a5) foreign policy Flashcards
Backstory of Brittany and France?
- Brittany was ruled by Francis II, Duke of Brittany- he was old and had no heir- not a threat
- Charles 8’s sister, Anne of Beaujeu, wanted Brittany
- Anne wanted Charles to marry Francis’ daughter, Anne of Brittany
- Brittany is in the North West of France and Henry stayed there during his exile.
What is a fiefdom and how does it relate to Brittany?
An area ruled by a feudal overlord
- Brittany was ruled over by Duke Francis II
- He had no sons, only his daughter as heir- Anne of Brittany
- The French used this opportunity to claim Brittany back
Why was H7 concerned abt French influence in Brittany?
F already the biggest and strongest country in Europe- this would make it even stronger
- If F controlled Brittany, would increase their potential to invade England
- F would control most of the Southern shore of the channel and B’s maritime and port resources.
- H7 felt he owed B as it helped him during his exile
BUT
- Didn’t want to antagonise France
- Didn’t want to strain his finances in a war
What conflict was in Brittany?
- In JULY 1488, France beat Breton forces at St. Aubin de Corbier
- Francis died and Anne of Beaujeu took over as WARDSHIP of Anne of Brittany
What Treaties are relevant to Brittany?
Tof Redon - Feb. 1489
Tof Dordrecht - Feb. 1489
Tof Medina del Campo - March. 1489
What was the Treaty of Redon?
Feb. 1489
- H7 agreed to send 6,000 (under command of Lord Daubeney) to defend Brittany if Anne of Brittany paid for the eng. troops and made no alliances without H7’s approval
What was the Treaty of Dordrecht?
Feb. 1489
- H7 agreed to send 5,000 troops to Maximillian to help defend a garrison under siege in return for sending troops to help Brittany.
BUT Max didn’t send any troops and made peace w the French instead.
What was the Treaty of Medina del Campo?
March. 1489
- Eng and Spain agree to g to war w F to regain NORMANDY and AQUITAINE in return for H’s son marrying CoA.
BUT Ferdinand and Isabella withdrew the troops they sent.
What were reasons FOR English action in France/ continuing the conflict?
- MONEY- H7 had raised a large amount of money from grants in 1489 and 1491 + a benevolence in 1490 (£181,500)- subjects would be angry if he didn’t spend it in war w France
-PRESTIGE- would int. humiliate H7- would lose credibility/ prestige if didn’t fight/ lost- he had promised to go to the battle himself. Was also normal for Eng. Kings to campaign into France- help dynasty.
-SCOT RELEVENCE- J4 of Scot. had dropped plans for a Franco-Scottish marriage alliance and opned negotiations for an Eng one- would secure the border.
What were reasons AGAINST English action in France/ continuing the conflict?
-SUPPORT- was unlikley to recieve much foreign support- esp. from Max who didn;t help w Brittany and instead made peace w France so he could continue his ambitions in Hungary.
-YORKISTS- worried abt F backing Yorkist challenged/ usurpation- it had openly promoted PW.
-DRAINING- would be draining and probs end in defeat as F so big and powerful
What was France like now?
- Charles 8 becomes King 1483- inherits a F that had increased in size an dpower during 15th cent. F was strong bc of its resources:
- Largest and most proffesional army in Europe
- Financially strong- the state had considerable power in the collection of taxes
- Largest population in Europe of abt 15million
- This ‘rejuvenated’ France could now look to secure Brittany and to persue its claims to Milan and Naples.
What was H7’s invasion of France?>
- OCTOBER 1492 landed army of 12,000 in CALAIS and besiged Boulogne
- Plan was to persuade Charles 8 to NEGOTIATE as H had informants in F and knew C wanted to invade Italy, so would rather settle w Eng than waste time fighting
- H also wanted to win back prestige after B defeat and ensure his nobility supported him
What was the Treaty of Etaples?
NOVEMBER 1492- F agreed to give a £159,000 pension (£5,000 a year) to Eng in return for Eng removing al its troops from F and Brittany apart from Calais where it had a garrison.
- France agreed not to help Y pretenders esp. PW.
OUTCOME-
- Restored Eng relations w France
- Turned H’s defeat at Brittany to his advantage- won back prestige
- made a profit as had money left over from grants and benevolence + the pension from F.
What were the Italian Wars?
