Henry VII marked the beginning of a period of peace and prosperity. Many of the nobles had been largely exterminated in the Wars of the Roses and their power had been reduced. Henry was a hard-working man , who enforced law and order , encouraged commerce and restored to the Crown its former prestige. He protected the merchant classes and the lesser gentry , he taxed the nobles and stopped them having their own private armies to defend their castles. In this way he avoided the risk of further civil wars and consolidated the power of the king. He started the Royal Navy to protect the shores of England. Henry died in 1509 and was succeeded by his second son HenryVIII , because his first son Arthur , had died in 1502.