Foreign Policy Flashcards
initial foreign policy aims
- Potential Marriage to a foreign monarch
- End the French War as it was expensive and a failure
- Protects England’s borders which were threatened by the Auld Alliance
- Protect and Promote England’s trade
- Promote and protect Protestantism abroad
- Consolidate position and recognition by foreign countries
- Protect her religious settlement
England and France 1559
When liz 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, but it had also seriously weakened the Crown’s finances. Elizabeth wanted to extricate England from this war and fortunately, neither France nor Spain had the finances to keep up with the war.
what was signed between England and France early on
France did not have the finances to keep up with the war, this led to a peace treaty in April 1559
what was the treaty between England and France immediately liz came to the throne
Treaty of Cateau - Cambresis, 1559.
Terms of the Treaty of Cateau - Cambresis 1559
France would keep Calais for 8 years then it would be restored to English control provided England kept the peace. France agreed to abandon support for MQS’s claim to the English Throne, if France failed to return calais they would pay a sum of 500,000 crowns to England (£125,000)
what caused Elizabeth to intervene in Scotland
Francis II succeeded the throne wife was MQS, Elizabeth’s cousin and the main catholic claimant to the English Throne. Francis’s accession brought the strongly catholic guise faction to power in France, and they sought to use Scotland as an instrument of French policy.
What did France do to alarm the Scottish protesters?
French troops were sent to garrison major Scottish fortresses, which alarmed John Knox a radical Calvinist leader of the Scottish Reformation. This led to conflict with the protestants in Scotland requesting assistance from their fellow protestants south of the border.
elizabeth’s reaction to Scotland’s plea for help
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 reaction to Scotland’s plea for help
Cecil on the other hand strongly supported 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. He sought the removal of MQS which would weaken her influence as a potential catholic claimant to the English Throne and wanted to incorporate Scotland with a British state, which he considered necessary for the survival of Protestant England.
what did Cecil do to force Elizabeth to intervene in Scotland
He threatened her with his resignation if Elizabeth failed to support him, intervention in Scotland is a clear illustration of the way in which decision-making in F.P. could be influenced by religious considerations and a key individual.
actual intervention in Scotland
Initially, the intervention was limited to money and arms, towards the end of 1559, the navy was sent to stop French reinforcements from landing. There were also offered additional support in the 1560 treaty of Berwick and in March an army was sent North
treaties signed due to intervention in Scotland
There were also offered additional support in the 1560 treaty of Berwick and in March an army was sent North, which led to a forced French withdrawal.
Cecil was able to secure favourable turns in the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 July - which made France remove troops from Scotland.
outcome of intervention in scotland
Resolved without war against France
Elizabeth was seen as the protector of Protestants
Showed that Relion and Domestic Policy were intertwined with succession
Success of intervention in Scotland was attributed to cecil
why did Elizabeth intervene in France in 1562
Wars of Religion broke out between Catholics and Huguenots in 1562.
who persuaded Elizabeth to intervene in France and why
Robert Dudley persuaded 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.
treaty’s signed with France - 1560s
Treaty of Hampton Court - Elizabeth promised the Huguenot leader, Prince of Conde 6000 men and a loan of £30,000 with the control of the port of Le Haurve as security
The English were forced to seek an unfavourable peace settlement in the Treaty of Troye in 1564. This repealed the treaty of chateau cambresis, by which the loss of calais became permanent.
what did Elizabeth promise the hugenot leader
Elizabeth promised the Huguenot leader, Prince of Conde 6000 men and a loan of £30,000 with the control of the port of Le Haurve as security under the Treaty of Hampton Court
outcome of intervention in france 1562
Conde was defeated and captured and peace in France was restored, they drove the English out of Le Harve but Liz refused to hand Le Harve back. La Harve was captured by the French after a siege and the English was expelled. The English were forced to seek an unfavourable peace settlement in the Treaty of Troye in 1564. This repealed the treaty of chateau cambresis, by which the loss of calais became permanent.
how can the loss of Calais be argued to be a good thing
In the long run, the loss of Calais might have proved an advantage - Calais was expensive to maintain, and the blow to Elizabeth’s prestige was significant as a result she became much more cautious about supporting protestants in Europe.
Spain and the netherlands
Spain kept relations with England stable because Phillip wanted to marry Elizabeth, he also ruled the Netherlands. Trade was key to the relationship with England due to the cloth industry. Phillip was unhappy with Liz sponsoring protestant rebels in Scotland as it led to worries that English traders might be doing the same in the Netherlands
why did tensions increase with the Spanish after 1560
- Trading activity of John Hawkins who attempted to break the Spanish trading monopoly in the Caribbean
- Situation in the Netherlands - Dutch Rebellion
- Support of Catholic plots by Phillip
what caused trade disputes with the Netherlands and when
In 1566, cardinal Granville, governor of the Netherlands objected to the higher prices being charged by English Merchants due to the book of rates. He accused English merchants of spreading Protestantism and banned the import of English cloth, Elizabeth banned Dutch imports in return, which was damaging for both sides but it was eventually restored
rebellion in the Netherlands
The Dutch rebelled in 1566 against Spain as they were resentful of centralisation and rule by catholic Spain as they had turned to Protestantism. In 1567, the Duke of Alba was sent to crush the rebels and Elizabeth expressed sympathy for the rebels but was reluctant to help them as she was concerned about the repercussions for England
escalation with the Netherlands 1560-80
Five Spanish ships full of Gold bulletin landed in England during a storm. Elizabeth on the advice of Cecil took gold worth £20M. Northern Earls and Ridolfi - encouraged by Phillip and De Spes
why did Phillip send the armada
- Execution of MQS
- Treaty of Nonsuch - Liz agreed to send an English army of 7000 to help the Dutch rebels
- English naval captains were given the freedom to attack and plunder Spanish bullion fleets
- Francis Drake led the singeing of the Spanish king’s beard in Cadiz in 1587 which delayed the armada by a year. - privateeing
how did foreign policy between 1588-1604 change
English F.P. shifted from maintaining independence from Spain to open war in 1584-85
what will happen if the dutch rebellion ended
If the revolt in the Netherlands ended, Spain would be in control of the Northern part of the army and would have a large army stationed there. She also recognised that the alliance of French catholics with Spain might mean a joint attack in England or at the very last undo her efforts to use France as a shield against Spain.
