Henry VIII and the quest for international influence: 1509-1540 Flashcards
Key Player: France
- Francis I becomes King in 1515
- Conflict with Hapsburg
- Population of 16 000 000
Key Player: Spain
- Charles of Hapsburg becomes King Charles I in 1516 (Rival with France)
- Catholic
- Population of 6.8 million
Key Player: Holy Roman Empire (HRE)
- 400 semi autonomous states , where Germany now is
- Decentralised power but ruled by Emperor
- 16 000 000 people
- Charles I succeeds Maximilian I, becomes Charles V. Now ruler of HRE/Spain/Netherlands
Key Player: The Papacy
- Headed by Pope
- Aimed to defend Catholic interests in Europe
- French/Spanish (Hapsburg/Valois) posed problem for Papal interests. Had to side carefully to prevent either from becoming too powerful
- Rome sacked by imperial army in 1527, Pope Clement VII captive
What were Henry’s aspirations for France
- Title of King of France held by English kings since 15th century
- Henry hoped to use alliance with Ferdinand, father in law by anglo-spanish alliance with marriage to Catherine, to invade France
- Realist: knew that England needed assistance to mount campaign
Why was Henry restricted by the work of his father in the early years of his policy towards the French?
- Difficult to detach himself from his old ministers
- Archbishop Warham/Bishop Fox saw the benefits of having a neutral state: less expensive, more secure and more appealing for foreign powers looking for support
- -> England not in Holy League of 1508
- ->Peace treaty with French in 1510
How were Henry’s foreign policy ambitions initially limited by the work of his father?
- old ministers, archbishop warham and bishop fox, believed secure and neutral England would be more attractive and avoid expensive campaigns
- 1508 holy league of Fra/Spn/Ppcy/HRE to attack Venice, England isolated
- peace treaty with France 1510
French campaign 1512-1513
-French dominance in Northern Italy threatens Papal states
-Pope’s holy league (Spain, Venice, HRE + ENGLAND) combine forces to attack France
-Henry portrays war as holy war to great council
—> Money granted by parliament, April 1512 12000 under Marquis of Dorset dispatched to Bayonne
Campaign:
-England to gain control of Aquitaine
-Let down by father-in-law, Ferdinand, who used English as a diversion whilst he captured Navarre
—> Waiting for Spanish troops, dysentry, troops recalled
—> Naval defeat at Brest April 1513
`The Battle of the Spurs 1513
- Learned from defeat, needed to act independently from allies if he were to succeed
- 30 000 led by Henry to Calais in June 1513
- –> Therouanne+Tournai captured
- –>Therouanne given to Emperor Maxmilian
- –> Tournai garrisoned until 1518
- One sided encounter with little French resistance, small skirmish with expeditionary force and some nobles captured
Battle of Flodden September 1513
- James IV attempted invasion of England whilst Henry in France
- English Army under Earl of Surrey is victorious despite being outnumbered
- –> James IV dead along with core of Scottish nobility
- –> James V is only a boy, Margaret (Henry’s sister) was regent
- –> Removed Scottish threat for near future
What had Henry achieved by 1513?
- Headed impressive invasion force in June 1513, fulfilling role as renaissance King
- Put his mark on European affairs
- Laid claim to title as King of France, prestige
BUT
-Therouanne and Tournai were soft targets - Henry was deceived by Ferdinand in 1512
-Very expensive campaigns. Spent £960 000 in 1511-1513, annual income only £110 000
—> Stretched resources meant further 1514 expedition was unrealistic (Anglo French Treaty)
Anglo-French Treaty
-Peace with France
-Ferdinand/Maxmilian had negotiated with Louis XII and lost interest in offensive, new Pope Leo X favoured peace
and Henry did not have the financial resources to support another campaign
-England gets Tournai, Louis XII pays remaindr of English pension promised to Henry VII
-Henry’s younger sister, Mary, marries Louis XII
-Proposal of Anglo-French attack on Ferdinand to drive French out of Navarre, unrealistic but shows Henry’s annoyance at Ferdinand
Why did Anglo-French relations change again in 1514
- Louis XII dies January 1515, succeeded by ambitious Francis I
- Sent Scottish claimant, Duke of Albany, to Scotland to overthrow regency government of Henry’s sister, Margaret. Successful
- Francis wins Battle of Marignano September 1515. French control most of Northern Italy and Milan
- Strong enough position to negotiate Concordat of Bologna with Leo X: French Kings have the right to appoint French sees
How did Wolsey seek to combat French dominance in 1514-1518?
