Foreign relations and securing the succession Flashcards
(10 cards)
What characterised Henry VIII’s foreign policy, 1509-14?
Henry VIII’s reign began with a conflict of interests between himself and some of the councillors inherited from his father
Councillors sought a continuation of peace and negotiated the renewal of the Treaty of Etaples in 1510
However Henry VIII wanted to follow a more aggressive foreign policy:
1) He commissioned a translation of the life of his warlike predecessor Henry V
2) Sent the Archbishop of York to persuade Pope Julius II to enter an alliance against the French; this led to the creation of the Holy League which joined England, Spain, HRE, Venice, the Papacy
However Ferdinand of Aragon and Maximilian I used Henry VIII, eg. In 1512 he sent a force of 10,000 men to SW France under the command of the Marquess of Dorset; this achieved nothing, but was used as a diversionary tactic whilst Spain successfully conquered Navarre
1513 — Henry VIII led a force to NE France. He captured the towns of Thérouanne and Tournai, and won the “Battle of the Spurs”; in reality it was little more than a skirmish but was claimed to be a stunning victory in propaganda
September 1513 — Anglo-Scottish conflict at the Battle of Flodden. James IV had crossed the border, but was defeated by an English army put hurriedly together and led by the capably veteran soldier Earl of Surrey. James IV and much of the Scottish nobility was killed
Throne of Scotland was left in the hands of the infant James V, but Henry VIII did little to build on the advantage Flodden had given him
Nothing was gained from Henry VIII’s military adventures in 1513:
1) War in France was very costly; he had been forced to liquidate assets inherited from his father
2) Rumblings about taxation in Yorkshire, which only narrowly failed to become a full-scale revolt
3) Renegotiated French pension was lost
4) Tournai was sold back to France in 1518 for less than the English had paid to repair its defences after the siege
A further campaign against France was contemplated in 1514; this was quickly abandoned once Ferdinand of Aragon and Maximilian I each made a separate peace with France
Wolsey reconstructed England’s foreign relations: he recovered the Etaples pension and secured a marriage alliance between Henry VIII’s sister Mary and Louis XII of France
What was the basis of foreign policy, 1514-26?
England remained a relatively minor power; it couldn’t compete on level terms with France, Spain, HRE
Henry VIII had significantly overestimated English power, and Wolsey had to frame the details of foreign policy based on this false assumption
“Auld alliance” between France and Scotland remained strong: clashes between England and France would lead to increased tension with Anglo-Scottish relations
What were England’s relations with Scotland, 1514-26?
James IV died in 1513 and was succeeded by minor James V, nephew of Henry VIII
Henry VIII was unable to exploit the weakness of Scotland following James IV’s death at the Battle of Flodden because by the end of 1514 he had run out of money to continue a warlike foreign policy
Duke of Albany (heir presumptive to the Scottish throne) was a member of the French nobility and consolidated his position by being appointed as regent; this alarmed Henry VIII and Wolsey, who viewed him as a French agent
Poisonous divisions among the Scottish nobility minimised Albany’s threat, but also proved that Henry VIII was incapable of exploiting divisions and weaknesses in Scotland
What were England’s relations with the HRE, Burgundy and Spain, 1514-26?
Ferdinand died in 1516 and was succeeded by Charles I of Spain, who also became Charles V of the HRE when was elected as emperor after Maximilian’s death in 1519
1517 — Treaty of Cambrai with Spain, HRE and France
1518 — Pope Leo X desired a united Christian front against what he saw as the threat of the Ottoman Turks. He appointed Wolsey as papal legate over England, who agreed the non-aggression pact of the Treaty of London between England, France, Spain, HRE and numerous smaller states
August 1521 — Wolsey negotiated the Treaty of Bruges with Charles V; Henry VIII had compelling motives to side with HRE:
1) He could improve his relations with the Pope, who was anxious to reduce French control over N Italy
2) He believed he might gain more territory within France
3) The treaty entailed a marriage alliance between Charles V and Princess Mary
After Charles V defeated the French at the Battle of Pavia 1525, Henry VIII suggested to launch an invasion of N France to achieve territorial gains
Historian Peter Gwyn considers that English contribution to the Imperial victory was paltry, reflecting Henry VIII’s lack of strategic awareness as he attempted to benefit from the HRE’s triumph
Charles V didn’t agree to Henry VIII’s suggestion; there was also a lack of public support for the adventure, through the controversy created by the Amicable Grant
Henry VIII’s resentment towards the emperor was reinforced when Charles V repudiated his marriage contract with Princess Mary
1526 — Pope put together the League of Cognac to counterbalance what he considered to be the HRE’s excessive power in N Italy, after Charles V’s victory at Pavia
What were England’s relations with France, 1514-26?
