Shortly after the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War the
two branches of the English royal family became involved in desperate struggle
for the crown. It was known as the War of the Roses, because the house of York
took as its badge a white rose and the house of Lancaster, a red rose. The
contest lasted 1485 A.D., when the Lancastrians conquered, and their leader,
Henry Tudor, ascended the throne as Henry VII. He married a Yorkist wife, thus
uniting the two factions, and founded the Tudor dynasty. The War of the Roses
arrested the progress of English freedom. It created a demand for a strong monarchy
which could keep order and prevent civil strife between the nobles. The Tudors
met that demand and ruled as absolute sovereigns. It was more than a century
before Parliament, representing the people, could begin to win back free
government. It did this only at the cost of a revolution.
FRANCE AFTER THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR
France also issued from the Hundred Years' War with an
absolute government. Strengthened by victory over the English, the French kings
were able to reduce both the nobility and the commons to impotence. During the
reign of Louis XI (1461-1483 A.D.) the royal domains were enlarged by the
addition of Anjou, Provence, and the duchy of Burgundy. His son, Charles VIII
(1483-1498 A.D.), made Brittany a possession of the French crown. The
unification of France was now almost complete.
