Relations with France and Scotland and their impacts (c.1540)

Question 1

What two things enabled Henry to be able to consider what may be achieved by a more aggressive foreign policy?

Answer 1

• dissolution of the monasteries

- sale of crown property

Question 2

What did Henry want from Scotland?

Answer 2

• he wanted Scotland to recognise his superiority in territorial and military terms
• hopefully wanted to encourage James V to break with Rome

Question 3

What were Henry’s main aims in foreign policy?

Answer 3

• to acquire territory and prestige in France
• established himself as an equal with Francis and Charles
• maintain links with the Netherlands
• secure his family’s inheritance

Question 4

Why was England forced to defeat Scotland while the English army were active in France?

Answer 4

• there was the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland

Question 5

What relation was James V to Henry VIII?

Answer 5

• nephew

Question 6

What two things did James do that annoyed Henry?

Answer 6

• he didn’t offer the support to Henry that he expected as senior monarch
• James provided sanctuary for some rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace

Question 7

What did James do in 1541 that annoyed Henry?

Answer 7

• he failed to attend the meeting in York that Henry had arranged, it was a great and public insult to Henry

Question 8

When did Henry’s army lead an attack on Scotland?

Answer 8

• October 1542

Question 9

What happened in the October 1542 attack on Scotland and how successful was it?

Answer 9

• it involved burning property, attacking people and stealing
• it was not a carefully planned nor executed attack

Question 10

What happened in November 1542?

Answer 10

• Scots led a 20,000 men army to fight the English at Solway Moss

Question 11

How would the November 1542 attack at Solway Moss be described? Who won and what happened?

Answer 11

• a skirmish
• the decisive defeat of the Scots by the smaller English army
• Henry claimed victory and a number of Scottish prisoners

Question 12

After James’ death, what kind of situation were the two countries facing?

Answer 12

• James’ heir was a 2-week old baby girl whose mother was a French princess
• the Scottish regent, James Hamilton, was pro-English

Question 13

How was Henry able to secure the Treaty of Greenwich?

Answer 13

• James had died

- the Scottish regent was pro-English

Question 14

What would the Treaty of Greenwich do?

Answer 14

• bring Scotland under the control of the English

Question 15

By 1544, Henry’s influence in Scotland had decreased rapidly. Why?

Answer 15

• Auld Alliance was re-established
• the Treaty of Greenwich was repudiated by the Scottish Parliament
• there was a pro-French regent in power - Marie de Guise

Question 16

What did Edward Seymour’s May 1544 attack on Edinburgh do?

Answer 16

• anti-English feeling was heightened
• a union was now a remote possibility
• meant the Scots were too concerned by this to intervene in the English invasion of France

Question 17

Why did Henry choose to launch an attack on France in 1544 and what did try and achieve?

Answer 17

• the Habsburg-Valois treaty had broken down

- he tried to gain French territory and assert his rights to the payment of the French pension

Question 18

How did Henry go about achieving his aims in the 1544 attack on France?

Answer 18

• join Charles in attack on Paris

- 1543 - signed new treaty to mount a joint attack

Question 19

Although Henry’s army was the biggest ever to leave England, what were the problems with the 1544 attack?

Answer 19

• led by 2 aged commanders
• encumbered by only being able to move at the pace Henry could
• Charles had no real intention of mounting a serious attack

Question 20

What did Henry decide would be better than mounting a joint attack?

Answer 20

• abandoning plans and take Boulogne, Suffolk was sent, to prove his bargaining power and strength

Question 21

Although Henry’s armies occupied Boulogne, what was the cost of abandoning plans with Charles?

Answer 21

• he stopped his own attack and make peace with France as he was outraged with Henry

Question 22

How did France do to counter attack against Henry’s 1544 invasion?

Answer 22

• launched a counter-attack in 1545
• invaded the Isle of Wight
• sunk Henry’s flagship the Mary Rose (about 500 soldiers died, along with George Carew)

Question 23

Why were both parties ready for peace by 1546?

Answer 23

• Seymour’s raid on Scotland sorted them out (1545)

Question 24

What was agreed in 1546 and what did it agree?

Answer 24

• Treaty of Camp

- gave Henry control of Boulogne for 8 years and the French would restart pension payments (£355,000 monthly)

Question 25

Why was Henry’s abandoning of Charles and taking of Boulogne an expensive mistake?

Answer 25

• material costs = enormous enough that it led to the debasement of the coinage
• the cost of fortifying Boulogne outweighed its value
• the prospect of Edward and Mary’s marriage = even more remote

Question 26

How successful was Henry’s foreign policy in the 1540s?

Answer 26

• fighting ensured/ tried to protect the country against invasion - see as a necessity to secure the succession
• war wasn’t necessarily seen as wasting money by Henry
• aims weren’t really achieved - had more success in Scotland (ie. Solway Moss)

Question 27

Following the invasion/ captured of Boulogne, who was made Captain of Boulogne?

Answer 27

• the Earl of Surrey (Henry Howard)

Question 28

Why did Surrey lead a bold attack on a key French fortress?

Answer 28

• excessive confidence

Question 29

What happened in January 1546?

Answer 29

• some of Surrey’s army deserted him and he was forced to save himself any way he could

Question 30

Why was Henry Howard’s failure to take a key French fortress so disastrous for the Conservatives?

Answer 30

• Paget and Cranmer (reformists) were instrumental in demoting Surrey
• Seymour had recently proved his strength in the Scottish campaign and so he replaced Howard in the privy council, meaning conservatives lost influence
• this happened at a time when Henry was deciding who should determine political and religious policy during Edward’s reign

Question 31

Why was the Earl of Surrey executed?

Answer 31

• he had a portrait painted with a new coat of arms, including a reference to the arms of Edward the Confessor

Question 32

What evidence can be used to show that factions dominated Henry’s final years?

Answer 32

• the fall of Surrey

Question 33

What must we remember that shows faction didn’t dominate Henry’s final years?

Answer 33

• Henry continued playing a significant role in government, especially foreign policy and religious affairs

Question 34

What are the differences in Pollard and Scarisbrick’s views on foreign policy?

Answer 34

P: Henry wanted to defeat Scotland and absorb territory into England
S: Henry wanted to acquire territory and prestige in France but due to the Auld Alliance had to defeat Scots to prevent them attacking England while Henry was away

Question 35

What were the economic impacts of the wars?

Answer 35

• debasement of coinage, led to inflation and poverty

- cost of 3rd French war was like £2 million