Edward was taken unawares. Warwick, aided by the gold of Louis XI, entered England, and the king, deserted by his followers, was compelled to flee for safety to his brother-in-law, the duke of Burgundy, in October, 1470. Henry VI was restored. But the Lancastrian success lasted for less than six months. In March, 1471, Edward, aided in his turn by the wealth of the duke of Burgundy, landed at Ravenspur and marching toward London met Warwick and the Lancastrians at Barnet, April 14, 1471, and won a decisive victory. To the lasting benefit of England, Warwick was slain, and with him his brother, Lord Montague, and other Lancastrian leaders. Important though the victory was, Edward had still to reckon with Margaret of Anjou, who, on the very day of the battle of Barnet, had landed at Weymouth, on the coast of England. The final engagement took place at Tewkesbury, and again Edward won the day. The young Prince of Wales, Margaret's son, was slain, it is said, by Richard, Earl of Gloucester, Edward's brother. No important Lancastrian noble survived the battle and the vengeance of the Yorkists. Even the old King Henry was put to death in the Tower, on May 21, probably at the instigation of King Edward himself .

Edward IV as Undisputed King : Foreign and Commercial Policy

A terrible fate had fallen on the Lancastrian house ; not a member remained to thwart the policy of the Yorkist king. Edward now entered upon the last period of his reign, which was in the main peaceful. He undertook a war with France in 1475, to aid his brother-in-law, Charles the Bold, in the latter's struggle with his liege lord, Louis XI; and another in 1482 with the Scots, to dethrone James III (who had been friendly to the cause of the Lancastrians, and whose aunt had married Louis XI before Louis became king), and to place in his stead on the Scottish throne his exiled brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany. Beyond these expeditions, which came to little, Edward showed no warlike zeal; and the most important consequence of his wars was the introduction of a new method of raising money by compelling the wealthy to make to the king loans or free gifts, called benevolences.' In 1478 Edward took vengeance on his own brother, the perjured Clarence", and caused him to be executed, to be drowned, we are told, in a butt of Malmsey wine.

Edward was a man of energy and ability and great military sagacity, but he was cruel, idle, and sensual. He lived a hard life, and died at the early age of forty-one. Popular sympathy was with him generally during the long struggle, and he in return did a great deal to promote the welfare of the burgher and commercial classes. As early as 1463 parliament had forbidden the importation of foreign corn into England, hoping in that way to improve the condition of the farming classes. Later it had prohibited the importation of foreign manufactured goods into England, that an interest in manufacturing might spring up at home. Parliament also passed a statute in 1465, regulating the manufacture of cloth, and encouraged the importation of larger supplies of wool, that the weavers might have plenty of material for their work.

EDWARD IV.

From Vertue's engraving, based on an ancient painting in the royal collection at Kensington Palace."

On the commercial side, Edward arranged treaties with Denmark, Burgundy,' and the Hanse towns, the importance of which became manifest in 1470, when all the great trading bodies, the Hanseatic League and the Flemish and Dutch corporations, persuaded the duke of Burgundy to aid Edward to recover his throne. Edward encouraged shipping, built up the navy, and began the restoration of England's control of the adjoining waters, and in so doing prepared the way for the expansion of England's commerce and sea power during the reign of the Tudors. He died in 1483, leaving three children; two boys and a girl, a prey to the factions that he himself had scarcely been able to control. The eldest of the children succeeded him as Edward V, with his uncle, Richard of Gloucester, as regent during his minority.