Cornish Rebellion of 1497 - Background

Background

The primary focus of the Rebellion was protest at Henry VII's tax levy, but the unrest of the Cornish precedes the actual event by a millennium. Geographically remote, the modern English county of Cornwall is located on the southwesterly tip of Great Britain. However, the Cornish people claim continuous descent from the western Romano-British tribes prior to the Saxon invasions around the turn of the fifth century CE, who were apparently absorbed into the Kingdom of Wessex, most likely during the reign of Athelstan in the 8th century. The Celtic Cornish are thus considered a distinct cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic group from the Germanic Anglo-Saxon population of England but closely related to the Welsh and Bretons. The degree of independence and autonomy granted to the Cornish region, which included the all-important ancient tin mines, is reflected in peculiar constitutional concessions that apply only to Duchy of Cornwall - such as the Stannary Parliament - as distinct from a common English county. Some modern elements continue to fight for political recognition within the nation on this basis.

Strong Arthurian tradition among the Cornish of the given time period suggests that the people may have viewed the ascendance of the (Welsh) House of Tudor following their success in the Wars of the Roses to the throne as a fulfillment of foretold prophecy. The popular theory appeared true at first with Henry appointing loyal Cornish men to high posts in his court, even naming his first son Arthur and bestowing the title of Duke of Cornwall upon him. However, due to a widening language and cultural gap, popular support for the Crown would not persist.