What were the aims of Henry VIl's foreign policy? Flashcards
Weaknesses that influenced foreign policy
because of the Yorkist threat and his weak claim to the throne. As a
result, his foreign policy was subordinate to ensuring the obedience of
his subjects and his attempts to achieve internal security. This internal
weakness was made worse by the support given to his opponents by other
European powers, particularly Burgundy. As a consequence, one of his
main concerns, particularly at the start of his reign, was to secure his
throne from both domestic and foreign threats. Henry was also a usurper
and therefore he wanted to gain recognition for the Tudor dynasty from
other European powers. His weakness, again particularly at the start of
his reign, was made more acute because of his financial position and
this encouraged Henry to adopt a more defensive foreign policy than
his predecessors and avoid war if at all possible
Strength of defensive policy
This approach allowed
him to protect the kingdom from possible invasion in support of other
claimants to the throne and build up his financial resources so that he could fund any necessary defensive measures
The threat of invasion and its impact
Not only was there the threat of invasion from other claimants, but there was
also the threat of invasion from England’s traditional enemies of France and
Scotland. These two countries could exploit Henry’s weak position in order
to launch attacks either on England’s northern frontier or the south coast.
Scotland was seen as the back door’ to England and the northern border
was a frequent area of border raids, if not full-scale invasion. With France
allied to Scotland a joint invasion was also possible, which was even more
threatening to the king as he would face a war on two fronts
Dynastic threats and their impact
Henry’s claim to the English throne was weak; he was seen as a usurper
and not only did he face challenges to his throne from within England, but
some European rulers might exploit this weakness to undermine him or,
as with Margaret of Burgundy, restore the Yorkist line to the throne. As a
consequence, Henry wanted to improve relations with the major powers and gain allies to discourage attacks
Attempts to to improve relations with the major powers and gain allies
sought alliances with a number
of foreign powers in order to gain protection, recognition and guarantees
that they would not support other claimants to the English throne. One of
the methods used most frequently to achieve this was marriage alliances
and Henry sought to marry his children to the sons and daughters of other
European rulers in order to develop closer ties
The weak financial position and its impact
meant that the avoidance of war was a major aim of Henry. War was very
costly, and while the royal coffers lacked funds, Henry sought to avoid
conflict whenever possible. In particular, Henry wanted to avoid war with
France as not only was it a close neighbour and allied to Scotland, but it was
also financially stronger than England
Economic goals
Although national security was a major concern for Henry, he also wanted to
improve England’s economic position as increased revenue from trade would
strengthen the monarchy. Therefore, Henry wanted to maintain the cloth trade
with Burgundy and develop closer trading relations with other nations, such as
Spain
However, trade was secondary to national security and Henry suspended
the cloth trade with Burgundy when it supported Warbeck
Henry’s foreign policy into three phases
- 1485-92: a period when Henry followed a policy of diplomacy to secure the
throne.
-1493-1502: a period when peace with Scotland was eventually secured and
Henry’s position appeared to be stronger and his policy more successful.
- 1503-09: a period when Henry’s position weakened and he ultimately
became more isolated
Initial success in securing support abroad
France had supported Henry’s seizure
of the throne in 1485 and he was initially able to negotiate a one-year truce
with France, which was later extended to 1489. Brittany had also supported
Henry during his years of exile and he was able to use this link to secure a
commercial treaty with them in 1486
success in securing
better relations with Scotland
signed a three-year truce in 1486. Relations
with Scotland were made more secure by the assassination of James Ill in
1488 as it brought his young son, James IV, to the throne
success in securing
better relations with Holy Roman empire
In 1487 Maximilian, the heir to the Holy Roman Empire, renewed Edward IV’s treaty for one year. As a result, Henry could be fairly confident
that other countries would not assist rival claimants and that he had been
accepted as king by a number of countries
Did the successful start last?
did not last as the appearance of
Lambert Simnel caused various diplomatic problems which would challenge
Henry’s security and the initial agreements he had made
