Perkin Warbeck

Perkin Warbeck
Pretender
Born	c. 1474 Tournai, Tournaisis
Died	23 November 1499 (aged 24–25) Tyburn, Middlesex, England
Title(s)	Pretended Duke of York
Throne(s) claimed	England
Pretend from	1490
Connection with	Claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, son of Edward IV of England
Royal House	In the name of the House of York
Father	Jehan de Werbecque; claimed to be Edward IV of England
Mother	Katherine de Faro; claimed to be Elizabeth Woodville
Spouse	Lady Catherine Gordon

Perkin Warbeck (c. 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne.

By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor dynasty, and gained support outside England. Henry VII declared Warbeck an impostor, and after his capture, Warbeck wrote a confession in which he said he was a Fleming born in Tournai around 1474. Due to uncertainty as to whether Richard of Shrewsbury had died in the Tower of London or had survived, Warbeck's claim gathered some followers, either due to real belief in his identity or because of desire to overthrow Henry and reclaim the throne. Dealing with Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000, putting a strain on Henry's weak state finances.

Perkin Warbeck's personal history has been fraught with many unreliable and varying statements. He, himself, said that he was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV. After he was captured and interrogated in 1497 under the eye of King Henry VII, another version of his life was published, based on his confession. This confession is considered by many historians to be possibly only partially true as it was procured under duress. According to the confession, Warbeck was born to a man called John Osbeck (also known as Jehan de Werbecque). Osbeck, who was married to Warbeck's mother Katherine de Faro, was Flemish and held the occupation of comptroller to the city of Tournai. These family ties are backed up by several municipal archives of Tournai which mention most of the people whom Warbeck declared he was related to. He was taken to Antwerp by his mother at around age ten to learn Dutch. From here, he was undertaken by several masters around Antwerp and Middelburg before being employed by a local English merchant named John Strewe for a few months. After his time in the Netherlands, Warbeck yearned to visit other countries and was hired by a Breton merchant. This merchant eventually brought Warbeck to Cork, Ireland in 1491 when he was about seventeen, and there he learnt to speak English. Warbeck then claims that upon seeing him dressed in silk clothes, some of the citizens of Cork who were Yorkists demanded to "[do] him the honour as a member of the Royal House of York." He said they did this because they were resolved in gaining revenge on the King of England and decided that he would claim to be the younger son of King Edward IV.

...
Wikipedia