Foreign policy in the 1629s

Question 1

What was Charles’s overall policy?

Answer 1

• To continue James’s policy of gaining protestant allies in northern Europe to create a ‘grand anti-Habsburg’ alliance (Buckingham’s strategy)
• To SECURE THE RESTORATION OF FREDERICK OF THE PALATINATE (Charles’s BIL)

Note: Habsburgs controlled the HRE and Spain.

Question 2

Why was Charles’s policy how it was?

Answer 2

• The Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand (now Holy Roman Emperor) had moved against Charles’s BIL (Frederick of the Palatinate) after Frederick had accepted the crown of Bohemia.
• The crown of Bohemia had been Ferdinand’s, but nobles revoked their allegiance after his anti-Protestant attitude had become more clear.
• Spanish and Bavarian troops occupied the Palatinate.
• Frederick and his family were forced into exile in the Netherlands

Question 3

What issues did Parliament cause? (War with Spain)

Answer 3

• All the commons would offer was two subsidies which totalled £140,000.
• This was not enough money for Charles to wage war efficiently.

Question 4

Why did parliament only offer this amount? (War with Spain)

Answer 4

• The Commons wondered who the enemy actually was
• They doubted the king’s commitment to the Protestant cause
• No war had been declared and there had been no account given on the money voted in 1624

Question 5

How much money did Charles spend on preparing the Navy for war? (War with Spain)

Answer 5

£500,000, including the Queen’s dowry of £120,000

Question 6

Was the money spent on preparing the Navy for war enough? (War with Spain)

Answer 6

No, it was still short of many essentials

Question 7

When did the fleet set sail for Cadiz?

Answer 7

October 1625

Question 8

What were the two major issues at Cadiz?

Answer 8

• As soldiers advanced to attack a town they came across a farm full of vats of wine, they promptly drank them and the expedition degenerated into a farce
• Sickness swept through the ships as they ran short of beer and water (making many unable to fight anyway)

Question 9

Who was blamed for the failure at Cadiz, why?

Was this fair?

Answer 9

• Buckingham
• This is as he was Lord Admiral
• Not necessarily, he had worked hard to provide adequate provisions (which was a hard task, given the tight budget).

Question 10

What other financial money pit was there? Was this a smart move given the circumstances? (War with Spain)

Answer 10

• Charles wanted to press on with further military preparations
• They were committed to providing the Danish with £30,000 a month for his army (which was bearing the brunt of Catholic attacks).

Question 11

When did the failure at the Bay of Biscay occur?

Answer 11

October 1626

Question 12

Why was the failure at the Bay of Biscay significant?

Answer 12

• It now seemed that England was incapable of mounting a successful attack against even one country
• Both the Bay of Biscay and Cadiz had achieved nothing, at an enormous cost
• Despite all of this Buckingham was preparing to go to war with France