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The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was an important battle during the Wars of the Roses in 15th century England. It was fought on August 22, 1485 between the Yorkist King Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, and the Lancastrian contender for the crown, Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (later King Henry VII). It ended in the defeat and death of Richard and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. Historically, the battle is considered to have marked the end of the Wars of the Roses, although further battles were fought in the years that followed as Yorkist pretenders unsuccessfully sought to reclaim the crown.Henry had landed in Pembrokeshire, the county of his birth, on August 7 with a small force—consisting mainly of French mercenaries—in an attempt to claim the throne of England. Richard III had fought similar battles with Lancastrian usurpers in the past, but this one would be his last. Although Henry did not have his opponent's military experience, he was accompanied by his uncle, Jasper Tudor, 1st Earl of PembrokeJasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford (ca 1431- December 1495) was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and the architect of his successful conquest of England and Wales in 1485. Jasper was the third son of Owen Tudor and the former queen Katherine of Valoi (later 1st Duke of Bedford) and John de Vere, 13th Earl of OxfordJohn de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (died 10 March, 1513) was one of the principal Lancastrian commanders during the English Wars of the Roses. Early in the reign of Edward IV, Oxford's father, the 12th Earl, and his elder brother were executed for plotting, both brilliant and seasoned soldiers. Henry gathered supporters in the course of his journey through his father's native WalesFor alternate meanings, see Wales (disambiguation Wales ( Welsh: Cymru pronounced /"k@mrI/ SAMPA, km IPA, 'Kumree' approximate pronunciation) is one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom (the other three being England, Scotland and Northern Ir, and by the time he arrived in the MidlandsThe midlands of a territory are its central regions. The Midlands (with a capital M usually means the English Midlands, an area generally considered to include the counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nott, he had amassed an army estimated at 5,000 men. The King, by contrast, could command nearly 8,000. The decisive factor in the battle was to be the conduct of the Stanley brothers— Sir William Stanley and Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron StanleyThomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby ( 1435 1504), an English nobleman, inherited his father's titles, including that of king of the Isle of Man, in 1459. Stanley was a shrewd man, who managed to remain in favour with successive kings throughout the Wars of, the latter being Henry's stepfather. Richard had good cause to distrust them but was dependent on their continued loyalty.
The battlefield site, now open to the public, is close to the villages of Sutton CheneySutton Cheney is a village in Leicestershire, England, close to the location of the Battle of Bosworth Field. Villages in Leicestershire. and Market BosworthMarket Bosworth is a large village in Leicestershire, UK. It is mainly known as the location of the Battle of Bosworth Field, the concluding battle in the Wars of the Roses, but it also boasts two schools, a country park and numerous other tourist attract in LeicestershireLeicestershire (abbreviated Leics is a landlocked county in central England. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester which has traditionally been its administrative centre, but is now a unitary authority administratively separate fr. The actual site of the battle has been the topic of often contentious debate among professional and amateur historians, with a compelling case being made for siting the battle closer to the villages of Dadlington and Stoke Golding , although most are agreed that Richard's encampment the night before the battle was indeed on Ambion Hill . Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, with Lord Stanley and Sir William Stanley, and their troops, watched the beginning of the engagement as the rest of York's army fought Henry Tudor's French mercenaries and loyal exiles, the Stanleys seem to have taken up a position some distance away from the two main armies.
The two notorious trimmers in 1469–71 were the young John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , and the older more experienced Lord Stanley, and they acted with a circumspection that bordered on deceitfulness, consistently holding back from final commitment to either side and always keeping on good terms with the winners. Richard had taken hostages to ensure that, even if they did not join him, they would at least remain neutral during the battle.