F invaded Italy in 1494 and 1498
- H wanted it to keep happening as his rivals wouldn’t be helping PW.
- Spain and Max urged H to join an alliance against F but thi sowuld be costly to Henry and F could retaliate
- Kept focus away from H and by not getting involved he could choose what to do- no ties
- Continued until end of his reign
How did Eng’s relationship w Burgundy deteriorate during H7’s reign?
In 1485 H still wasn’t accepted as king of eng.
- The basis of eng’s relationship w Burgundy has been a hatred of F. Maximillian of Burgundy was afraid of eng’s growing positive relations with F.
- H never managed to make a diplomatic agreement w B, but it was an imp. trading territory bc of the cloth and fish available in the area.
- Since he was unable to reach an agreement he had complicate affairs due to B being acquired by the Holy Roman Empire (1032)
Who was Margaret of Burgundy?
Originally Marg. of York
- Born in Fotheringhay castle in Northhamptonshire, was the 3rd wife of CHARLES THE BOLD (married 1468) and became protector of the Burgundian state after his death in 1477.
- Daughter of Richard III
- Died 23rd Nov 1503
why was MoB a threat?
- After R3 died the house of Y ceased to rule eng.- so M was a resolute supporter of anyone wanting to challenge the Tudors.
- She backed both Simnel and PW and even acknowledged PW as her nephew
- Aided PW by hiring mercenaries to accompany him in 1495.
- PW suffered a great defeat and failed to take Waterford in Ireland.
Why was it imp to maintain good relationships w the Netherlands?
- Was where most Eng exports went through- essential for trade to keep good rel.
- ^ Aided eng. export of wool esp., and increased H’s TREASURY and provided income to the eng. economy, helping it to recover.
- Trade w the Netherland srelied heavily on unreliable of eng. cloth exports that were grante dby H to the MERCHANT ADVENTURERS COMPANY (a trading company based in London), this subsequently led to INTERCURSUS MAGNUS, a key treaty concerning commercial powers of countries, incl. the Netherlands.
What was INTERCURSUS MAGNUS?
- FEB 1496- long lasting major commercial treaty signe dby H, Duke Philip IV of Burgundy, and commercial powers of varying countries.
- It granted reciprocal TRADE PRIVILIDGES to Eng and other Eu powers and est. their fixed TRADE DUTIES
- This led to an increase in H’s TREASURY which remaine dwhy good rel w netehrlands was imp for whole reign
What treaties are relevant to Burgundy?
Dordrecht (feb 1489)
Aachen (June 1502)
What was the Treaty of Aachen?
19th june 1502- H agreed treaty w holy roman emporer maximillian- H promised to give Max 10,000 crowns towards his war w Turkey and Max agreed to stop giving refuge to H’s enemies, esp. Edmund de la Pole.
How did Burgundy bring H’s foreign policy into conflict?
- By 15th cent., B was Eng’s made trading partner for foreign exports- in trading w B, H was fulfilling one of his main policy aims of increasing Eng’s- but was this strong trade relationship at the expense of the security of the throne?
BUT
- Despite the importance of trade between B and Eng, H was under extreme pressure from MoB
- Max in 1490s was UNTRUSTWORTHY as he declared he’d plot against H if in his best interest to do so
- 1493 - PHILIP (Max’s son) took over B lands
- soon after, H, in the interests of Eng’s security, made a protest to Philip on the threats and plots supported eg. PW
Which foreign policy did H choose to prioritise w Burgundy?
- Philip ignored H’s protests on the situation of MoB
- H decided he must prioritise the nat security of eng and its crown instead of continuing strong trade relations w Burgundy
- ^ essentially sacrificing revenue from foreign trade in exchange for the nat security that Ph wasn’t promising
-^ H implemented this by BANNING all Burgundian merchants from eng
- also placed an embargo on trade w the low countries.
Did H’s national security plan concerning Burgundy last?
- H’s actions made it clear to Eu contemporaries that H would place his nat sec before matters of external trade
- BUT the embargo was lifted in 1496 when H and Ph reached a peace agreement- both eager to make a settlement shortly after departure of PW from B after late 1495
- Finally in 1496 after the thretas of nat sec had been resolved H and Ph reached magnus intercursus ( great settlement)- removed all barriers of trade between eng and Burg.
- so H no longer choosing to prioritise nat sec at the expense of trade.