How successful was Henry Vil's policy towards France? Flashcards
What initially changed England’s peaceful
relations with France and forced Henry to adopt a more aggressive
policy
The Breton crisis
The Breton crisis
Brittany was the only part of the historic kingdom of France that
still had its independence. In order to bring Brittany into the French
kingdom, the regent of France proposed to marry her brother, Charles
VIlI, to the daughter and heir of the ageing Duke of Brittany. Although
the Duke had already arranged for his daughter to marry Maximilian,
the French regent ignored this and sent a force into Brittany in 1488 to
enforce their aim
Rresponse to Breton crisis
both Maximilian and
Ferdinand of Aragon, who sent troops to aid Brittany. At the same time,
the Duke of Brittany asked England for help
Why did the Breton crisis presented Henry with a serious problem
it was in the security interests of England to stop the
whole of the Channel coast coming under French control, but France had
given Henry financial aid to seize the throne in 1485
Henry initial response to Breton crisis
attempted to negotiate between Brittany and France, the Bretons refused
to negotiate and were then defeated by a French army. The death of the
Duke of Brittany meant that his daughter, Anne, became ruler, and the
French promptly seized her
What would happen if Henry didn’t act after France kidnapped Anne BC
Brittany would lose its independence and be absorbed
into the French kingdom
Why could England not take on France alone BC
Although war would give Henry the opportunity to reclaim English lands lost
in the Hundred Years War in France and gain glory if he was victorious,
England was simply not strong enough
Treaty of Redon BC
Initially Henry renewed the treaty
with Maximilian and this was followed by the Treaty of Redon with Brittany
in February 1489. Under the terms of this treaty Henry agreed to send 6000
men, paid for by the Bretons, to help in their defence
Assessment of Treaty of Redon BC
Historians have
traditionally argued that the small number of men Henry committed to
Brittany was a sign of his unwillingness to be dragged into the conflict and
evidence of his peaceful policy. More recently this view has been challenged
and it has been suggested that Henry hoped that it would ultimately lead to
the reconquest of Normandy and Guyenne, but the Bretons limited the
number he could send
Maximillian/Spain being backstabbers in the BC
July 1489 Maximilian made peace with France and then
despite the Treaty of Medina del Campo Spain also made peace
with France so that it could continue its attack on the Moors in Granada.
Finally, in December 1491 Brittany accepted defeat and Anne of Brittany
was married to Charles VIlI of France
Henry problems after Maximillian/Spain being backstabbers in the BC
left Henry in a very difficult
position.
He had gone to war
to protect Brittany and had failed, but there
was now the danger that with France in control of most of the Channel
cast they would launch an invasion of England. At home, Henry had raised
a considerable sum of money to fund a war which had not been fought and
had invested his credibility in fighting the French, which would be lost if he
simply made peace
Announcing intention to invade France 1492
Although a lengthy war against France would be costly and might make
Henry’s position at home vulnerable, particularly if France supported Yorkist
claimants, he announced his intention to assert his claim to the French
throne. English kings had constantly asserted this claim since Edward IIl’s
reign and Henry VI appeared no different
Started invading France
A year was spent gathering together an invasion force, which finally crossed the Channel in October
1492. This was a master stroke by Henry
Why got lucky with France invasion
By the time the force arrived in
France the campaigning season was almost over and therefore any conflict
would be short. Henry was also fortunate that the French king was more
interested in invading Italy and therefore wanted to be rid of English troops.
As a result, Charles soon offered Henry peace and on 3 November signed the
Treaty of Etaples
Treaty of Etaples
give no aid to English rebels - particularly Warbeck
pay the arrears of the Treaty of Picquigny
pay most of Henry’s expenses in Brittany
Treaty of Etaples result
an annual pension for Henry of approximately £5000
per year. Although Henry had been unable to prevent the loss of Breton
independence, there had been some success. Charles had promised not to aid
Perkin Warbeck and Henry had gained considerable financial benefits that
amounted to some 5 per cent of royal income
League of Venice (After TOE)
established in 1495 with the aim of driving France
out of Italy. At first Henry was excluded from this, probably because the area
of war was outside England’s usual sphere of activity. However, when the
League was revamped in 1496 as the Holy League, England was invited to
join
Why Henry invited to
join League of Venice (After TOE)
Ferdinand of Aragon was concerned that it was dangerous to exclude
England and feared that by doing so England would support France; an
indication that England’s position in Europe was changing
How was importance
in European affairs was given further credence
after toe
Henry was allowed to
join the League on the condition that England was not bound to go to war
against France, suggesting that the League would rather have a neutral
England than one allied to France. At the same time, Henry also secured a
trade agreement with France, but did not lose his friendship with the
League
Further success with France after TOE
Henry had been able to not only preserve his improved relations
with France after the Treaty of Étaples but to negate the Auld Alliance
between France and Scotland during his lifetime.
Towards the end of his reign it appeared as if this friendship with France
had developed further as Henry tried to create a three-way agreement between
England, France and the Netherlands. Henry’s aim was to establish an
anti-Ferdinand alliance
Success of anti-Ferdinand alliance
By 1508 it appeared as if Henry had succeeded in
developing such an agreement with his French and Habsburg friends against
Ferdinand of Spain through the League of Cambrai. In theory this agreement
was supposed to be a league to finance a crusade against the Turks, but the
reality was very different as it was an anti-Spanish alliance
Failure of anti-Ferdinand alliance
the
European diplomatic situation changed rapidly. Just before the conclusion of
the agreement, Louis XII, King of France, decided he dared not join for fear
of antagonising Ferdinand. Louis and Ferdinand had reached an agreement
over Italy and Louis did not want to put it at risk by signing an anti-Spanish
agreement. He therefore bribed Ferdinand to join him in establishing a new
agreement.
This change in the European diplomatic situation ended Henry’s hopes of
an anti-Spanish agreement
New agreement after anti-Ferdinand failed
League
that it established was anti-Venice and not anti-Spain, as Henry had wanted.
Moreover, it was England who was isolated, as it was not invited to join the
new League. Therefore it can be argued that at the end of his reign Henry had
failed
How had Henry failed at end of reign
he was diplomatically isolated and his attempt to create an alliance in
which England was at the centre had failed
How had Henry not failed at end of reign
although the League
excluded England, the members still supported Henry and the League did not
threaten any of England’s interests. Most importantly, relations with France
had improved and this in turn meant that Scotland was less of a threat
