Foreign Relations and Securing the Succession

Question 1

What did Henry’s early foreign policy demonstrate?

Answer 1

His enthusiasm to win military glory - believed he had a right to the French crown

Question 2

What did Henry do in 1510 (FP)?

Answer 2

An alliance (The Holy League) with Spain, the HRE, Venice and the papacy - against France

Question 3

What did Henry do in 1512 (FP)and what was the outcome?

Answer 3

Sent 10,000 soldiers to south-west France - Ferdinand of Spain failed to support England who suffered defeat in Gascony - it achieved nothing and Ferdinand used it as a diversion tactic while he successfully conquered Navarre

Question 4

What did Henry do in 1513 (FP)?

Answer 4

Led a force to France where he won the ‘Battle of Spurs’ and captured Tournai and Therouanne.

It’s significance has been debated but was a stunning victory in propaganda

Question 5

Who tried to invade England in 1513 and what was the outcome?

Answer 5

James IV of Scotland (allied to France).

He was defeated by a smaller English force (led by Earl of Surrey) and killed at the Battle of Flodden.

Question 6

Following James IV’ death who ruled Scotland?

Answer 6

Left Scottish throne in hands of infant James V with Queen Margaret (Henry’s sister) as regent but Henry did little to build on the advantage with Flodden had given him

Question 7

What were the results of the 1512/13 military campaigns?
2 foreign,
2 finance,
1 social.

Answer 7

Huge drain on English finance - war was costly as he was forced to liquidate assets inherited by his father to pay for it.

Trouble in Yorkshire (resentment to taxation nearly =another rebellion).

Loss of the French Pension which Henry VII had gained.

Insignificant gains in France (Tournai sold back to France in 1519 for less than England had paid to repair its defences after the siege).

Peace with Scotland - lasted until 1542

Question 8

Why was a possible further campaign abandoned in 1514 and what was the outcome?

Answer 8

Maximillian and Ferdinand each made a separate peace with France - it was left to Wolsey to pick up the pieces which he did with considerable skill -recovering the Etaples pension and securing a marriage alliance between H’s younger sister Mary and Louis XI, king of France

Question 9

Which two monarch’s deaths was Henry’s foreign policy 1514-1516 affected by?

Answer 9

Despite Henry’s sister (Mary) marrying Louis XII of France in 1514, the French king died 1515 and was succeeded by Francis I (who Henry regarded as both a personal and political rival).

Death of Ferdinand of Spain 1516 and succession of Charles V as HRE and Spanish king changed the balance of power in Europe and affected Henry’s policy

Question 10

How did England become isolated in 1517 and what was its consequence?

Answer 10

Charles V and HRE Maximillian agreed the Treaty of Cambrai with France.

Allowed Francis the opportunity to undermine Anglo-Scottish relations as the Duke of Albany (heir presumptive to the Scottish throne) was also a French noble - he was appointed as regent to Scottish throne

Question 11

What did Wolsey achieve in terms of FP in 1518 to end England’s isolation?

Answer 11

The Treaty of London - a non-aggression pact signed by England, France, Spain, The HRE and other smaller states = a united Christian front against what he saw as the threat of the Ottoman Turks.

Wolsey emerged as the leading diplomat in Europe as a result

Question 12

In what ways did the newfound friendship between France and England continue?

Answer 12

England agreed to return Tournai to France and the French again agreed to pay the English a pension to compensate for its loss.

The French also agreed to keep Albany out of Scotland, allowing more peaceable relations on the Anglo-Scottish border.

‘Field of Cloth of Gold’ in 1520.

Question 13

What treaty was negotiated by Wolsey in 1521 and with who after conflict arose between Francis and Charles?

Answer 13

The Treaty of Bruges with Charles V = Secret treaty providing for a joint invasion of France in 1523.

Did not materialise. English staged campaign (autumn 1523), and with minimal help from Charles (got nowhere.)

Question 14

What happened in 1525 abroad and what consequence did it have for Henry?

Answer 14

Charles V defeated the French at the Battle of Pavia (Italy) but refused to help Henry with a joint invasion of Northern France to achieve territorial gains (amicable grant problem also showed lack of public support for this).

Henry changed tactics (once more to pro-French) and supported the League of Cognac with France and the Pope - created problems for Henry with his ‘Great Matter’, complicating foreign policy - this would not only bring down Wolsey but make Henry an object of suspicion to all of Catholic Europe

Question 15

In 1527 what treaty did Henry sign, with who and why?