- Wanted to avoid invasion, but support pro-papal/anti French alliance
- SECRET SUBSIDY to Emperor Maxmilian to repel French advance in Northern Italy. He accepts money and DEFECTS to French
- ANTI FRENCH LEAGUE: Rome, Venice, Spain and HRE
- –> Ferdinand DIES January 1516, succeeded by his grandson Charles. Did not want to engage French/collaborate with England. PEACE AT NOYON 1516. HRE Maxmilian joins alliance at PEACE OF CAMBRAI in 1517
Treaty of London 1518
- Pope Leo X calling for crusade against infidel Turk
- Wolsey creates anti-Turk alliance: France, Papacy, Spain, HRE + England
- –> Non-aggression between powers+collective security
- Treaty signed in October 1518. It had…
- –> Given Henry prestige
- –> Ended English isolation
- –> Ended English occupation of Tournai (expensive) for more French pensions
- –> Mary (daughter of Henry) betrothed to the Dauphin (heir to French throne), Duke of Albany to be kept out of Scotland
How did Wolsey benefit from the Treaty of London?
- Hijacked the Pope’s original plans for his/Henry’s benefit
- Revert in Wolsey’s foreign policy, which had until then failed to end English isolation
- Received title of Legate a latere
What made a Hapsburg/Valois conflict likely in 1919?
-Death of Emperor Maxmilian January 1919
- Power struggle between Charles V (Spain) and Francis I (France)
—> Charles chosen due to Hapsburg lineage (Grandson to Maxmilian)
—> Charles’s inheritance means that France is encircled
Therefore BOTH HRE/France want England as an ally
Field of the Cloth of Gold 1520
- Near Calais
- Renaissance pageantry
- 3000 significants from both Henry and Francis’s kingdoms in attendance
- Jousting, spontaneous wrestling against each other
Why was maintaining English neutrality becoming difficult in the early 1520s?
- Increasing Hapsburg/Valois tensions
- Charles had visited England in May/July 1520 - the latter Henry/Wolsey met Charles at Gravelines, as he was desperate for English not to form alliance with French
England was likely to side against France because
- Traditional French rivalry, resentment of Francis I’s success since 1515
- English low country trade routes would be safeguarded by an alliance with Charles who ruled the Hapsburg Netherlands
- Papal (Wolsey) policy anti-French due to threat to papal states in Northern Italy where French were expanding
How did the relations between England, France and Spain/HRE develop from 1520?
- July 1521: 3 power conference at Calais under Wolsey, peace broker
- August 1521: Anglo/French TREATY OF BRUGE stipulates that England will invade France if peace is not made with Spain
- –> Wolsey delays invasion until 1523, giving situation chance to diffuse.
Why was the prospect of invading France in the early 1520s less appealing than it had been in 1513?
