When the time was ripe (January, 1495), Henry's hand fell suddenly on the
unsuspecting conspirators in England; whose chiefs, including Sir William
Stanley, who was supposed to be one of the King's most trusted supporters,
were sent to the block. It was this same Sir William Stanley who, striking
in at Bosworth on the side of Henry, had been mainly instrumental in
deciding the fortunes of the day; and he had been rewarded with the office
of Chamberlain.

[Sidenote: Diplomatic intrigues]

During the two years following the Treaty of Etaples Charles VIII. had
early made his peace also with Spain by the treaty of Barcelona and with
Maximilian by that of Senlis. The desired provinces, Roussillon and
Cerdagne, were restored to Ferdinand and Isabella, who adopted a distant
attitude to Henry. The French King, free to follow his own devices, entered
Italy towards the close of 1494, marched south without opposition, and was
crowned at Naples in February, 1495, the reigning family fleeing before
him. So early and important an accession of strength to the French Crown
had hardly been anticipated, and the European sovereigns made haste to form
a League against France. Spain was desirous of bringing England into the
league; but the wayward Maximilian was still determined to support Perkin
Warbeck, apparently thinking that by substituting a Yorkist prince for
Henry he would secure a more amenable ally.

[Sidenote: 1492-95 Ireland]

Meanwhile, Ireland also had been undergoing judicious treatment. Kildare,
removed from the Deputy-ship in 1492, came over to England to give an
account of himself in the following year. Here he was detained until, in
the autumn of 1494, the King appointed a new three-year-old Governor in the