Elizabethan Foreign Policy

Question 1

What factors caused Anglo-Spanish relations to deteriorate at the end of the 1560s? - Foreign Policy

Answer 1

Anglo-Spanish relations worsened at the end of the 1560s due to the role of John Hawkins in attempting to break Spain’s monopoly on Caribbean trade, the attempts by Philip of Spain to enforce tighter Spanish (and therefore Catholic) control over the Netherlands and efforts made by the Crown to agitate the Spanish.

Question 2

What action did Elizabeth take to particularly agitate the Spanish in relation to money? When? How much? - Foreign Policy

Answer 2

In 1568, Elizabeth impounded 400,000 florins of money from Spanish ships blown into English ports by a storm that was intended for the Duke of Alba. This heavily agitated the Spanish.

Question 3

When did Elizabeth expel the Sea Beggars from English ports? What were the consequences of this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 3

Elizabeth expelled the Sea Beggars (Dutch pirates) from English ports in 1572. This saw this group land in the Netherlands, sparking a large revolt against the rule of the Spanish in the Netherlands.

Question 4

What was the Pacification of Ghent? - Foreign Policy

Answer 4

The Pacification of Ghent was a declaration produced by Dutch provinces calling for the expulsion of all foreign troops in the Netherlands and the restoration of the provinces’ autonomy.

Question 5

Why did Elizabeth contemplate marriage to the Duke of Anjou? - Foreign Policy

Answer 5

Elizabeth became fearful that the French were prepared to invade the Netherlands and did not want any other foreign power to have power over the region. She therefore considered marrying Anjou to maintain influence over the country.

Question 6

What was the Union of Utrecht? What was the Union of Arras? - Foreign Policy

Answer 6

The Union of Utrecht was a collection of Northern and Protestant Dutch states that feared the attempts of Spain and France to conquer them. The Union of Arras was a Southern and Catholic collection of Dutch States that was allied with Spain.

Question 7

Who did Spain install to oversee control of the Union of Arras? What was their intention? - Foreign Policy

Answer 7

Spain placed the Duke of Parma in the Southern Netherlands to act as a direct enforcer of control there. Parma’s aim was to launch a full conquest into the Northern Netherlands and assert Spanish power here.

Question 8

When was Portugal taken by Spain? How did Elizabeth respond to this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 8

Portugal was taken by Spain in 1580, with Elizabeth choosing to support the Portuguese pretender, Don Antonio, here. She also knighted Sir Francis Drake to infuriate the Spanish and treated the Spanish ambassador poorly.

Question 9

When was the Treaty of Joinville agreed (and who by)? What consequences did this have for England? - Foreign Policy

Answer 9

The Treaty of Joinville was agreed in 1584 by Spain and the French Catholic League, creating an alliance between the 2. This worried Elizabeth as she feared that, as Philip was now allied with the Guises, he would potentially support the claim of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Question 10

When was the Treaty of Nonsuch agreed (and who between)? What were the terms of this treaty? - Foreign Policy

Answer 10

The Treaty of Nonsuch was agreed in 1585 between England and Dutch Protestants. This agreed for English troops to be sent to the Netherlands to protect it from potential Spanish conquests in the region.

Question 11

Why was the support of English troops in the Netherlands after 1585 limited in success? - Foreign Policy

Answer 11

English troops were irregularly paid and ill disciplined, creating conflict between them and the Dutch. Furthermore, English commanders quarrelled between themselves, while Leicester quarrelled with the Dutch, meaning any combined military efforts were fairly futile.

Question 12

When did England successfully attack Cadiz? What impacts did this have on the Spanish Armada? - Foreign Policy

Answer 12

England attacked Cadiz in April 1587, with this attack delaying the Spanish Armada’s voyage as the ships they planned to use were stuck in this harbour.

