Cornish Rebellion of 1497
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The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 was a popular uprising by the tin miners of Cornwall in the south west of Britain. Its primary cause was the raising of war taxes by King Henry VII on the impoverished Cornish tin miners for a campaign against Scotland, motivated by brief border skirmishes that were inspired by Perkin Warbeck's pretence to the English throne. Tin miners were angered as the scale of the taxes violated previous rights granted by Edward I of England to the Cornish Stannary Parliament which, exempted Cornwall from all taxes of 10ths or 15ths of income. Tin miners also felt that they had no involvement in wars with Scotland as they lived so far from it, considering it an English matter; most Cornish were not English speaking at this time.
In reaction to King Henry's tax levy, Michael Joseph (An Gof), a blacksmith from Bodmin and Thomas Flamank a lawyer of St. Keverne, incited the people of Cornwall into armed revolt against the King. The force raised by the two men set off to London, gathering supporters as it went. En route, they gathered support from the yeomen of Plymouth and on reaching Somerset, a local lord by the name of Lord Audley took command of the rebel army. By the time it had reached Blackheath, outside London it had grown to a force of several thousand men. After fighting a minor battle near Guildford, Surrey, they tried to gain further support and the leaders of the rebellion attempted to move to Deptford, hoping to capitalise on the sympathetic feelings between the people of Cornwall and Kent. However, after Jack Cade's Rebellion of 1450, and its subsequent defeat, the Kentish people refused to join the rebels, and so the Cornish remained in Blackheath. There, they were surrounded by a force of 10,000 men of the King's army and fought a brief battle at Deptford Bridge.
The Battle of Deptford Bridge
The Battle of Deptford Bridge took place on 17th June 1497 on a site in present-day Deptford south-east London, adjacent to the River Ravensbourne and was the culminating event of the Cornish Rebellion. The skirmish cost the lives of 200 Cornish rebels, and Lord Audley and Flamank were captured on the field of battle. An Gof was caught later fleeing for Greenwich and joined the other rebel leaders in the Tower of London. The Cornish lacked the horse and artillery possessed by the King's army and as a result the rebels were soundly beaten by King Henry's forces, ably led by Lord Daubeney. Much of the battle took place on the eastern side of the Ravensbourne, on the hillside up to the plateau of Blackheath and is sometimes called the 'Battle of Blackheath'. Losses of Daubeney's forces were within single figures. An Gof and Flamank were executed on 27th June 1497 and suffered the traitor's fate of being hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. Audley was beheaded on the 28th June at Tower Hill. Their heads were displayed on pike-staffs ("gibbeted") on London Bridge. An Gof is recorded to have said before his execution that he should have "a name perpetual and a fame permanent and immortal". Thomas Flamank was quoted as saying "Speak the truth and only then can you be free of your chains". The remaining rebels were sent home, ending the rebellion.
500 year anniversary
1997 was the 500th anniversary of the An Gof uprising and a commemorative march (Keskerdh Kernow 500) was held, which retraced the route of the original march from St Keverne, Cornwall to London. A statue depicting An Gof and Flamank was unveiled at An Gof's home town of St. Keverne and a commemorative plaque was also unveiled on Blackheath.
See also
External links
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