Answer 15

The failure of Henry to resolve the Great Matter by diplomatic means meant England remained a relatively minor power in Europe so H and Wolsey signed the Treaty of Amiens with France (an anti-imperial alliance)

Question 16

Why was the general view of Henry VIII and Wolsey’s foreign policy that it was a failure?

Answer 16

It had failed to achieve Henry’s primary goal - conquer the French empire as Henry V had done

Question 17

How much did Henry spend on war vs income between 1511-1525?

Answer 17

1511-1525 spent £1.4 million on war while ordinary income was only £110,000

Question 18

How was Henry’s position weakened in 1538?

Answer 18

Charles and Francis signed the Treaty of Nice - they each agreed not to make a new alliance with England without mutual consent.

Question 19

What happened in 1539?

Answer 19

Paul III send Cardinal Beaton to Scotland and Cardinal Pole to France to rouse support for a Catholic crusade against Henry.

Henry responded by marrying German Protestant Anne of Cleves seeking an alliance with the protestant league(Schmalkalden) as he believed Charles and F were conspiring to invade England. Also explains his enthusiasm for the 6 articles in 1539 which intended to reassure Catholic opinion in England.

This became politically unnecessary and personally unsuitable after relations between Charles and Francis broke down, leaving H in a more secure position.

Question 20

What had changed about Ireland in 1534?

Answer 20

It required royal government through an English-born deputy, supported by military presence so Ireland became an increasing expense to the crown.

Question 21

Who had governed Ireland on Henry’s behalf and what changed in 1534?

Answer 21

The Earl of Kildare but the dismissal of Kildare led to a major rebellion in 1534.

Question 22

Why was Ireland an issue?

Answer 22

The rebellion in 1534, (led by his Earl of Kildare’s, son Thomas Fitzgerald) proved difficult to suppress and was expensive.

The attempt to bring Ireland more under English control failed as it required royal government through an English-born deputy, supported by military presence.

Therefore Ireland became an increasing expense to the crown.

Question 23

After an invasion of the Pale by two Irish nobles in 1539 was eventually suppressed how did the government attempt to calm Ireland?

Answer 23

Establishing it as a separate kingdom in 1541, imposing English law
Creating countries out of Gaelic lordships

Granting the Irish nobles peerage titles and the same legal protection as the English counterparts.

Question 24

What happened with Scotland in 1542?

Answer 24

An invasion of Scotland - this brought heavy defeat for the Scots at the battle of Solway Moss. James V died after hearing the news.

Mary was heir = 1 week old

Question 25

What did Henry fail to do after Solway Moss and why?

Answer 25

The Scots were weak as one week old Mary = heir.

Henry failed to mount a full-scale invasion which the Scots would have struggled to repel.

His main interest = France so mainly looked to diplomatic pressure to secure Scottish objectives while he sought military glory in France, shown by size of army he assembled to invade in 44.

Question 26

What happened in 1543? (Scotland)

Answer 26

Scottish policy became known as the ‘rough wooing’ as Henry sought to marry Edward and Mary.

By the Treaty of Greenwich, Edward was betrothed to Mary queen of Scots but Scotland refused to ratify this the Earl of Hertford was sent to raid Edinburgh and St Andrews but this achieved little.

Question 27

What happened in 1544? (France)

Answer 27

Henry had agreed an alliance with the emperor , Henry invaded France in 1544 at the head of a large army, desperate for military glory.

Henry gave little thought to strategy - besieging Montreuil unsuccessfully. He captured Boulogne but Charles made a separate peace with Francis I

Question 28

What happened in 1545? (France and Scotland)

Answer 28

Francis I sent troops to Scotland to support an invasion of England. The English were defeated at the Battle of Ancrum Moor but the Scots failed to invade.

Another French force landed in the Isle of Wight and Henry’s flagship the Mary Rose sank in the Solent.

The French failed to recapture Boulogne and the invasion of northern England never materialised

Question 29

What did Henry VIII’s reign begin with in terms of FP?

Answer 29

A conflict of interests between the king and some of his councillors whom he had inherited from his father, His councillors sought a continuation of peace and negotiated a renewal of the Treaty of Etaples in 1510

Question 30

What was the power status of England for the reign of Wolsey, 1514-1526?

Answer 30

England remained a relatively minor power with propaganda campaigns.

