Is Henry VIII himself responsible for Foreign Policy failures? Flashcards
What would your overall judgement be on a question concerning wether Henry VIII himself was responsible for failures in foreign policy?
Particularly toward the late 1530s Henry was motivated by his need to keep england secure which he did through the repeated defeat of the scotts + peace treaties with the French + Charles V. He did gain power + success and in doing so proved England to be a force to be reckoned with throughout Europe by the end of his reign. However the weakness and failures of his FP outweighed his victories + he did personally contribute + exacerbate these failures due to his character + obsession with territorial gains + need for warrior king reputation. Therefore Henry VII was largely responsible for the failures in English FP but not completely responsible.
State the 4 key points you would argue in an essay on wether Henry VIII was responsible for foreign policy failures
P1 - Agree - Henry VIII was responsible; Early foriegn policy exhibits his recklessness desire for prestige which had harsh repercussions
P2 - Disagree - FP in scotland during henrys reign ie 1513 Battle of Flodden + defeat of the scotts in 1542 was somewhat successful
P3 - Henry VIII was responsible as Foriegn policy between 1514-1526 was largely a failure as there was no clear theme to the foreign policy throughout this period + Henry exacerbated foreign policy failures
P4 - Disagree - The Break with Rome + some FP failures were not necessarily Henry VIIIs fault - But his ministers ie Wolsey + Cromwell left him no alternative;
Nevertheless - despite the weakness in judgement by ministers it was ultimately Henry’s own obsessive personal matter of producing male heir + anne boyeln led to subsequent break with rome which not only left england diplomatically isolated from catholic europe
Explain the 1st key points you could argue demonstrate Henry VIII himself was responsible for foreign policy failures
P1 - Agree - Henry VIII was responsible; Early foriegn policy exhibits his recklessness desire for prestige which had harsh repercussions;
- Many of the failures in foriegn policy throughout henry’s reign were sparked by his own personal character traits + personal obsessions which clouded his ability to reason.
Henry Joining the Holy Roman League + sending English army to France in 1512
- Henrys desire for prestige left him venerable to be used by foreign powers + he didn’t realise the extent he was being used by Ferdinand + was simply used by Ferdinand as a diversions tactic whilst he successfully captured Navarre. Thus archived nothing for England and was a win for Spain + Ferdinand and was a drain on crown finances he’d inherited.
1513 Battle of spurs
- The Battle of Spurs was successful in capturing Tournai + Therouanne however in realty were largely insignificant; Tournai was sold back to the French + for rather less than it cost English to invade in the first place + repair its defences - again henrys own obsessions ith appearing as a warrior king led to the draining of crown finances.
Disagree points;
However considering his aims were alliances, prestige, security and trade arguably henry did achieve ¾ of his forin policy aims - his marge to catherine secured the powerful spanish alliance which was undoubtedly successful for the early years of his reign + in turn ensured england was intentionally secure from threat + henrys subsequent victories in the battle of spurns awarded him the prestige he sought so early froeign policy cannot be argued to be a failure.
Explain the 2nd key points you could argue Henry VIII was not responsible for foreign policy failures
P2 - Disagree - FP in scotland during henrys early reign ie 1513 Battle of Flodden + the defeat of the scotts in 1542 were somewhat successful;
1513 Battle of Flodden;
Neutralised scottish threat of shared boarders, left the scottish throne in the hands of an infant however on other hand the negative consequences of it weighed the victory so can equally be said to be failure.
1542 - English invasion of Scotland
- Was met with immediate military success. The scots were forced into military action by being faced w demands they couldn’t possible have met, a result they were heavily defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss
- James V died shortly after hearing news of defeat leaving his infant daughter Mary queen of scots meaning the Scottish position seemed helpless.
