Henry VII (seventh) was known for being a successful conqueror, the founder of the Tudor Dynasty, and a great diplomat. Henry VII was born on January 28, 1457 CE in Pembroke, Wales. He was the only son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beufort.

Henry did not earn the throne; he fought for it. Henry was the king of England from 1485 to 1509. He had four children: Arthur, Henry, Margaret, and Mary. Henry was a member of the Tudor family. In 1485 Henry killed Richard III of York (who was his uncle) in battle, and became Henry VII.

One of his greatest accomplishments was making his country and Monarchy stronger. He didn’t let nobility have any power. For instance, he tried to end feudalism. Also he didn’t listen to parliament (the nobility).  He didn’t even speak to nobility or anyone else except personal servants. In addition to making Monarchy stronger, Henry made the role of kings in court stronger by founding the court of the star chamber. He also did a lot for trade, ship building, and mining. An example of how he did this, is that he tried to end feudalism. It’s also quite interesting that he sponsored the voyage of John Cabot to America.

During the time of his reign, two people tried to take away his throne: Lambert Simnel (pretended to be Earl of Warwick) and Perkin Warbeck (pretended to be Richard of York). They pretended that they were more rightful heirs to the throne. Henry stopped Lambert by battle. He stopped Perkin by putting him in jail; he was later executed.

Henry VII was a very wise ruler. One of his greatest strengths was foreign policy. For instance, he married his son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon from Spain in order to be allies with Spain. This later led to the foundation of the English church. In addition, he married his daughter, Margaret to James IV of Scotland, in order to unite Scotland and England. Later this led to the foundation of the Tudor Dynasty. From here one can see that every move that Henry VII made, he thought about the future of his country.

Henry was not popular with common people. His selfishness and manipulation skills made him a good diplomat, but not very likable to both his peasant and noble subjects. Although Henry did not accomplish this, one of his biggest goals, was to end Feudalism, and to establish the centralization of power.  “He transformed the medieval government that he inherited into an efficient tool for conducting royal business. In other words the Feudal System was transformed into a more modern form of government and Henry VII took part in this process’’. (Britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon40.html)

In conclusion, I think that Henry VII was a very smart monarch. He was also a very good politician. He was especially good in foreign policy. For instance he used the marriages of his children to secure relations with Spain and France. He also did a lot for ship building, trade, and mining. Although two times people tried to take his throne, he held on to his throne. This shows that Henry was a very powerful military leader.