James I and Foreign Policy

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James I and Foreign Policy

Advantages

  • James disliked war and was eager to improve relationships with the Spanish- signed the Treaty of London in 1604 which brought about reduced expenses and a trade boom
  • James aimed to be an arbiter and mediator, he helped settle the war between Sweden and Denmark in 1613 and the Julich-Cleaves dispute of 1614
  • Married his daughter to Frederick V of the Palatine, who was a leading protestant
  • Wanted to build a better relationship with Spain by starting the Spanish match in 1614, the Infanta would bring a dowry of £600,000, Howard faction were for it
  • Charles was married to the French princess Henrietta Maria in 1625, keeping a balance

Disadvantages

  • There was opposition to peace with Spain so soon after the Armada
  • James was reluctant about helping Henry IV of France in the war between the protestant Dutch and the Spanish, he agreed to give assistance but was not sorry when Henry died in 1610
  • Protestants in parliament were very opposed to the Spanish match, there were worries that James might convert to Catholicism
  • Frederick did not wait for James' advice when he was offered the throne of Bohemia, he was invaded by the Holy Roman Emperor (Archduke Ferdinand) in 1919 and Elizabeth and Frederick were forced into refuge at the Hague
  • James tried to persuade Spain to help return the Palatinate to Frederick but his parliament refused to vote sums of money to do this
  • Negotiations over the Spanish match re-opened in 1622, Charles and Buckingham travelled to Spain without James permission in 1623, it was disastrous, the Infanta didn't want to marry Charles, their intentions were misunderstood and James had to call off talks for fear of them being detained
  • Even with Charles' French marriage he didn't manage to get the Palatinate back

Evaluation

Didn't allow war to get to England, most of his failings weren't actually his fault

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