanded by the earl of Oxford, marched round the hill, in order to cut off their retreat, and attack them in the rear, fhould it be found neceffary to practise that expedient. The second, under the conduct of the lord Daubeney, was deftined to charge them in the front; and Henry himself, with the third divifion, encamped in St. George's fields, with a view to reinforce the others occafionally, or throw himself into London, in cafe of mifchance. These difpofitions being made, he declared that he would give the rebels battle on Monday, though his intention was to engage them on Saturday, which he deemed fortunate in all his enterprizes. By this feint he hoped to find them unprepared; and it fucceeded according to his wifh. On the twenty-fecond day of June, towards the close of day, the lord Daubeney marched towards them, in order of battle. Having defeated an advanced guard at Deptford-bridge, where they made a vigorous ftand, he ascended the hill, and found them pretty far in the heath, drawing up in battalia, not without manifeft confufion; for they did not expect to be attacked till Monday, and in that noN°. 47.. X

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