Henry Viii's Foreign Policy

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Background

  • Henry VIII wanted to follow a more aggressive foreign policy than his father, Henry VII. 
  • Essentially, Henry was an interventionist king, while his father was a defensive king. Henry VII was completely willing to go to war to capture French territory.
  • In relation to European rulers, Henry saw himself as the equal of Francis I of France or Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. He thought that England held the balance of power.
  • Wolsey wanted to use international diplomacy to achieve these goals. Ultimately, his peaceful ideas did help to decrease Henry's appetite for war.
  • During Wolsey's time in 'high office' England only went to war once, in 1523, suggesting that Wolsey focused more on foreign policy than domestic policy.
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Relations with France, 1513

  • Henry wanted to conquer France, so began his Foreign Policy there with an attack, essentially trying to revive the Hundred Years War
  • Henry had a contested claim to the French throne as in 1422, Henry IV had been proclaimed king of France. However, by 1453, the only English territory in France was Calais.
  • Wolsey helped to organize the initial campaign, Henry was the leader of 30,000 soldiers and captured two French towns, Therouanne and Tournai.
  • The French were eventually forced to flee these areas after the Battle of the Spurs which Henry fought with help from Maximillian I.
  • This success made Henry more willing to continue direct involvement with Europe, setting a tone for the future.
  • The battle was significant as it allowed Wolsey to prove his worth to Henry, allowing him to be trusted with essentially running the country.
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Relations with France, 1514-22

  • After the initial success against France, Henry made peace in 1514 and arranged the marriage his younger sister Mary to Louis XII of France in the Treaty of Étaples.
  • However, in 1515, Francis I became the king of France, creating a rivalry with Henry. Despite this, Wolsey continued with his peace policy.
  • Henry had initially planned to invade France in 1516 but Wolsey tried to persuade him to join the coalition of powers opposing the French in Italy: the Holy League. 
  • In 1518, Wolsey actually masterminded a general peace treaty, the Treaty of London, bringing the major European powers together in 'universal and perpetual' peace.
  • This led to France paying 600,000 crowns for the returrn of Tournai and proposing a marriage between the king's eldest son, Dauphin, and Henry's daughter Mary.
  • These peace plans were helped by the meeting of the Field of the Cloth of Gold where Henry and Francis met outside of Calais for feasting and jousting, creating a victory for Wolsey.
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Relations with France, 1524-9

  • Henry had hopes of another campaign in France in 1524 but these plans were curbed by Wolsey
  • In 1525 Henry had hopes of invading France after Francis was captured by Charles at the Battle of Pavia in Northern Italy.
  • This was curbed by Charles' lack of interest in Henry's ambitions. Consequently, peace was made and maintained with France from 1525 to 1543.
  • Ultimately, relations with France were strengthened when Henry attempted to secure an annulment with Catherine by 1527 as relations with Charles were weakened (Charles was Catherine's nephew)
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Relations with Spain, after 1516

  • Ferdinand was succeeded by his grandson, Charles V, in 1516. Next, in 1519, Charles succeeded Emperor Maximilian as Emperor of Germany.
  • Charles also became ruler of the Low Countries, a centre of trade for England. The Low Countries also bordered on France, allowing future invasions to be more efficient.
  • Charles was the ideal ally to Henry against France as he seemed to be extremely powerful and the French were concerned about Hapsburg gains.
  • Relations between Charles and Francis worsened continually leading to Wolsey trying to act as peacemaker in 1521, meeting Francis in Calais and Charles in Bruges.
  • However, these negotiations failed, leading to Henry agreeing to an alliance with Charles against France.
  • Engalnd was visited by Charles in 1520 and in June 1522-3, Henry engaged in war against France with Charles as an ally.
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Relations with Spain, 1524-9

  • Henry's failure in the French campaign of 1523 and the lack of a follow-up resulted in relations beginning to cool.
  • Charles had a decisive victory over the French in the Battle of Pavia in Italy however in 1525 he rejected Henry's plans to conquer France as he had been negotiating peace before the battle.
  • In 1526, Wolsey helped to create the League of Cognac against Charles. 
  • Charles grew increasingly angry with Henry after 1527 as he began the process of trying to annul the marriage with Katherine of Aragon, Charles' aunt.
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Relations with Scotland

  • Henry VII tried to create good relations with Scotland and married his daughter and Henry VIII's sister margaret to James IV.
  • However, in 1513 James was encouraged by France to invade England while Henry was fighting in France. Catherine of Aragon responded in his place, sending troops led by the Earl of Surrey. He was defeated and killed in the Battle of Flodden, along with the rest of the core Scottish nobility.
  • Ultimately, this allowed Margaret to become regent for James V, reducing French influence in Scotland.
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Successes

  • Henry's key goal of leaving a mark on Europe was ultimately achieved as although he had tense relationship at times, he made raised England's profile in European politics.
  • Francis (Valois) and Charles (Hapsburg) were the greatest powers in Europe and were usually in conflict meaning that both wanted English assistance against the other.
  • France was invaded twice by Henry and although neither invasion was signficant in the long-term, neither one was prevented by the French army. Minor victories include the Battle of the Spurs
  • Wolsey improved the perception of England through his peaceful means, the Treaty of London and Field of the Cloth of Gold helped in particular.
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Limitations

  • Henry's aggressive foreign policy proved to be extremely expensive. The diplomacy, treaties and missions in Europe also cost a large amount.
  • During the 1520s, Henry had great difficulty funding these various initiatives. The Amicable Grant of 1525 proved to be one of the most signficant failings here. This marked the beginning of Wolsey's fall from favour, as Henry blamed him for this failure
  • In terms of a military, England was seen as a heavily second-rate power due to the lack of a standing army and poor military training.
  • It was also difficult for England to maintain constant relations with either of the main European powers.
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