Evaluate the reasons for the overthrow of Richard II in 1399.

Candidates are required to make an appraisal of the reasons why Richard II was deposed in 1399 and weigh up their significance. These may include long-term factors, such as the nature of his rule or the war with France. There may be focus on his treatment of nobles, such as Henry Bolingbroke. Richard was criticised for his financial extravagance, his favourites, his marriage to Isabella and the peace with France. He had difficult relations with Parliament and was unpopular because of his imposition of arbitrary fines. His treatment of the Lords Appellant and later his seizure of Bolingbroke’s Lancastrian inheritance alienated many of the nobility. Some may argue that despite his unpopularity his deposition was a consequence of military failure in Ireland, others that the deposition occurred because the nobility encouraged Bolingbroke to take the throne.