Foreign Policy essay Successes Vs Failures

Question 1

biggest success of foreign policy?

Answer 1

1. Henry recognised the importance of marriage treaties

• Treaty of Greenwich 1543 (attempt to unite the both kingdoms after Battle of Solway Moss 1542) ➡️ part of the treaty was arranged
• marriage between Edward and Mary (daughter of James V)
• marriage of Louis XII to H’s sister Mary in 1514 BUT this marriage was short lived when Louis died in Jan 1515

Ex: a strategic move by Henry to secure alliances with other international leaders through a connection which couldn’t easily be broken + essential to form relationship with Scotland due to threat of the Auld alliance

Question 2

early success of foreign policy?

Answer 2

• Treaty of London 1518 successful, Henry and Woolsey seen as the peacekeepers of Europe + Field of cloth of gold 1520
  ➡️England centre stage in international politics by signing separate treaties with 24 other European countries HOWEVER short lived as future conflicts undermined importance of treaty
• in the first french war (1512-1514) Henry won the battle of the spurs 1513 and captured territory (Therouanna and Tournal) from the french, and held it
  ➡️ ensured renewal of the Etaples pension (an annual sum of 745,000 crowns directly to the king) BUT the battle was pointless and Henry lost more money than he gained

Question 3

military success of foreign policy?

Answer 3

• Battle of Flodden (1513) ❗️1000 englishmen killed but 10,000 scots including leading nobles and king James (weakened the scots for years)
• in first french war (1512-1514) Henry won the battle of the spurs (1513) and captured territory (Therouanna and Tournal) from the french, and held it
• built a powerful new royal navy of warships, purposely built to carry heavy guns as this was his first line of defence against invasions

Question 4

biggest issue of foreign policy?

Answer 4

1. Consistent overestimation of England’s position

• Henry invaded France in 1512 but achieved very little, rapidly increasing expenditure + demobilised soldiers they returned to England ➡️ embarrassment for England’s reputation
• attempted to benefit from the emperor’s crushing defeat of the French at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, tried persuading Charles of launch a joint invasion on Northern France ➡️ hurt H ego, resentment to emperor Charles was reinforced when he repudiated his marriage contract with Princess Mary and Woolsey’s prestige never fully recovered

Question 5

another failure of foreign policy? (2)

Answer 5

2. later foreign policy was disastrous

• bad management and lack of communication meant Henry’s victory at Solway Moss (Scotland) in 1542 ultimately did little but fuel anglo-scottish tensions + Treaty of Greenwich failed to unite the two the following year
• invasion of France in 1540’s was severely disorganised and under funded ➡️ defeat at the Siege of Montreuil 1544 + where Henry did see success (eg. Boulogne in 1544) it was limited and costly
• war with France overall had cost around £2 million, which was ten years of royal income, and had bankrupted England as he was unable to fund it through extraordinary revenue
  ➡️ these failures caused England to become financially bankrupt, military insignificant and overly isolated

Question 6

another failure of foreign policy? (3)

Answer 6

3. lack of funding + domestic support

• lack off support from his fathers councillor for war in France early in his reign
• Henry struggled to raise money for his military adventures
• ❗️Amicable Grant in 1525 to fund Henry’s expedition caused rebellions ➡️ forced to half the rate of taxation
• ❗️Wolsey raised £322,000 in subsidies, £240,000 in clerical tax + £260,000 in forced loans which still could not finance war
• had to sell monastic land (often at lower prices) in order to fund last attack on french as he could not raise money in taxes + debased the coinage

Question 7

another failure of foreign policy? (4)

Answer 7

4. England diplomatically isolated and excluded from international affairs

• ❗️Treaty of Cambrai (1517) between HRE and France ➡️ England vulnerable to full scale attacks from the combined powers of the two most powerful countries
• England even more isolated due to the Break with Rome

➡️Humiliating + treaty meant Henry was diplomatically isolated and ended previous Anglo-French and Anglo-Imperial relations