Chapter 9 Flashcards
Initial conflict of interests between Henry and councillors
Henry VIlI’s reign began with a conflict of interests between the king and some of the councillors whom he had inherited from his father. His councillors sought a continuation of peace and, indeed, negotiated the renewal of the Treaty of Etaples in 1510. At the same time it was evident that Henry was thinking along different lines. He signalled his intentions earl by commissioning a translation of the life of his warlike predecessor Henry V.
List of Foreign policy actions 1509-14
1510
Renewal of Treaty of
Etaples
1512
First invasion of France
1513
Second invasion of France and war against Scotland
1513 (Sep)
Battle of Flodden
Creation of Holy League
Henry sent Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, to Rome to persuade the Pope, Julius II, to enter an alliance against the French. This bore fruit with the creation of the Holy League, which joined England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Venice and the Papacy in an anti-French alliance.
Early actions in France
What Henry did not realise was the extent to which he was being used by his shrewd father-in-law, Ferdinand of Aragon, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I. In 1512 Henry sent a substantial army of 10,000 men to southwest France under the command of the Marquis of Dorset. However, this achieved nothing, and was used by Ferdinand as a diversionary tactic while he successfully conquered Navarre.
In 1513 Henry himself led a force to northeastern France. This was successful not only in winning the ‘Battle of the Spurs (in reality little more than a skirmish but claimed in propaganda to be a stunning victory) but also in capturing the towns of Thérouanne and Tournai. How much all of this mattered can be debated. To Geoffrey Elton it was nothing more than a futile sideshow.
Battle of Flodden 1513
Perhaps to Henry VIII’s private dismay, much more important was the Anglo-Scottish conflict at the Battle of Flodden in September 1513. King James IV had crossed the border with a substantial force, but was defeated by a smaller English army hurriedly put together and capably led by the veteran soldier, the Earl of Surrey. James himself was killed, along with much of the Scottish nobility. This left the throne of Scotland in the hands of the infant James V, but Henry VIII did little to build on the advantage which Flodden had given him.
Success of military adventures of 1513
Nothing was gained from Henry’s military adventures of 1513:
• The war was very costly and Henry was forced to liquidate assets inherited from his father to pay for it.
• In a rerun of the problems of 1489, there were rumblings about the taxation in Yorkshire, which only narrowly failed to turn into a full-scale revolt.
• The renegotiated French pension was lost.
•Tournai was eventually sold back to the French for rather less than the English had paid to repair its defences after the siege.
Change in attitude in 1514 and why
A further campaign was contemplated in 1514, but it was quickly abandoned once Ferdinand and Maximilian each made a separate peace with France. It was left to Wolsey to pick up the pieces, which he did with considerable skill, recovering the Etaples pension and securing a marriage alliance between Henry’s younger sister, Mary, and the much older king of France, Louis XII.
Theme of 1514-26 Foreign Policy
There is no really clear theme to the foreign policy pursued by Henry and Wolsey from late 1514 to 1526. Alliances were made - and just as quickly broken.
However, three points can be made about the basis of policy making at this time.
1. England remained a relatively minor power and could not really compete on level terms with the major powers of France and Spain.
2. Henry significantly overestimated English power. Wolsey then had to frame the details of foreign policy based on that false assumption.
3. The ‘auld alliance between France and Scotland remained strong.
Consequently, when England and France were on amicable terms there tended to be few issues with Anglo-Scottish relations. On the other hand, clashes between England and France almost always led to increased tension between England and Scotland.
Consequences of financial situation by 1514 (2)
By the end of 1514 Henry VIII had run out of money to continue a warlike foreign policy. This had two major consequences.
1. He was unable to exploit the weakness of Scotland following the death of James IV at Flodden.
2. He sought peace with France, the settlement being reinforced by the marriage of his younger sister Mary to the French king, Louis XII. The marriage, however, was short-lived.
The marriage of Louis Xll and Princess Mary
The mariage ceremony it between the actober 1514. However, there was a considerable disparity between the ages of the young princessted wear ausband, Louis XIldred his death. withis,amid much gossip and innuendo about the cause of his death. Within weeks Mary had remarried: he fact that her second husband was the Duke of Suffolk denied her brother the opportunity to use her a second time for diplomatic purposes. The king considered himself dishonoured by the secrecy of the whole business and it was some time before he was reconciled with his favourite sister and the man who had hitherto been his closest friend.
Why did England become isolated after Louis XII’s death?