- Funded through an increase in taxation
- Did not directly serve interests
- Would fuel domestic unrest
English expeditions to France 1522-3
1522: Earl of Surrey, raiding party from Calais to Normandy/Picardy
- -> No territorial gains, little support from Charles’s troops
1523: August, French rebellion by Charles Duke of Bourbon, who thought he had been denied his rightful French inheritance
- –> English force joined imperial troops with Bourbon’s men
- –> Force costing 400 000 under Surrey
- –> Rebellion came to nothing and army defeated by lack of winter supplies
- ———> Wolsey keen to remove England from demands of treaty of Bruges as England was low on money, supplies and Charles/expeditions had proved unreliable
Successes of Wolsey’s foreign policy
- Captured Therouanne and Tournai, renaissance Kingship
- Ended English isolation to some extent
- Peacebroker (Treaty of London)
- Flexible, adjusted alliances to suit him and England
Diplomatic revolution 1525
- Wolsey opens up negotiations with France
- Treaty of the More 1525: Henry gives up claim to French throne in exchange for annual pension
Charles releases Francis 1525
- Condition that he did not disrupt imperial interests in Italy
- Sons kept as hostages
- –> Francis has no intention of permitting Imperial domination
- –>May 1526: Signs Treaty of Cognat, England, France and several Italian states against Imperial dominance. Wolsey is instigator, England finances but does NOT join
Treaty of Westminster
- 1527
- England/France cement alliance
- Mary used as diplomatic pawn, offered to Francis I or one of his sons
- Charles threatened with armed intervention if he would not make peace (empty threat, did not have the power)
The Great Matter and foreign policy 1527 -
- Charles sacks rome, Pope Clement VII captured
- Catherine of Aragon was the aunt of Charles V, and Charles would not see a family member humiliated. With Pope under his control he prevented the dispensation of an annulment in 1527
- –> Wolsey tries to work without the Pope using college of Cardinals but Pope soon released by end of 1527, keeping tight grip on Italy
- –> Wolsey declares war on Charles in 1528, no army mobilised
- –> Wolsey considers trade embargo on Low countries but would be damaging to England. Separate agreement with low countries to continue trade
English isolation 1529
- Charles’s victory at Landriano in June 1529
- August 1529: Peace of Cambrai with France, Spain and Papacy. Wolsey not informed and Charles keeps control of Italy
- –> England isolated
- –> Clement VII now under imperial control under Cambrai, so no chance of attaining annulment
Failures of Wolsey’s foreign policy
- Unrealistic ambitions. Englands meagre resources were not adequate for reclaiming the throne of France
- Few long term gains. Territories gained in 1511-13 were of little long term value and expensive to maintain (Garrisoning of Tournai
- Henry’s foreign policy was expensive. Financial security left to Henry by his father was destroyed. £1.4 million spent on campaigns 1511-1525. £960 000 spent 1511-1513 on income of only £110 000 annually
- –> Led to reliance on increased taxation, causing disruption (amicable grant crisis 1525)
- Dependence on unreliable foreign allies: Ferdinand used English forces as a diversion in 1512, Spain/France signed peace of cambrai without Wolsey in 1529, Emperor Maxmilian defected, Charles V did not marry Mary
- Unpopular nature of alliance with France
- Failure of diplomatic revolution with regard to the Great Matter
Effect of religion on foreign policy in the years 1530-40
- Successful resolve of the Great Matter for England meant Anglo-French alliance was weakened as France did not want to appear friendly towards a heretical country, particularly with Charles dominating
- England could face a Catholic coalition, and could either…
(i) Side with German protestant Princes. Evidence of attempts as they were approached in 1533-4 and Henry supported protestant town of Lubeck in Baltic who were trying to stop an imperial candidate ruling Denmark
(ii) Do nothing, allow Hapsburg/Valois rivalry to inevitably develop again so they would be too busy fighting each other to care about affairs in England - –> Decided to be passive, death of Aragon/Boleyn so chance that relations with Spain may recover
Treaty of Nice
- 1538
- France and Spain committed to ten year peace
- –> English military strength increased
- –> Links with German Princes re-opened
Purge of the Poles
- Following Treaty of Nice, Cardinal Pole urges Francis/Charles to invade
- –> Henry arrested mother and two brothers, Geoffrey pardoned
- –> All others arrested in 1541, Yorkist threat purged
Act of the Six articles 1539
- Displayed belief in orthodox Catholic doctrine
- Perhaps to convince Catholic Europe of lack of support for Lutheranism?
Lutheran alliance through marriage to Anne of Clewes
- No proposal for alliance with Lutherans made in the past as Henry did not want to associate with heretics and the Lutherans were sceptical of Henry’s religious reform
- Duke of Clewes part of Lutheran alliance, NOT Lutheran, but could be useful ally in combating invasion of England
- Henry convinced of diplomatic advantage of their marriage and by Hans Holbein’s portrait
- –> Henry detested her in real life, marriage remained unconsummated, meant the end for Cromwell