Question 13

What were the intended objectives of the Armada? - Foreign Policy

Answer 13

The Armada intended to sail to the port of Gravelines on the Dutch coast, where Spanish troops commanded by the Duke of Parma would board their ships and create a larger force with which England could be attacked.

Question 14

When did the Spanish Armada engage in battle with England in the Channel from-until? - Foreign Policy

Answer 14

The Armada engaged in light battle with the English in the Channel from the 30th July until the 6th August 1588.

Question 15

When did the Spanish Armada’s first attempted invasion of England occur? - Foreign Policy

Answer 15

The Spanish Armada attempted to invade England from July 1588.

Question 16

What reasons are given for the failure of the Spanish Armada? - Foreign Policy

Answer 16

The Armada failed due to unfavourable winds preventing the fleet from safely attacking England, the strategy to combine forces with the Duke of Parma’s troops in the Netherlands was flawed, the Armada’s leadership under the Duke of Medina Sidonia was poor, the English ships were more manœuvrable, English strategy was superior.

Question 17

What strategy did the English use to attempt to disrupt the Armada? - Foreign Policy

Answer 17

The English pushed fire ships into the Armada’s fleet when they were at anchor, causing significant damage to this fleet.

Question 18

Following the Armada’s threat to England, what strategy did Elizabeth adopt towards Spain? - Foreign Policy

Answer 18

Elizabeth chose to adopt a more reserved and defensive policy towards Spain after the Armada’s threat, favouring National Security above all other aims.

Question 19

What was the minimalist view of foreign policy in the 1580s/90s? What was the expansive view (and who favoured this)? - Foreign Policy

Answer 19

Minimalist: wished to concentrate limited resources on foreign policy, with these focussed at reducing Parma’s control over the Netherlands.
Expansive: believed in a more aggressive naval campaign against Spain and a land campaign in the Netherlands to achieve foreign policy objectives. JOHN HAWKINS.

Question 20

From 1795 onwards, how many attacks did England make on mainland/colonial Spain? - Foreign Policy

Answer 20

From 1795, England made 3 attacks on Spain’s mainland and colonies.

Question 21

What example is there of a successful attack on Spain? When? How many galleons were sunk in this attack? - Foreign Policy

Answer 21

England successfully captured and occupied Cadiz in 1596, sinking 4 galleons in the process.

Question 22

What example is there of an unsuccessful attack on Spain’s colonies? When? What consequences were there of this attack? - Foreign Policy

Answer 22

In 1596, Hawkins and Drake advocated an attack on Panama. Having thought that this was a weak point in Spain’s empire, this attack dramatically failed, leaving both Hawkins and Drake to die at sea.

Question 23

What were public-private partnership enterprises? Who led these? - Foreign Policy

Answer 23

Public-private partnership enterprises were sea expeditions and attacks launched by a combination of crown and private finance. These were led by individuals such as Raleigh, Cumberland, Hawkins, Drake and Frobisher.

Question 24

Overall, how successful were private-public partnership enterprises? What example is there of their success? - Foreign Policy

Answer 24

Overall, PPPEs were ultimately only a minimal success, with private profits resulting from these missions but very limited strategic successes given the scale of financial costs of these missions.
An example of success is the 1592 Madre de Dios capture.

Question 25

When did Philip launch a further unsuccessful attack on England following the Spanish Armada? What was the outcome of this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 25

Philip launched another attack on England in 1596 when ordering a fleet to invade England. However, given that weather conditions were terribly poor given that autumn had set in, much of the fleet was sunk.

Question 26

When did Spain attempt to exploit an Irish rebellion to threaten England? What was the outcome of this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 26

Spain attempted to exploit an Irish rebellion in 1597. This resulted in no successes as the wind prevented Spain from landing here.

Question 27

How did England respond to the Spanish threat of exploiting an Irish rebellion in 1597? How did this response develop? - Foreign Policy

Answer 27

Elizabeth dispatched a fleet under Essex to attempt to deter any Spanish interference in Ireland, yet winds pushed this fleet back to Plymouth. This was eventually used to launch an attack on the Azores, DEMONSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE OF PLUNDER OVER STRATEGY.