dutch rebellion - solution by Elizabeth
The solution was to step up support for the Dutch rebels. In the treaty of nonsuch, Elizabeth agreed to provide military support of 5,000 troops and 1,000 calvaries. In return, Liz became the protector of the Netherlands. By sending the Earl of Lei and English troops into the Netherlands. Liz was publicly defying Phillip and inviting war with Spain, at the same time she sent out a fleet under Francis Drake to raid a Spanish ship in the Caribbean
what did phillip convince himself he was doing by sending the armada
Phillip convinced himself that he was doing God’s work and that he engaged in a Catholic crusade.
how was the armada delayed
Sailing was delayed by the singeing of the Spanish King’s beard.
phillips plan to set sail
The plan was to depart from Spain to the Netherlands which would then be transported to England - there was a lot of distance involved which ensured that England would hear about it and therefore prepare for it.
Spanish armada failing - miscommunication
The two sets of troops had poor communication, they lost many ships in the storm and the wind was not on their side. The fleet was under-provisioned (no money as their bullion was seized by privateers) and was poorly led by the Duke of Medina
how long did the armada drag on for
The war dragged on at a great expense for a further 16 years and peace was not concluded until after the deaths of both Elizabeth and Phillip.
different fronts the war was fought on
The sea in western Europe, in the Caribbean, on the land in France, the Netherlands and Ireland.
what did Elizabeth want to protect as a result of the armada
Elizabeth sought national security above all other considerations, for many others at court - England was involved in a war for both national and religious survival against a universal catholic conspiracy.
what played a great part in the English win
- Brilliant naval tactics played their part for the English as the navy positioned itself to force the Armada to sail into the channels of southwesterly winds, which enabled the navy to use long-range funs to batter the fleet.
- When the Armada tried to seek refuge along the French coast, English fireships burned and scattered its ships.
- The Battle of Gravelines 1588 left the Duke of Medina with no alternative than to retreat - he took the ships along Ireland and Scotland, but there was bad weather which caused wreckage
battle of gravelines
A battle during which the Spanish fleet were bombarded by the long-range English guns. In rough seas it lasted for nine hours, with great damage being done to the Spanish fleet, which for most of the time were unable to return fire due to a lack of trained gunners.
About 1,000 Spaniards were killed and over 800 wounded.
what was the defeat of the Armada’s seen as
The defeat of the Armada was hailed as a magnificent English victory against a larger and more powerful enemy
dates of the armada
first - 1588
2nd - 1596
3rd - 1597
war at sea - after the first armada
From 1595, the English made 3 attacks on mainland Spain and its colonies. This led to the capture and occupation of Cadiz and the sinking of four galleons.
failure of Hawkins and drake
there was no strategic follow-up after the capture of cadiz- Hawkins and Drake advocated an attack on Panama which failed and they died at sea. Advocated the attack as they regarded it as the weakest point in the Spanish empire.
what did the capture of cadiz do to Phillip
The capture of Cadiz antagonized Phillip. In 1597, he ordered a fleet to invade England by the time they set sail it was autumn and they were defeated by storms but the threat to England remained clear.
what rebellion did the Spanish try to exploit
Rebellion in Ireland
Phillip trying to exploit the irish rebellion
The Spanish also tried to exploit a rebellion in Ireland, further fear of invasion in 1599 was prompted almost entirely by false intelligence which created a huge panic in England. The naval activity was led by the need to prevent Spain’s landings in Ireland. In the end, little had been achieved at a very great cost
war in the Netherlands
The main area for the war on land was in the Netherlands. After Leicester’s failures, relations between the English crown and the Dutch improved. In 1589, Sir Francis was made commander of the English force and proved highly capable. He forged a positive relationship with the Dutch leader Maurice of Nassau - the territories that had been lost to the Duke of Parma were recovered. The cost to the English for maintaining a force in the Netherlands was high but the Dutch paid a share of running costs. By 1594, the Spanish had been expelled from all the lands of Nothern Netherlands. The Dutch revolts had proved successful.
Foreign Policy after the armada
Elizabeth sent Drake to Portugal in 1589 for a counterattack. He landed with 15,000 men and 150 ships with the aim of throwing out the Spaniards. But there was no Portuguese uprising in their favour and so they were forced to withdraw. There were continued attacks on Spanish bullion ships though with decreasing success as Phillip had developed a convoy system. Increasingly Liz was more concerned with the Northern Empire rather than Spain itself - Henry IV a Huguenot came to the throne in 1589. Elizabeth saw him as a potential ally
1596
Second Armada - provoked by the capture of cadiz, he intended to invade via Ireland but was battered by storms and the remnants returned to Spain, phillip was bankrupt by this time
what caused the collapse of Anglo Spanish relations
The collapse was gradual and not simply confined to their disagreements over the Netherlands. Some reasons were over religion, some were over the activities of Elizabethan privateering.
