Henry VIII Foreign Policy Flashcards
1509 - 25 Anti-French Henrician Foreign Policy
Not racist, just don’t like ‘em.
1512 - 14 First French War
Henry invades expecting help from Ferdinand of Spain but is let down.
In 1513 Henry VIII succeeded at the Battle of the Spurs, capturing Therouanne and Tournai.
Henry is forced to make peace with France after Ferdinand and Maximilian do the same, but this was probably positive as England did not have the money to continue the campaign, and the Battle of Spurs had been successful enough to make England look like a credible military power.
HVIII kept Therouanne and Tournai, they received a pension from France, Wolsey was made Bishop of Tournai, his sister married Louis XII. Wolsey was rewarded with the masterful treaty by being made Chancellor on 24 Dec 1515.
1513 - Battle of Flodden
The Scottish attempted an invasion whilst Henry was preoccupied with the First French War. This in part was due to the long-standing alliance between the French and the Scottish against England.
The Scots were dealt a crushing defeat. 5,000-14,000 killed, and James IV and many Scottish nobles die in the fighting. James IV was succeeded by his 1 year old son, James V.
1515 - Louis XII dies childless
He is succeeded by his cousin Francis I of France (1515-1547). Louis’ death ended the alliance between England and France which had been secured through the marriage of Mary to Louis.
1516 - Ferdinand dies
His grandson, Charles I, inherited the throne of Spain.
1517 - Peace of Cambrai
Maximilian made peace with Francis around the same time of the Treaty of Noyon (Where Charles and Francis also made peace). This effectively made HVIII isolated.
1518 - Treaty Of London
Pope Leo was becoming worried about the rise of the Ottoman Empire (Turks). He wanted a Christian League of European Kings and sent Campeggio as ambassador to England. Campeggio and Wolsey worked together, to great success. Wolsey managed to largely take over negotiations, resulting in the Treaty of London: A treaty signed by over 20 rulers of Europe promising not to fight each other and to come to the aid of any member attacked by the Turks. Wolsey’s domination created the impression that England, not the Pope, had brokered the treaty and so it was a huge diplomatic success for Henry VIII. However, the treaty’s power was undermined by the death of Maximilian less than a year later.
1518 - Anglo-French agreement
2 days after the Treaty of London, there was an agreement that:
1. Tournai would be returned to France.
2. HVIII and Wolsey would receive a pension for the lost land (over the course of Henry’s reign he gained £730,000 in pension from France, but his wars with France cost him £3.5 million!)
3. HVIII’s daughter Mary would marry the Dauphin of France, renewing the marriage connection.
4. The French Duke of Albany was to be kept out of Scotland.
Charles becomes Holy Roman Emperor
Charles was already King of Spain (due to his mother Joana the Mad not being fit to rule) and he also inherited the Netherlands from his father (Philip the Handsome) in 1506. So when Charles was elected as Holy Roman Emperor following the death of his grandfather Maximilian, it was clear he would play a major role in the years to come.
1520 - Field of the Cloth of Gold
A meeting which took place over more than two weeks in June 1520 between Henry VIII and Francis I. The meeting is estimated to have cost the treasury £15,000 (the equivalent of a years revenue) and was intended to improve relations between the new Kings as Francis sought Henry as an ally against Charles however nothing much was achieved as by 1522 English armies were invading France after conflict arose from Francis and Charles.
1521 - Wolsey’s innovative Subsidy Act
England was a relatively small power in Europe and therefore (unlike France) did not have a large standing army or the financial infrastructure to support lengthy campaigns. In response to this Wolsey attempted to reform taxation and introduced a subsidy based on land value as a form of wartime tax, whilst this succeeded in generating extra revenue for the treasury it was insufficient for Henry’s grand design.
1521 - Treaty of Bruges
A secret treaty of alliance between England and Spain (Charles V) signed late in the year 1521. A pledge that:
- Henry VIII would help Charles invade France unless they made peace.
- Charles would compensate Henry (and Wolsey) if they lost their 1518 French pension for helping him.
1522 - 25 Second French War
In 1523, The Duke of Bourbon rebelled against Francis, putting England in a good position in the War. The Duke of Suffolk was ordered to march on Paris with 11,000 troops, in anticipation of meeting the forces of Burgundy and Charles. But Bourbon failed to raise enough support and fled, and England was defeated. It was a £400,000 expensive disaster.
Feb. 1525 - Battle of Pavia
The battle was a turning point, forcing England from an anti-French to pro-French diplomacy. Charles V routed the French, conquered Milan and captured Francis. Wolsey and Henry VIII tried to persuade Charles to conquer France with them, Henry could become King of France and Charles could marry Mary - but all Charles cared about was his victory in Italy.
1525 - Treaty of the More
As Charles was not looking likely to help with an invasion, England, with Wolsey negotiating, agreed to give up some territorial claims on France, receiving in return a pension from the French of £20,000 a year. England also agreed to work to secure the release of King Francis of France, then held prisoner by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.