Question 28

What was the significance of Sir Francis Vere’s appointment to oversee English interests in the Netherlands in 1589? What resulted from this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 28

Sir Francis Vere was a highly competent military tactician who managed to create a successful alliance with the leaders of the Northern Netherlands. This resulted in the gradual retaking of Spanish held Dutch provinces, removing the influence of foreign powers over this region.

Question 29

In what year had all Spanish troops been expelled from the Netherlands? - Foreign Policy

Answer 29

By 1594, all Spanish troops had been ousted from the Netherlands.

Question 30

What was the eventual outcome of English objectives in the Netherlands? - Foreign Policy

Answer 30

By 1594, all Spanish troops had left the Netherlands, leading to their strategic objectives being successful here. No foreign power had significant authority over the region, with the Northern Netherlands entirely autonomous and the Southern Netherlands, although under Spanish control, developing a degree of autonomy.

Question 31

When was the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis signed (and who between)? What did this determine? - Foreign Policy

Answer 31

The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis was signed in 1559, with this concluding the war between England/Spain and France and allowing France to retain Calais for 8 years (returning to England if the peace was maintained in the meantime).

Question 32

Why was Elizabeth fearful of the accession of Francis II in France? (2) - Foreign Policy

Answer 32

Elizabeth feared the accession of Francis II due to his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, a claimant to the English throne. This also brought the strongly Catholic Guise family to power in France.

Question 33

What Scottish group was fearful of French intervention in Scotland? Why? - Foreign Policy

Answer 33

The Lords of the Congregation, a group of Scottish Protestants, were fearful of the potential for French troops involving themselves in Scotland due to France’s strongly Catholic influences under the Guises.

Question 34

How did the Lords of the Congregation respond to the threat of French interference in Scotland? - Foreign Policy

Answer 34

The Lords of the Congregation, led by John Knox, appealed for English help in order to reinforce Scotland against French and Catholic involvement in Scotland.

Question 35

Why was Elizabeth hesitant to intervene in Scotland to support it against France? Who encouraged her to intervene here (and why)? - Foreign Policy

Answer 35

Elizabeth didn’t wish to intervene in Scotland as she was fearful of intervening in Scotland’s attempts to overthrow a sovereign authority (as it could encourage plots against her). William Cecil encouraged her to intervene here to support Scottish Protestants, remove Mary QoS as a potential threat and to incorporate Scotland into a British State.

Question 36

How did Cecil aim to persuade Elizabeth to support Scottish Protestants against French influence? (Methods) - Foreign Policy

Answer 36

Cecil played on Elizabeth’s insecurities to encourage intervention, mentioning how Francis and Mary had displayed an English coat of arms (suggesting a threat to her reign) and even threatening to resign from his position if Elizabeth refused to support intervention in Scotland.

Question 37

When was the Treaty of Berwick agreed (and who between)? What did this determine? - Foreign Policy

Answer 37

The Treaty of Berwick was agreed in February 1560, agreeing for conditional support for the Lords of the Congregation against French threats and eventually leading to an army being sent to Scotland.

Question 38

When did English troops arrive in Scotland to reinforce it against French threat? Why did French attempts at invasion fail? - Foreign Policy

Answer 38

English troops arrived in Scotland to defend it from French threat in March 1560. The army blockaded Leith from French movements, preventing a significant force from landing. The French invasion failed as their fleet was damaged by storms, Mary of Guise died to diminish the influence of this faction.

Question 39

What was the outcome of the removal of French troops in Scotland in terms of Scottish government and the French royal situation? - Foreign Policy

Answer 39

Scottish government: Protestant Lords of the Congregation were installed as a provisional conciliar government in Scotland.
French royal situation: Francis II died, removing influence of Mary QoS over French policy and meaning that she had to return to Scotland.

