How secure was England in late fifteenth century Europe? Flashcards
Problems at the start
Partly because of the internal problems caused by the Wars of the Roses,
England had largely avoided European entanglements since the loss of the Hundred Years War with France in the 1450s, which had resulted in
England losing all land on the continent except Calais
England’s military
power was also weak as it had no standing army and was therefore
vulnerable to attack from both its near neighbours, Scotland and France
Why important for the country to retain friendship with the
Netherlands
it was the centre of the cloth trade Englands most
important export
Support from Brittany
The independent Duchy of Brittany had provided Henry with refuge when
he had fled England in 1471
Why scared about Brittany
. It was an important area for England
as not only did France want to
incorporate the Duchy into the kingdom, it would
also have meant that all the Channel coast was in the hands of the French
However. France had also given Henry financial aid for his invasion in 1486
and support for Brittany might antagonise the French
Why antagonising french dangerous
France had the largest and most professional army in Europe
and was financially much stronger than England. France was England’s
traditional enemy following the Hundred Years War, but the Situation was
made more dangerous because France was also allied to England’s other
neighbour, Scotland
How was Scotland a nuisance, rather
than a serious threat
Although Scotland had a much smaller population and financial income
than England, its alliance with France (‘the Auld Alliance’) meant that
England could be attacked on two flanks simultaneously. Even when there
was not a full-scale invasion, raids across the border were common and
forced England to keep expensive military bases in the form of border
garrisons with troops based at Berwick and Carlisle
How was Spain a new major power
The marriage of Ferdinand
of Aragon and Isabella of Castile had brought together their two
kingdoms and turned them into an international power
Why was Spain more likely to come into
conflict with France than England, and might have seen England as a useful
ally against France
their priorities were to drive the Moors (Muslims) out of Granada, which
was accomplished in 1492, secure their northern border with France by
retaking land that France had taken and to secure the claims of Ferdinand
in Naples
Most important trade area for England
called at various
times Burgundy, the Low Countries or the Netherlands
Threats from Burgundy
Margaret, the sister of Edward IV and
Richard Ill, had married the Duke of Burgundy and offered a base for Yorkist
claimants to the throne and their supporters. This was
therefore a direct threat to Henry, but because of the importance of the cloth
trade it made action more complicated
Holy Roman Empire
covered much of central Europe, or modern-day
Germany, but was composed of a number of different states. Although it
appeared to be large and strong, the power of the emperor was limited,
although Frederick III and Maximilian did much
to strengthen it
claims to lands in Italy and it was there that the major conflict of this
period would occur
Why did the Holy Roman Empire take on a
greater importance in terms of its relationship with England
The Empire had acquired Burgundy in 1477 when
Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy
Italy
did not exist as a country in 1485, but was a collection of states, of
which the most important were Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples and the
Papal States
How did Italy make England less vulnerable
The rulers of France, Spain and the Empire all had claims to
land there and it was the outbreak of the Italian wars in 1494 that diverted
European attention away from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean
