England's relations with foreign powers, 1558-64 Flashcards
The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 1559
When Elizabeth came to the throne, England was in conflict with France. Not only had this war gone very badly for England with the loss of Calais, it had also seriously weakened the Crown’s finances. Elizabeth wanted to extricate England from this war and, fortunately, the financial state of both France and Spain meant that neither Philip II nor Henry II of France had the stomach to continue the fight.
A peace treaty was concluded at Cateau-Cambresis in April 1559, in which England and France also reached an agreement over the vexed issue of Calais. France would retain Calais for 8 years, after which time Calais would be restored to English control provided England had kept the peace in the meantime. If France failed to return Calais, they agreed to pay 500,000 crowns (£125,000) in England.
Intervention in Scotland…
Further problems emerged after the death of Henry II of France in June 1559, following an accident in a jousting match. Henry II was succeeded by his eldest son, Francis II, whose wife was Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth’s cousin and the main Catholic claimant to the English throne.
Francis’ accession also brought the strongly Catholic Guise faction to power in France. The Guises sought once again to use Scotland as an instrument of French policy.
French troops were sent to garrison major Scottish fortresses, much to the alarm of John Knox, the radical Calvinist who was the leader of the Scottish Reformation, and his political allies, the Lords of the Congregation, who were seeking power in Edinburgh. This led to conflict, with the Lords of the Congregation requesting assistance from their fellow Protestants south of the border.
Elizabeth’s caution…
Elizabeth was cautious about interfering in the domestic affairs of another nation in which subjects were rebelling against sovereign authority and was reluctant to intervene in Scotland.
Cecil’s support for the Scottish intervention…
Cecil strongly supported the intervention. He sympathised with the religious predicament of Scottish Protestants and knew that England would be more secure without a French force north of the border.
However, he also sought the removal of MQS, which would weaken her influence as a potential Catholic claimant to the English throne, and wanted to incorporate Scotland within a wider ‘imperial’ British State, which he considered necessary for the survival of Protestant England.
This was admittedly a minority position on the Council, in which we was even opposed by his normal ally and brother-in-law, Sir Nicholas Bacon.
Cecil’s persuasion…
Cecil persuaded Elizabeth to intervene by playing on her insecurity. He pointed to the action of Francis and Mary in using the English royal coat of arms on their own heraldic advice. He even suggested his own resignation if Elizabeth failed to support him.
The process of intervention in Scotland is a clear illustration of the way in which decision-making in foreign policy could be influenced both by religious considerations and a key individual.
Intervention limited to money and armaments?…
Initially, intervention was limited to money and armaments, but towards the end of Dec 1559, the navy was sent to the Firth of Forth to stop French reinforcements from landing. The Lords of the Congregation were offered conditional support at the Treaty of Berwick in Feb 1560, and in Marc 1560, an army was sent north.
The army and navy blockaded Leith, just outside Edinburgh and where most of the French force was situated, from land and sea.
The siege failed, but other circumstances forced a French withdrawal; the French fleet was severely damaged by the storm, and the regent Mary of Guise died. Cecil was therefore able to secure favourable terms in the Treaty of Edinburgh in July.
Lords of the Congregation accepted as a provisional conciliar government…
The Lords of the Congregation were accepted as a provisional conciliar government and, with the death of Francis II in Dec, the Guises fell from power. Mary Stuart’s influence on French policy came to an end and she had to return to Scotland.
Here, she was forced to accept the political and religious power of her enemies. Cecil had triumphed - the interests of the Scottish Protestants had been protected and the political influence of Mary had been significantly reduced.
However, Elizabeth was conscious that success had been achieved through good fortune (death of Francis II) and she would proceed more cautiously in the future.
Intervention in France…
Catholic conflict broke out between Catholics and Protestants in France in March 1562. Robert Dudley encouraged Elizabeth to put military pressure on the French Crown when it was in a relatively weak state so as to ensure the return of Calais.
Elizabeth promised the Huguenot leader, the Prince of Conde, 6000 men and a loan of £30,000, with control of the port of Le Havre as security.
Huguenot defeat…
Unfortunately for Elizabeth and Dudley, the luck that had assisted the English in Scotland now deserted them.
The Huguenot army was defeated and Conde was captured; on the Catholic side the Duke of Guise was assassinated.
With both sides leaderless, the French factions agreed to accept peace terms and united to drive the English out of Le Havre. The English were therefore forced to seek an unfavourable peace settlement at the Treaty of Troyes in 1564.
Loss of indemnity and Calais…
Elizabeth not only lost the indemnity she had secured at Cateau-Cambresis, she lost Calais as well, this time permanently. Although in the long run that might have proved an advantage (Calais was expensive to maintain and it was too tempting to use it as a starting point for invasion), the blow to Elizabeth’s prestige was significant.
Thereafter, she became much more cautious about supporting Protestant causes on the European continent: possibly too cautious in the case of her subsequent attitude to the Netherlands.