Question 40

How did the Scottish conflict impact Elizabeth’s future attitudes to foreign policy? - Foreign Policy

Answer 40

Elizabeth was extremely wary that she had achieved her objectives of ending French involvement in Scotland and removing Guise power through luck rather than skill, with this meaning that she was more inclined towards caution later in her foreign policy.

Question 41

Who encouraged Elizabeth to offer support to French Protestants? Why? - Foreign Policy

Answer 41

Robert Dudley encouraged Elizabeth to support French Protestants in order to apply pressure to a relatively weak French crown to return Calais. Furthermore, he wished to show support to foreign Protestant powers.

Question 42

Who was the leader of the French Huguenots? What was he promised by Elizabeth in terms of support against Catholics? - Foreign Policy

Answer 42

The French Huguenots were led by the Prince of Conde.

He was promised 6000 men and a loan of £30,000 to manage conflict with French Catholics.

Question 43

How did English intervention in the French Catholic/Protestant wars backfire? What was the outcome of this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 43

English intervention in the French Wars of Religion saw the Prince of Conde captured despite English support. Both Catholic and Protestant sides were leaderless and decided to turn on the English and force them out of France.

Question 44

When was the Treaty of Troyes agreed (and who between)? What did this agree? - Foreign Policy

Answer 44

The Treaty of Troyes was agreed in 1564 between England and French factions, with this losing Calais permanently, losing indemnities gained in Cateau-Cambresis and causing major damage to her confidence in her foreign policy and her prestige.

Question 45

When was the Treaty of Edinburgh signed (and who between)? What did this agree? - Foreign Policy

Answer 45

The Treaty of Edinburgh was signed in 1560 by England, France and Scotland. This agreed for France to maintain only a minor presence in Scotland and for the Lords of the Congregation to be installed as a Scottish government.

Question 46

When was a complete embargo placed on trade between England and Spain? Why? - Foreign Policy

Answer 46

A complete embargo was placed on trade between England and Spain in 1563, with this following the seizure of English ships by the Duke of Alba.

Question 47

How much did England spend on intervention in the Netherlands from 1589-94? Was this justified? - Foreign Policy

Answer 47

England spent £750,000 on intervention in the Netherlands to assist Dutch Protestants from 1589-94. This was admittedly costly, but did result in a reduction of Spanish power here.

Question 48

When was the English/Spanish trading embargo lifted? - Foreign Policy

Answer 48

The English/Spanish trading embargo was lifted in 1574.

Question 49

What was the ‘International Catholic Conspiracy’? - Foreign Policy

Answer 49

The ‘International Catholic Conspiracy’ was a concept created by Elizabeth’s councillors following the forging of an alliance between Spain and France, fearing that this alliance would seek to overthrow Elizabeth and install Mary, Queen of Scots in England.

Question 50

When was the Madre de Dios captured? How was this significant? - Foreign Policy

Answer 50

The Madre de Dios was captured in 1592, a significant example of the success of public-private partnership enterprises.

Question 51

How much did the Spanish Armada campaign cost England? - Foreign Policy

Answer 51

The Spanish Armada campaign cost England £160,000

Question 52

How many sailors did Spain have in the Armada? How many sailors did England have? - Foreign Policy

Answer 52

Spain - 8,000

England - 14,000

Question 53

What was the difference between the English and Spanish armies? - Foreign Policy

Answer 53

England had no permanent standing army, meaning that troops had to be gathered on an ad-hoc basis to fight off foreign threats. In contrast, Spain had a permanent army. However, the Spanish army was not prepared to undergo rigorous journeys.

Question 54

When were the English victorious at Bergen-op-Zoom under Lord Willoughby? What was the significance of this? - Foreign Policy

Answer 54

The English were victorious at Bergen-op-Zoom under Willoughby in 1588, with this significant as it continued to overturn Spanish control of the Netherlands.