The death of Louis XII left the French throne in the hands of Francis I, charismatic young king whom Henry immediately saw as a personal, as well as a political, rival. His immediate response was to seek an alliance with Ferdinand of Aragon. However, Ferdinand died in 1516 and his grandson and successor, Charles V, sought an alliance with the French. In the following year Charles and his other grandfather, the Emperor Maximilian, agreed the Treaty of Cambrai with the French, leaving England dangerously isolated.
Problem in Scotland with Albany
One consequence of that isolation was that it offered Francis I the opportunity to undermine Anglo-Scottish relations. He was able to do this because the Duke of Albany, heir presumptive to the Scottish throne, was, in fact, a member of the French nobility. Albany was able to consolidate his position by being appointed as regent to the Scottish throne. This alarmed Henry and Wolsey who saw Albany simply as a French agent. However, any threat from Albany was minimised because of poisonous divisions among the Scottish nobility. On the other hand, Henry showed himself incapable of exploiting divisions and weaknesses within Scotland.
How did England’s isolation come to an end in 1518 and significance?
Wolsey was successful in ending England’s isolation very quickly and with the Treaty of London in 1518 he emerged as the leading diplomat in western Europe. Prompted by Pope Leo X, who desired a united Christian front against what he saw as the threat of the Ottoman Turks, this treaty had its origins in the peace negotiations between England and France. However, its scope widened and eventually it became a ‘treaty of perpetual peace, a non -aggression pact agreed to by England, France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and numerous smaller states. Future conflicts would suggest that the Treaty was essentially meaningless. That is not how it appeared, however, in the immediate aftermath of its signing. Firstly it was a diplomatic coup for Wolsey; secondly the Pope’s need for a united Christian front meant that he appointed Whobey as papal legale over England. In 1518 Wolsey was undoubredly a the height of his power and prestige as Henry VIlI’s chief minister,
England friendship with France after Treaty of London and reason
The newfound friendship between England and France continued. England agreed to return Tournai to France, but the French once again agreed to pay the English a pension to compensate for its loss. In addition, the French agreed to keep Albany out of Scotland, which ensured more peaceable relations on the Anglo-Scottish border. The French, in particular, were concerned about the increased power which Spain could exert with the election of the Spanish king to the post of Holy Roman Emperor and this, rather than Wolsey’s diplomatic brilliance, encouraged the French change of attitude. The improbably good relations between France and England were reinforced by the most extravagant and expensive diplomatic encounter of the period, the Field of the Cloth of Gold in June 1520.
What was the papal legate?
the personal representative of the Pope; being appointed papal legate gave
Wolsey control over the English Church and meant that he had superior status to the Archbishop of Canterbury
What was the Field of Cloth of Gold?
The Field of the Cloth of Gold is the name given to a meeting which took place over more than two weeks in June 1520 between Henry VIll and Francis I. The location was in France, but quite close to the town of Calais which was held by the English. Each king, accompanied by a large retinue, set up a base in a lavishly decorated pavilion which was used for dining and entertainment. The hospitality was sumptuous, but the event lost some of its attraction in Henry’s eyes because he was defeated by Francis in a wrestling match. It has been estimated that the event cost Henry’s royal treasury about £15,000.
Change in policy after FOCOG and why
In diplomatic terms nothing was really achieved by the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Conflict arose between Francis I and Charles V and in August 1521 Wolsey negotiated the Treaty of Bruges with Charles. Henry had compelling motives to side with Charles:
• He could improve his relations with the Pope, who was anxious to reduce French control over northern Italy.
• He believed that he might gain more territory within France.
• Part of the deal entailed a marriage alliance between the emperor and Henry’s young daughter, the Princess Mary.
1522 French campaigns
Consequently, English armies invaded northern France in both 1522 and
1523. The campaigns gained little but proved costly, with Parliament proving reluctant to grant the extraordinary revenue necessary to cover
the costs.
Henry attempt with Battle of Pavia
Henry displayed his back of strategic awareness by the crass way in which he alempled to benefit from the emperor’s crushing defeat of the French at The Battle of Pavla in 1525, suggesting to Charles that they launch a joint invasion of northern France in order to achieve territorial gains. Historian Peter Gwyn considers that England’s contribution to the Imperial triumph was paltry. In such a context it was no surprise that Charles would not agree to this. Moreover, the controversy over the Amicable Grant showed that there was a lack of public support for the adventure.
Consequences of Henry’s crass attempt at Pavia (3)
This episode had three major consequences:
• Henry, his ego bruised, was obliged to back down.
• His resentment towards the emperor was reinforced when Charles repudiated his marriage contract with Princess Mary.
• Wolsey’s domestic prestige never really recovered from the episode.
