Foreign Policy 1514-1526 Flashcards
What were the changes to Henry V111’s foreign policy in 1514-26 in comparison to his 1509-14?
- In politics Wolsey became chief minister
- Financially Henry ran out of money for any firther aggressive foreign policy in France or Scotland.
- Prestige wise he had to rely on the diplomatic approach to increase his prestige as war was no longer an option
State the key events that took place in Henrys foreign policy from 1514-1526
1514 - Marriage between Mary + King Louis X11 ended in 1515 and she quickly remarried to kings displeasure
1516 - Death of Ferdinand (which led Henry to seek alliance w France leaving him isolated).
1518 - Treaty of London
1520 - Field of the Cloth of Gold
1521 - Treaty of Burges(between Henry + Charles)
1525 - Battle of Pavia
1526 - The League of Cognac
Explain the Treaty of London 1518 and its consequences for England.
After Ferdinand’s death + succession of a new Spanish king who agreed to the Treaty of Cambri with the French in 1517 henry felt heavily isolated , particularly as the French had intervened in Scotland supporting a pro-French regent.
- Wolsey was successful in ending England’s isolation very quickly w a Treaty of London after having origins of peace negotiations w France, Spain + Holy Roman Empire.
The treaty;
- Enhanced Wolsey’s position (+emerged as leading diplomat in Europe)
- Led to Wolsey’s appointment as Papal Legate
- Paved way for improving relationship w France + later the field of cloth of gold.
Explain The Field of the Cloth of Gold 1520 and its consequences for England
The Treaty of London had led to better relations w the French as had the return of Tournai by the English.
The French worried of the growing power of Charles V(elected HRE in 1519)
Extravagant diplomatic meeting/tournament w feasts,jousts,wrestling which cost Henry £15,000 + was mainly just to show of how rich both France + England was and there friendships
Explain the Treaty of Bruges 1521 and its consequences for England
Conflict arose between Charles V + Francis I in August 1521 + Wolsey negotiated the Treaty of Burges with Charles which Henry agreed to in the hopes of;
- Improving his relations with the Pope, who was anxious to reduce French control over northern Italy
- He believed he may gain more territory within France
- Part of the deal entailed a marriage alliance between the emperor + Princess Mary
Concequently English armies invaded northern France I. both 1522 + 1523 however the campaigns achieved little over than rack up huge financial costs which led to parliments reluctance to grant extraordinary revenue which was necessary to cover these costs.
Explain the Battle of Pavia in 1525 and its consequences for England
Charles V won a curshing victory against the French army in Italy at the Battle of Pavia which reinforced Charles dominance in europe which was sign for concern for other European rulers.
Henry showed his lack of strategic awareness by the crash way in which he attempted to benefit from the emperors crushing victory by suggesting t Charles that the launch a renewed joint invasion of northern France in order to achieve territorial gains. Charles did not agree which in the context is no surprise. Similarly the lack of support for the venture was highlighted by the controversy surrounding the Amicable Grant.
This led to 3 consequences;
- Henry had his ego heavily bruised + was obligated to back down
- Henrys resentment towards the emperor was reinforced when Charles repudiated his marriage contract with Princess Mary
- Wolseys domestic prestige never really recovered.
Overall - How successful was Henrys Foreign Policy from 1514-29?
Overall much of Henrys FP was;
- Fixated apon Henry wanting prestige and security for himself whilst protecting his superiority and dominance. He disliked Charles power + respect in Europe and was always competing with countries + Despite lacking money + allies he still wanted to fuel numerous wars during this period.
- There is not a lot of dynastic interests present or being fulfilled apart from the attempt to Mary Mary to the Empoer which fails and suggests nothing else. Security wise - he makes alliances + peace which is pointless as he ends up turning back on them especially w the French and relations continuously worsen.
Historians views;
Saw Wolsey wanting to use England to keep a balance of power + suggested England foreign policy + the Popes policy matched and Wolsey wanted to become cardinal. Would argue Wolsey often did the opposite of what Papacy wanted + doubted whether he had ambitions to be pope and so sought peace as war was too expensive. Wolsey tried to secure whatever FP would ultimately benefit him which meant satisfying pope + henrys demands.
What was the outcome of Henry VIIIs foreign policy between 1514-1526
Overall there was no clear theme to the foreign policy throughout 1514-1526. Alliances were founded + swiftly disintegrated.
- England remained a minor power + unable to compete on the same level as France + Spain
- Henry significantly overestimated English power which left Wolsey framing foreign policy based on these false assumptions.
- The ‘auld alliance’ between France + Scotland remained strong.
Explain the significance of ‘The League of Cognac’
1526 - The League of Cognac;
Henry + Wolsey became once moire in he direction of a pro-french foreign policy which became evident by Henrys decision to lean support toward the league of cognac which hd been put together hy the pope in order too counterbalance what he considered to b exessive power’ held by the emperor in northern Italy following his victory at Pavia.
However this proved to be a very bad time to be on poor terms with the emperor because the problems which emerged as a result of ‘the Kings great matter’ from 1532 created a new incredibly complicated foreign policy process + also soon made Henry an object of suspicion by the whole of Catholic Europe.