However disagree;
- Henry could have certainly launched a full blown invasion of Scotland whereby it would have been virtually impossible for scots to defend however hs interest was w France and did not. Henry sought to Marry Prince Edward tol Mary + for a time was supported by the Scottish via the Treaty of Greenwich of 1543 however they refused to allow Mary be brought up in england even though they were already formally betrothed. Scottish parliament refused to ratify the treaty + the treaty was a failure -
Henry was criticised for his failure in Scottish policy + neglected the opportunity to secure his policy by military force when he had the opportunity to in 1542
Explain the 3rd key points you could use to demonstrate Henry VIII himself was responsible for foreign policy failures
P3 - Henry VIII was responsible as Foriegn policy between 1514-1526 was largely a failure as there was no clear theme to the foreign policy throughout this period + Henry exacerbated foreign policy failures;
Was Fixated upon Henry wanting prestige and security for himself whilst protecting his superiority and dominance + despite lacking money + allies he still wanted to fuel numerous wars during this period.
- England remained a minor power + unable to compete on the same level as France + Spain. Henry however significantly overestimated English power which left Wolsey framing foreign policy based on these false assumptions thus Wolsey had to plan around him + his unrealistic aims and so FP was thus always set for failure . This is evident via;
Battle of Pavia in 1525 and its consequences for England;
- Charles V won a crushing victory against the French army in Italy at the Battle of Pavia which reinforced Charles’ dominance in Europe which was a sign of concern for other European rulers. Henry showed his lack of strategic awareness by the way in which he attempted to benefit from the emperor’s crushing victory by suggesting to Charles that they launch a renewed joint invasion of northern France in order to achieve territorial gains. Charles did not agree which in the context is no surprise. Similarly the lack of support for the venture was highlighted by the controversy surrounding the Amicable Grant.
This led to 3 consequences;
- Henry had his ego heavily bruised + was obligated to back down
- Henry’s resentment towards the emperor was reinforced when Charles repudiated his marriage contract with Princess Mary
Overall - His own failures in FP between 1514-1526 can be seen as why he had no other viable option + was pushed into breaking with rome which caused further foriegn policy failures
Explain the 4th key points you could argue Henry VIII was not responsible for foreign policy failures + the counter to this argument
P4 - Disagree - The Break with Rome + some FP failures were not necessarily Henry VIIIs fault - But his ministers ie Wolsey + Cromwell left him no alternative;
1527: Treaty of Amiens forced to make anti-imperial alliance with France due to weak position.
(The failure of Henry VIII to resolve his ‘Great Matter’ using diplomatic means emphasises the extent to which England remained a minor power in Europe as Henry + Wolsey were forced due to their weak position to make an anti-imperial alliance with the French)
- Wolsey aimed to pressurise Charles utilising a trade embargo within Burgundy however Charles retaliation created widespread unemployment + social issues within England which forced Wolsey + Henry to back down.
- Charles strength was then further exemplified wen he won the Battle of Landriano in 1529 which resulted in his dominance over the pope which ensured Henrys attempts to solve his martial issues by diplomatic means were doomed to fail so arguably this wasnt henrys fault + he was pushed into breaking with rome due to these actions as he had no other viable alternative.
- In this sense Wolsey caused widespread unemployment + social problems in England - Wolsey backed down
The downfall of wolsey catalysed further issues under Cromwell ie the death of jane seymour which meant Henry was soon forced to intangle himself in alliances far more radical then he wanted in order to keep england secure whilst the marriage failed this was not Henry VIIIs fault but cromwells; Marriage alliance w Anne of Cleve in 1539 + negotiations with the Schmalkalden league in 1534 were needed after the breakdown of the French alliances henry was forced into more radical alliances due to the weakness his position + diplomatic isolation following BWR but the cleves marriage was a failure.
However disagree;
Despite the weakness in judgement by ministers it was Ultimately Henrys own obsessive personal matter of producing male heir + anne boyeln led to subsequent break with rome which not only left england diplomatically isolated from catholic europe but alo led him to make uncalculated, rash decisions due to weka position + form useless alliances which were soon broken + from 1539 there a genuine threat fo actholic crusade by spain + france against england.