Question 31

Why did the auld alliances between France and Scotland benefit (but potentially could harm) England?

Answer 31

Through the period the alliance remained strong so when E and F were on amicable terms there was relatively little issues with Anglo-Scottish relations but this worked the other way.

Question 32

As by the end of 1514 Henry VIII had run out of money to continue a warlike foreign policy - what were the consequences?

Answer 32

He was unable to exploit the weaknesses of Scotland following the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden
He sought peace with France, the settlement being reinforced by the marriage of his younger sister Mary - to the french king - the marriage was however, short-lived.

Question 33

Why was Mary’s (H’s sister) second marriage a hinderance for Henry?

Answer 33

When Louis XII died in Jan 1515 - within weeks Mary remarried the Duke of Suffolk (denied Henry the opportunity to use her for diplomatic purposes).

Question 34

What did future conflicts suggest about the Treaty of London but why was this not the case at the time?

Answer 34

Suggested it was meaningless.

It was a diplomatic coup for Wolsey - The Pope’s need for a united Christian front meant that he appointed Wolsey as papal legate over England - in 1518 Wolsey = at height of his power and H’s chief minister

Question 35

When was the Field of Cloth of Gold?

How much did it cost for Henry?

Answer 35

The meeting which took place over more than two weeks in June 1520.

Estimated the event cost Henry’s royal treasury about £15,000
In diplomatic terms nothing really achieved here

Question 36

What reasons did Henry have for siding with Charles rather than the French in 1521? (The Treaty of Bruges)

Answer 36

He believed he might gain more territory within France.

Parts of the deal entailed a marriage alliance between the emperor and Henry’s young daughter (Mary).

Question 37

Following the failure of 1525, what did Charles do and what happened to Wolsey’s prestige?

Answer 37

Charles repudiated (refused) his marriage contract with Princess Mary.
Wolsey's domestic prestige never really recovered from the episode.

Question 38

Why did Henry’s break from Rome have no short term issues with Charles V?
How did Henry reinforce his protestant position in Europe?

Answer 38

Charles was primarily concerned with threat posed by Ottoman Turks to Christian Europe.

H attempted to reinforce his position by making an alliance with the League of Schmalkalden which founded amid mutual distrust.

Question 39

What changed in Henry’s foreign policy in the final years compared to the previous decade?

Answer 39

In the 1530’s the focus on FP had been to minimise the response of foreign powers to the break from Rome.

In the 1540’s Henry returned to the aggressive FP which had characterised the early years of his reign, launching attacks on both Scotland and France

Question 40

Why can Henry be criticised for the failure of Scottish FP?

Answer 40

He neglected the opportunity to secure his policy by military force when he had the opportunity in 1542.

His ordering of Hertford into Scotland was just an act of retaliation - it gave no thought to possible strategic objectives and served to antagonise the Scots further.

Question 41

What 2 problems did Henry face with Catherine of Aragon with securing the succession?

Answer 41

The failure of Catherine of Aragon to produce a healthy male heir.

Catherine went beyond child-bearing age H became convinced he was being punished for marrying Catherine, contrary to Canon law.

Question 42

What solved Henry’s succession problems?

Answer 42

He acquired a legitimate male heir in prince Edward in 1537.

Question 43

What is a theory as to why Henry changed his approach to FP in the 1540’s?

Answer 43

1) his main purpose was the conquest of Scotland
2) Saw H’s policy as primarily about Scotland but saw it as defensive given the threat to English security which Scotland represented in the event of full-scale war v France and the fear that King James V might threaten the English throne were Henry to die while Edward was still young
3) That H was primarily motivated once again by the lure of glory and territorial gains in France so the invasion of Scotland was essential to ensure that the Anglo-Scottish border remained secure once the invasion of France was launched
4) Henry was motivated mainly by his desire to punish his nephew James V for a number of presumed offences - harbouring English rebels, twice marrying French princesses, ignoring pressure from Henry to break from Rome and failing to turn up for meeting in York

Question 44

Why was the Battle of Pavia in 1525 important for England?

Answer 44

In the battle Francis I was captured and held captive for a time by Charles V

Question 45

Instead of Wolsey’s diplomatic brilliance, what was the main reason France started to be diplomatic with England?

Answer 45

The French concerned about increased power Spain could exert following the election of Spanish king (Charles) to HRE post - this is what changed French attitude rather than Wolsey’s diplomatic brilliance.