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While the War of the Roses was essentially a Civil War (with other countries occasionally poking the bear for shits and giggles), much of the strife leading up to the conflict was due to another war entirely: the Hundred Years War between England and France.
England Vs. France
Since the Norman Conquest in 1066, England and France has had a dysfunctional (to put it mildly) relationship. Despite gaining the English crown, William the Conqueror remained the Duke of Normandy, which gave him significant holdings in France. This meant that William was equal to the French King AND his vassal (aka had to pay taxes and answer to the French King) , which as a King, is a really shitty place to be. Over the next few centuries, the English and the French fought over the English lands in France. Sometimes, England had more power, such as when Eleanor of Aquitaine divorced the King of France to marry Henry II of England (which was such a badass move) and spent decades solidifying the Angevin Empire. Other times, the French monarchs had the upper hand, such as when Eleanor’s useless son, King John (yes, that King John), lost pretty much the entire Angevin Empire.
And Here Comes Edward III…
These conflicts reached a new level of crazy in what is known as the Hundred’s Years War (it was actually a 116 years but whatever). The catalyst was the fall of that House of Capet. The final Capetian King of France, Charles VI, died with no male heirs. His closest male relative was Edward III, the King of England, as Edward III’s mother was Isabella of France (another total badass). As you can imagine, the French were like “yeah… no… fuck off” to Edward III and put Charles IV’s cousin, Philip VI (who founded the House of Valois) on the throne.
Edward III responded by basically saying “yeah… well… I didn’t want the fucking throne anyway…” (AKA he accepted their decision but refused to pay taxes on the remaining English holdings in France). Philip VI gave him a few years to cool off before he confiscated the English holdings for not paying their taxes. This totally blew up in Philip VI’s face as Edward III used this as an excuse to invade France. He decimated the French during his lifetime but with his heir’s death, the conquest of France stalled.
Like Great-Grandfather, like Great-Grandson
The war reignited once again under Henry V, who, like his great-grandfather Edward III, kicked major French ass. He coerced the Mad French King, Charles VI, into agreeing to make him his heir and marry Catherine of Valois, one of Charles VI’s daughter. In all likelihood, Henry V would have taken over France and claimed the throne when Charles VI died a few years later, but Henry V died first by contracting dysentery (aka shitting himself to death). This left his infant son, Henry VI, as his only heir at less than a year old.
Baby Kings Struggle to Win Wars. Shocker, I know.
Henry V’s brothers, the regents, attempted to maintain Henry V’s conquest of France but they were slowly losing ground. Once Henry VI reached adulthood, the English were losing the war and Henry VI wanted to end it (war was really not his thing). Unfortunately, the English nobles generally wanted to hold onto the English lands in France, at the very least, since England had been hemorrhaging money for a century to gain the French throne. Henry VI ended up losing pretty much everything in France, except for Calais. This loss was a major contribution to the War of the Roses.
Sources
Charles River Editors. Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56157716-medieval-england
Dan Jones. The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13844539.Dan_Jones
Alison Weir. The War of the Roses. http://www.alisonweir.org.uk/
Stephon Batchelor. Medieval History for Dummies. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8247199-medieval-history-for-dummies
Sean Long. British History for Dummies. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/327532.British_History_for_Dummies
Hourly History. The Hundred Years War: A History from Beginning to End. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50888975-the-hundred-years-war