Edward ensured that by removing the Lancastrian opposition, in Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and Prince Edward, England would remain peaceful.

Arguably Edward was a very good military commander, he began his conquest of the house of Lancaster by defeating a force at Mortimer’s Cross in 1460. He won a decisive victory at Towton, smashing the Lancastrian families and forcing Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and Prince Edward to flee abroad. Once Edward had regained his throne in 1471, he took it upon himself to rid the country of the Lancastrian threat. The battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury saw the Neville brothers, Warwick and Montague, killed; along with Prince Edward. Margaret of Anjou was captured and placed in a nunnery soon aft

Edward’s attempted restoration of prestige and image for the English crown, was also an attempt to bring peace to England. With a respected monarch there was less chance of conflict and Edward realised this.

Although Edward did not radically change his system of government, nor did he add anything new- it was simply reinvigorated, he did maintain and improve it. He gave it much more drive and effectiveness than before, by monitoring it, making sure that laws were enforced and abided by. Edward also abolished the Exchequer, where the king’s revenue was dealt with, in favour of the King’s Chamber. Money would now travel directly to the king, instead of through an inefficient bureaucracy. Furthermore the king’s use of a cygnet ring, instead of a royal stamp and wax, speeded up business and made it more efficient. Edward would promote lesser men to higher positions in order to keep the power balanced, although he still relied on his nobles to run the country from their respective areas. A more efficient kingdom and form of government allowed Edward to rule better and bring about peace. This form of government was effective in that there were no full scale battles in England after 1471; it can therefore be said that this system was beneficial in Edward’s attempt to bring peace to the country.

Henry had been incompetent in financial matters, he had reduced the crown to near bankruptcy by granting away royal lands and being careless with money. Henry did not realise that to be a successful monarch you had to have good financial backing in order to avoid war and implement peace; a quality which Edward understood. In 1464 Edward began to take his first steps to reversing the situation that Henry had put him in. Edward introduced re-coinage in that year, by melting down all the old coins and inserting new ones. In the same period of time he reiterated the ‘Act of Resumption’ from Henry’s reign, however he used it more effectively in restoring the crown lands. Still, Edward was unable to become solvent until he regained his throne in 1471. This done he began to promote trade, in order to increase customs duties, he also gained more income from royal estates and feudal dues such as ‘rights of wardship’. An increase in foreign trade and a campaign against the pirates saw Edward become more sound financially. Treaties linked to his foreign policy brought money from France in 1475 (Picquigny) of 50,

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