Tudor Foreign Policy Flashcards
Who was the King of France during Henry’s reign and when was he appointed?
Francis I was made king in 1515
What was the size and population of France during Henry’s reign?
- The largest kingdom in Christendom (Europe) at 460,000 Km2
- population of 16 million
Who was the king of Spain during Henry’s reign?
-Originally Ferdinand
- in 1515, Charles I came to power
- in 1519, Charles 1 of Spain became Charles V: emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
What was Spain’s relationship with England during Henry’s reign?
- They were linked through Henry’s marriage to Catherine
- thus, England and Spain were strong allies and even following Henry’s divorce to Catherine, they remained on good terms
When did Henry go to war with France?
1512-1514
What was the Holy Roman Empire?
- A collection of 400 semi-autonomous states
- made up of 65 free imperial cities which were independent of the emperors rule
- ruled by an emperor but the power was greatly decentralised and each state had its own prince
Who was Charles V?
- The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Charles I of Spain
- also ruled over parts of the Netherlands
Who were enemies of the Holy Roman Empire?
- Italy: with his empire so big, Charles wanted to invade Italy
- the Ottoman Empire
- the Protestants
- French and Habsburg family fought over the Netherlands
Was the Netherlands part of the Holy Roman Empire?
- Yes, but it’s borders were very ambiguous and left the empire in 1548
- France and the Hadsburg family fought over the Netherlands
What was the papacy/Papal states?
- Located in central Italy & capital was Rome
- Pope, who was head of the Catholic Church, was the spiritual head of the papacy and his word carried lots of power
What was the role of the Pope in the Papal States?
- spiritual head of the Papacy
- Popes word carried a lot of power over catholic leaders and states
- pope called crusades of catholic states against Islam
What was England’s relationship with the Papacy?
-until the reformation of the church in the 1530’s, the Papal States were on good terms with England (before the church breakaway)
Who were the enemies of the Papacy?
- The Muslim Ottoman Empire: saw them as enemies of Christianity
- typically allies with all catholic states
- Enemies of the Holy Roman Empire following the invasion of Rome in 1527
What key event took in place in 1453 between the Papal States and the Ottoman Empire?
Ottoman Empire became increasingly powerful as they took Constantinople- the capital of the Eastern Christian Empire
What was the extent of the Scottish threat to England during Henry’s reign?
- Scottish army, led by James IV invaded England at the 1513 Battle of Flodden in which James and the majority of the Scottish nobility were killed
- this left James V- a young boy- and Henry’s sister Margaret as regents of Scotland who thus posed very little threat for the remainder of Henry’s reign
What was Scotland’s relationship with England?
Had a long history of conflict leading back to when William Wallace expelled the English army from Scotland in the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge
Who were Scotland’s main ally during Henry’s reign?
France
-In 1512, an allegiance was created between France and Scotland as mutual enemies of England to work together to protect their borders and to defeat England
What were Henry’s key foreign policy aims? (5)
Glory: wanted to establish England as a major power
Honour: establish a personal representation as a great king
France: emulate the heroic Henry V by conquering France
Dynastic security: sure up the Tudor house with a network of marriages to European houses
Trade: important to maintain good trade links for income; particularly with the Netherlands for the antwerp cloth trade
How did the nobility aid Henry’s desire to fight abroad?
- the nobility, like Henry, felt it as part of their duty to fight
- they felt as though they had been restricted from fighting by Henry VII and encouraged wars
What was Catharine’s view on England’s war with France, and why?
- Catharine supported the war with France as she saw it as a ‘holy war’ following the French attack of the Papal States in Italy
- Catharine was a large supporter of Holy war as a devout catholic and as her parents, Ferdinand and Isabella fought the Muslims out of Spain
How did Henry VII attempt to improve relations with Scotland, and what affect did it have?
- Henry VII married off his daughter, Margaret (Henry VIII’s sister) to James IV, the king of Scotland
- This did not stop the feud between England and Scotland
What was the ‘Holy League’?
A group if catholic sympathetic countries to fight the infidel France following their attempted invasion of the Papal States in Italy
When and why did Henry VIII join the ‘Holy League’?
- 1511
- Allowed Henry to enter European politics and show he wanted to fight with the big European powers
Why was a peace treaty made between England and France in 1514?
- England were very low on money following the initial invasion of France
- Ferdinand and Maximilian had lost interest in invading France, and thus England were forced to make peace with France
What were the terms of the 1514 peace treaty with France?
- France gave England Tournai
- France paid England the arrears of the English pension that Henry VII handed in 1490
When and what was the Battle of Flodden?
-September 1513
- Whilst Henry was invading France, James IV of Scotland invaded England
- -> the Earl of Surrey led an army to face the Scottish and the king of Scotland and most of the scottish nobility were killed
What is the income of the crown in comparison to the cost of the invasion of France? What does this show about the battle with France?
Annual income for the crown: £110,000
Cost of battles in France: £1-2 million
Shows how the war was financially unsustainable (French income is 8x the English income)
How did Henry respond following the victory over France?
- Henry claimed that he had saved the papacy from France
- believed he was now glorious and powerful
- went back to being a playboy prince, and left the ruling to Wolsey
What do the English alliances with the Holy League and Spain’s deserted alliance with England show about alliances and treaties in Henry’s time?
- showed how powers would try to manipulate each other for their own gains
- showed the un-reliability of these alliances
How did Henry’s lack of an heir affect his foreign policy?
-until Henry had a son, the Tudor dynasty was not secure: thus, Henry’s aggressive strategy helped secure his power until he had a son
What gains were made from the 1513 war with France? (4)
- England gained Tournai (part of 1514 peace treaty)
- England were paid arrears of the English pension that were paid out by Henry VII in 1490 (as part of 1514 peace treaty)
- Henry seen as a warrior king across Europe
- Gave the nobility a war that they had been restricted by Henry VII
When did Francis I become king of France?
January 1, 1515
What did Francis I do as a new, young king?
- wanted to exert his authority over Europe
- sent the duke of Albany to overthrow Henry’s sister, Margaret, from Scottish power (which he did successfully)
- Francis won a monumental battle against the Swiss in 1515
What was the affect of Francis I succession of the French throne?
-made Henry very jealous of his success and power, and thus wanted to invade France
How did Wolsey try to invade Francis I’s France?
- tried to give Emperor Maximilian a subsidy to encourage him to fight the French but he simply accepted the money and then defected to France
- Wolsey tried to create an anti-French league but after Ferdinand died and Charles became king of Spain and emperor of HRE in 1516, he decided he wanted peace with France
When and what was the Treaty of London?
1518
-Following the popes call for a crusade, Wolsey created a peace treaty amongst all the European powers against the Turks
What were the terms of the 1518 Treaty of London?
- Guaranteed non-aggression between between major powers
- collective security so any aggressor would be rounded upon by other states
When and what was the field of cloth gold?
1520
Henry VIII and Francis I met in Calais as Francis tried to convince Henry to make an allegiance with him in the Habsburg-Valois conflict
What was the impact of the Field of cloth Gold?
Had very little diplomatic value and it ended up with each side attempting to show off and get the better of one another
Following the 1520 Field of cloth gold, why did Henry decide to support Charles V? (5)
- traditional English hostility towards the French
- had important trade links with the Low Countries and the Netherlands who were protected by Charles I (Habsburg)
- Papal policy was anti-french and Henry thought it in his best interest to make allegiance with the papacy
- Charles was the nephew of Catharine of Aragon and thus the nephew of Henry through marriage
- Charles was in a weak position when he first became king of Spain as there was large revolts due to his foreign heritage, so he may offer a Henry a good deal or be indebted to him in the future