1514 — Henry VIII sought peace with France, and the settlement was reinforced by the marriage of his younger sister Mary to the Louis XII
Louis XII died in 1515 and was succeeded by Francis I, who was a charismatic young king; Henry VIII immediately saw him as a personal and political rival
Henry VIII sought an alliance with Ferdinand of Aragon against France but he died in 1516 and his successor Charles I sought an alliance with the French
1517 — Treaty of Cambrai agreed between Charles I, Emperor Maximilian and Francis I; this left England dangerously isolated
1518 — Treaty of London originated in peace negotiations between England and France, widening its scope to become a “treaty of perpetual peace”
Newfound friendship between England and France continued:
1) England agreed to return Tournai to France, who agreed to pay the English a compensation for their loss
2) France agreed to keep Albany out of Scotland, ensuring more peaceable relations on the Anglo-Scottish border
3) French change in attitude was encouraged by concerns as to the increased power Spain could exert with the election of Charles I to the post of Holy Roman Emperor
4) Improbably good relations were reinforced by the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520
Field of the Cloth of Gold was the most extravagant and expensive diplomatic encounter of the period, estimated to have cost Henry VIII’s treasury £15,000. However in diplomatic terms nothing was really achieved
As a result of the 1521 alliance with the HRE, English armies invaded N France in both 1522 and 1523: the campaigns gained little but were very costly, and Parliament was reluctant to grant extraordinary revenue
Fracturing of the Anglo-Imperial alliance led to a once more pro-French foreign policy: Henry VIII lent support to the League of Cognac in 1526, which included France
What was English foreign policy like during the years 1527-40?
England remained a relatively minor power in Europe, emphasised through Henry VIII’s failure to resolve his “Great Matter” by diplomatic means
Henry VIII and Wolsey were forced to make an anti-Imperial alliance with the French at the Treaty of Amiens 1527
Wolsey sought to pressurise the emperor into releasing the Pope by imposing a trade embargo with Burgundy; Charles V’s retaliation created widespread unemployment and social problems in England, Wolsey was forced to back down
Charles V was also very strong, eg. victory over the French at the Battle of Landriano 1529; dominance over Pope Clement VII; Peace of Cambrai with France 1529
The Peace of Cambrai required the French to give up their ambitions in Italy and reinforced the papacy’s political dependence on the HRE; Charles V was clearly made the international dominant individual
1532 — Henry VIII made a fragile alliance with France, but it was also in a weak position; the two nations could only put little pressure on the emperor
Francis I sought to establish a marriage alliance between his son Henry and the Pope’s niece Catherine de Medici; this made the limited usefulness of an Anglo-French alliance unravel
Henry VIII thus decided to resolve his “Great Matter” by breaking with Rome. There were no short-term repercussions because Charles V was primarily concerned with the threat posed by the Ottoman Turks to Christian Europe
Henry VIII tried to reinforce his position by making an alliance with the League of Schmalkalden, but it foundered amid mutual distrust
The pressure upon Henry VIII’s position was reduced in 1536: death of Catherine of Aragon, execution of Anne Boleyn, renewal of fighting between HRE and France
However by 1538, Henry VIII’s position had once again weakened:
1) Charles V and Francis I made peace in the Treaty of Nice and agreed to sever connections with England
2) Pope Paul III published a bull (letter of formal declaration) which deposed Henry VIII and thereby absolved English Catholics from the need to obey their ruler
3) In 1539 the Pope sent envoys to both France and Scotland to rouse support for a Catholic crusade against Henry VIII
The situation appeared dangerous: Henry VIII reassured Catholic opinion in England through the Six Articles Act 1539 and decided to marry Anne of Cleves as a useful insurance policy in case of a conspiracy between France and the HRE
Once the short-lived friendship between France and the HRE broke down, his marriage to Anne of Cleves became politically redundant
What were English relations with Ireland like, 1527-40?
English authorities remained in control of the Pale; Gerald Fitzgerald 9th Earl of Kildare was the dominant Irish nobleman
After the revival of the Geraldine-Butler feud, the relationship between Kildare and the king broke down; it was difficult for Henry VIII to govern Ireland with Kildare, but impossible without him
Kildare was dismissed in 1534. His son Thomas Fitzgerald Earl of Ossory led a major rebellion, which was suppressed with difficulty and at a considerable expense
1534 — an attempt to refashion the Irish government by bringing it more directly under English control failed because it required royal government through an English-born deputy who would be supported by a substantial military presence
Ireland became an increasing drain on the Crown’s resources, made worse by resentment amongst Gaelic lords
1539 — Gaelic nobles Con O’Neill and Manus O’Donnell invaded the Pale. The government eventually regained control and tried to pacify Ireland
1541 — Ireland was established as a separate kingdom and English law was imposed. Counties were created out of the Gaelic lordships. In return some Gaelic lords received peerage titles, and the Irish were entitled to the same legal protections as their English counterparts
The government lacked the resources to follow through the reforms; there was no residual Irish loyalty to the English Crown; the relationship between the two countries became even more strained after 1534 due to emerging religious differences
What were English relations like with Scotland, 1540-47?
