3C- The Spanish Marriage, 1499 Flashcards
important factor in international diplomacy in this period was
relations with Spain.
‘the Catholic monarchs’,
late 15th century, Spain was ruled by King Ferdinand Il
of Aragon and his wife and second cousin, Queen Isabella I of Castile
How was Spain linked with England
the youngest daughter, Katherine of
Aragon, was married to Henry VI’s eldest son, Prince Arthur, in 1499
Prince Arthur was not in fact the first choice of the Catholic monarchs,
who would have preferred a
French alliance for their eldest daughter - which, for diplomatic reasons, would have precluded an
English match for their youngest. The French king rejected the Spanish overtures, however, and in
1487 ambassadors from Spain arrived in England to negotiate the match.
Henry VIl was extremely
keen to form the alliance;
the security of the Tudor dynasty was still very uncertain, as Henry’s claim
was tenuous and was, in practice if not in theory, mainly based on his victory at the bloody Battle
of Bosworth in 1485, Therefore, a marriage between his eldest son and a Spanish princess would
be highly advantageous, gaining the Tudors the prospect of military support from abroad, as well as
strengthening the family’s royal status immeasurably
Perhaps realising the English king’s keenness for
the match, the Spanish
negotiated firmly during 1488 on the financial basis of the match, wishing to
provide Katherine with a smaller financial outlay than the English hoped for Ultimately, however, the
two countries mutual enmity towards France ensured that the agreement went ahead,
When was the treaty drawn up
In 1489, a treaty
was drawn up creating a political alliance between Spain and England, as well as a number of trading
agreements.
In fact, the planned marriage almost never took place owing to
disagreements that occurred in
the 1490s surrounding the rebellion against Henry VIl, led by the pretender to the throne, Perkin
Warbeck. Warbeck managed to gain considerable international support or his cause, particularly
in areas that were hostile to England such as Scotland, Ireland, France and Austria, Shaken by
this. Henry initially accused Ferdinand and Isabella of supporting Warbeck, but they quickly took
action lo reassure him and a proxy marriage lock place between Arthur and Katherine in May 1499
What happened in 1501
Katherine herself journeyed to England in 1501, when her groom was 14 and she was 17, She
came with an entourage of 60 people. lenry and Arthur travelled to meer
Katherine, joining her at Farnborough. I lampshire, on 4 November When the Spanish ambassador
rather coyly insisted on observing the Spanish pracnice of keeping the bride away from her groom
prior to the manage, Ilenry allegedly insisted on seemg her even if she were in bed before
introducing his son to her After this rather abrupt meeting, she then travelled to London, were she
was met with customary pageants and the marriage was solemnised at St Paul’s Cathedral
What were the political consequences of the Spanish marriage?- As the incident of Katherine and Arthur’s first meeting suggested, there were tensions between the
English and Spanish entourages regarding sexual etiquette, perceptions of female modesty and the
consummation of the marriage,
The Spanish ambassador to England argued that
the marriage should not be consummated immediately, requesting that Katherine remain in London
while Arthur resumed his duties of Prince of Wales at Ludlow. This may have been a deliberate
ploy by the Spanish to keep the marriage unconsummated for as long as possible, as only once sex
had taken place was a marriage binding in the eyes of the Catholic Church. This request may well
have reflected Spain’s continuing unease about the Tudor regime. Henry VIL, however, was strongly
in favour of consummation, presumably to ensure, firstly, that the marriage was made valid and,
secondly, in the hope of gaining a grandson to inherit the throne and thereby to support his dynastic
claims to the throne. He therefore sent the young couple to Wales in December 1501. Their marriage
proved very brief, however; on 2 April 1502, Arthur died.
2 April 1502, Arthur died. Given that the manage had taken so long to arrange and was politically and economically
significant,
Both the
Catholic monarchs and Henry VIl were keen to ensure the alliance between England and Spain
continued and therefore it was quickly suggested that Katherine should marry Arthur’s younger
brother, Henry. Unfortunately, the Church did not allow marriage between a former brother and
sister-in-law. So papal dispensation 1504.
The wedding was delayed however, because of the death of
Katherine’s mother, Isabella, in November. How did this change things?
This created a change in the international political scene.
as the heir to Castile was Katherine’s clest sister, Juana, who was married to Archduke Philip, the
ruler of the Low Countries. Isabella, however. had tried to disinherit Juana and had instead named
her husband, Ferdinand, as governor of Castle in her will. Henry VIl decided to attempt to keep his
options open in relation to which side England should support and so sent money to help Philip’s
claim, and put the marriage negotiations on hgld, but he did not publicly put an end to his alliance
with Ferdinand.
How did Henry VII now feel about the marriage
The death of Philip in 1506 meant that Ferdinand’s claim became much stronger, but Henry VIl
decided to consider marrying his son to another European leader, rather than committing to the
Spanish alliance. To justify this, he highlighted the fact that Ferdinand had not paid the second
instalment of Katherine’s dowry and, again, financial wrangling between the two countries was bitter.
Did the marriage ever take place
The death of Henry VIl in April 1509, however, changed the situation once again and his son, the
new King Henry VIII, took a different direction in foreign policy. Finally, on 11 June 1509, Katherine
of Aragon married Henry VIII and became Queen of England.
Conclusion
The period 1399-1509 marked a surprising level of continuity in the core structure of political
power and royal finance, with the role of parliament in granting taxation in particular being firmly
established by the beginning of the 15th century Indeed, the fact that institutions of government
such as parliament, the Chancery and the Exchequer continued to function so effectively during a
period of civil war and dynastic upheaval is itself a testament to how well established they were in
this period, and how ingrained their importance was in the bureaucratic and political culture of the
time. The relationship between parliament and individual monarchs varied, and was based primarily
on three interlocking factors - their personal reputation, their foreign policy and their level of
financial solvency. Kings who were perceived as having the ability to defend and, in some cases, to
further England’s territorial ambitions were popular and more rarely forced to argue with parliament
regarding funding Less successful or less powerful monarchs were much more likely to have their
reign criticised by parliament. or to struggle to raise taxes