1542 — England invaded Scotland, who was forced into military action because it was faced with demands impossible to meet; the Scots were heavily defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss
James V died shortly after hearing the news of the defeat, leaving his 6-day-old daughter Mary as his heir
Henry VIII could have launched a full-scale invasion but his main interest was an invasion of France, so he looked to diplomatic pressure as a means of securing his Scottish objectives — “rough wooing”
Treaty of Greenwich 1543 formally betrothed Prince Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots; however Scottish regent the Earl of Arron deserted the English cause and the Scottish parliament refused to ratify the treaty
Enraged, Henry VIII ordered the Earl of Hertford to carry out a punitive raid on Edinburgh, Leith and St Andrews
Henry VIII can be criticised for the failure of his Scottish foreign policy on several counts:
1) Neglected the opportunity to secure his policy by military force, when he had the ability to do so
2) Failed to heed English ambassador Sir Ralph Sadler’s warnings about Scottish hostility and suspicions to his intentions
3) Ordering Hertford into Scotland was simply a matter of retaliation with no thought to strategic objectives; all it did was antagonise the Scots
Historian Michael Bush argued that Henry VIII was mainly motivated by his desire to punish his nephew James V for harbouring English rebels; marrying French princesses twice; ignoring pressure to break with Rome; failing to turn up to a meeting arranged with Henry VIII at York in 1542
What were English relations with France like, 1540-47?
1543 — Henry VIII agreed an Anglo-Imperial alliance with Charles V to facilitate the French invasion. Under this Henry VIII had committed to march on Paris, but he later realised this was likely to prove unsuccessful
Henry VIII assembled a huge army in 1544; it confined itself to the vicinity of Calais and captured Boulogne, but besieged Mountreuil unsuccessfully
Charles V had had enough of the conflict and made a separate peace with Francis I
In 1545 matters worsened further for Henry VIII:
1) Francis I sent troops to Scotland to reinforce a possible invasion of England from across the Scottish border
2) The English were defeated at the Battle of Ancrum Moor
3) A separate French force landed in the Isle of Wight
Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose sank in the Solent
However the French were unable to recapture Boulogne and their invasion of N England never happened
Both sides were unable to afford to continue the conflict and agreed to sue for peace in 1546
Henry VIII had been unable to fund the war from extraordinary revenue, so had sold much of the Crown estate, borrowed large sums, significantly increased the rate of inflation by debasing the coinage
How did Henry VIII secure the succession, and how did his attitude towards his succession issue change?
Henry VIII’s obsession with securing the succession contributed to many of the wider political problems he faced
Catherine of Aragon gave birth to two sons: one was stillborn and the other died at 7 weeks. She had several miscarriages, and the only surviving child was Mary, born in 1516
Henry VIII came to believe that the lack of a son was God’s punishment for marrying Catherine of Aragon despite canon law
Anne Boleyn gave birth to Elizabeth; her position as heir presumptive was confirmed by the Succession Act 1534, which declared Mary illegitimate
Anne Boleyn had two subsequent miscarriages, which made Henry VIII wonder if he was again being afflicted with divine punishment
Anne Boleyn’s execution for treason led to the Succession Act 1536, which declared Elizabeth illegitimate; this left Henry VIII with no legitimate heir
Succession Act 1536 also laid down that in the absence of a legitimate heir, the king could determine the succession by will or by letters patent; this could have theoretically led to Henry Fitzroy’s succession, but his death ended this possibility
Prince Edward was born in 1537 and could not be denied by any interpretation of canon law, as Henry VIII had not married Jane Seymour until after the deaths of both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn
By 1543, problems with Henry VIII’s health made it increasingly likely that Edward would still be a minor when he succeeded, causing potential uncertainty and anxiety as to what his succession might entail
The Succession Act — passed through Parliament in 1543 and received royal assent in 1544 — re-legitimated Mary and Elizabeth; it also reaffirmed Henry VIII’s right to determine the succession by will or by letters patent
Henry VIII confirmed the succession arrangements in his will dated 30 December 1546: if Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, the right of succession was to go to the heirs of Henry VIII’s sister Mary, Duchess of Suffolk
Henry VIII’s will also set up a regency council to act on Edward’s behalf. However the terms of his will were altered by the Privy Council, appointing Edward Seymour as Lord Protector instead of a collective Regency Council, which was seen very little during Edward VI’s reign
