Henry VIII's ambitions as a soldier and statesman (first 2 decades of his reign) Henry and Wolsey's foreign policy

1.

Give a few facts about the young Henry and Wolsey.

Accession: April 1509

Genuinely talented: Tall, Strong, Gifted musically, More than competent academically.

First few years of reign consisted of Henry using most of his energy and resources of the kingdom attempting to reproduce the victories of Henry V. He wanted to become a great king in the traditional way.

Cardinal Wolsey had a dominant position establishing himself as the King’s chief minister and maintained the position for the next 15 years.

1.

Give the two major problems which Henry VIII inherited from his father's reign.

•         Marriage -  He needed to marry as soon as possible because he had no close living male relatives so the sooner he married the  sooner the process of producing male heirs could begin. Henry VII had made a marriage treaty to marry Arthur Tudor (Henry’s elder brother) with Catherine of Aragon. However, Arthur died early into the marriage, and as far as is known before the marriage was consummated. Canon Law did not allow the marriage of Catherine and Henry because she had been married to his brother, however, a papal dispensation gave them permission to marry. This marriage was a diplomatic success because it meant an alliance with powerful Spain, which was a good partner to have when invading France.
• The tyranny of his father’s reign -  Henry VII had used extremely harsh measures against the nobility which made him deeply unpopular. Henry VIII had to reverse these measures in order to get more support.

1.

What were the young Henry's aims and priorities?

Henry came to the throne yearning for war which was a huge contrast to his father. On his accession he swore publically that he would attack France and meant it. He took England’s stability much more for granted than his father and Henry unlike his father wanted to give out patronage in order to gain support from his subjects.

1.

Why was the situation in Europe favourable, for Henry VIII to go to war?

The situation in Europe made it a favourable time for Henry’s plans. Louis XII of France, Ferdinand of Spain and Maximillian the Holy Roman Emperor were all rivals for control in Italy and Henry could present himself as an ally to either Ferdinand or Maximillian, both whom had an interest in curbing French power at home. However, this was also dangerous because France was much stronger than England and war was bound to wreck the national finances.

1.

When Henry came to the throne he inherited his father's councillors.

Who were they?

What did this mean in terms of war?

As Henry inherited many of his father’s advisors it is assumed that major decisions were initially made by senior councillors including: Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester and William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury because Henry was young when he came to the throne. These advisors preferred the peaceful policies of Henry VII because it was cheap, however, this is not what Henry wanted and as he was king, then a war with France would be fought.

1.

In what conquests, did Henry seem to have unreliable allies?

• In 1511 Henry joined the Holy league against France which Ferdinand, the Pope, the Swiss and the Vietnamese formed. Henry had agreed with Ferdinand on a joint expedition in Northern Spain in April 1512. However, the expedition was clearly organised for the benefit of Ferdinand rather than Henry. When Ferdinand captured Navarre, having achieved his objectives, made peace and abandoned Henry. 
•  
•  Therouanne and it surrendered. This town brought little benefit to the English but pleased Maximillian whose territories had been threatened by the town.

•  The English then targeted Tournai, which was 100 miles from Calais and surrounded by Maximillian’s lands. It was a wealthy city but again its capture would seem to benefit Maximillian over Henry. The city surrendered passing under English rule for the next five years.

1.

What happened at the "Battle of the Spurs" 1513? Why does it have this name?

• It was in April 1513 Emperor Maximillian agreed to join the English attack on France. Henry led the army and a French force was sent to relieve a town which was forced to flee in an inglorious fashion in the “Battle of the Spurs” which was a victory for Henry.
• This town was Therouanne.
• It is called the "Battle of the Spurs" because it was said that the French had to kick the spurs of their horses VERY fast.

1.

Give the success and drawbacks of Henry's foreign policy.

Regarding - Navarre, Therouanne and Tournai

Drawbacks:

•  Henry had seemed to be fighting in France in the interest of other countries than his own.

Good things:

• He had proved the English army could organise a large and well equipped army.
• He had proved himself a true king in the traditional manner.
• Tournai was a valuable possession for diplomatic bargaining.

1.

While Henry was away, James IV of Scotland planned an attack on England taking advantage of Henry's absense.

What happened?

Ironically, Henry had nothing to do with England’s greatest military triumph in 1513. James IV of Scotland had taken advantage of Henry being distracted in France and invaded Northern England. Catherine was acting as regent in Henry’s absence and sent an army north. This army crushed that of James IV. James was killed along with much of the Scottish aristocracy, and Catherine sent his bloodied coat to Henry in France as a token of victory.

1.

Wolsey's  first diplomatic achievenemt was peace with France.

What were the terms of this treaty?

  Ferdinand and Maximillian had proved to be unreliable allies, the peace settlement with France did not include them. The treaty was to England’s advantage: England kept Tournai and the French pension paid to Henry VII as a term of the treaty of Etaples was renewed. Henry’s younger sister Mary was to marry the aging Louis XII.

1.

Who ended any hope of lasting peace in France?

Mention a bit of information about him. In terms of appearance, ambitions, early success.

• Francis I of France's accession.
• He was as determined to seek glory as Henry had been.
•  Henry felt Francis challenged his self-image as the young monarch of Europe, papal pleas for help against the renewed French threat in Italy and accumulated history of wars with France.
•  Francis launched an invasion in Italy the first summer he was king and won great victories consolidating French power in Italy.

1.

How come there was an opportunity to dress up peace as a Christian unity?

Why did this cause Wolsey to be appointed Papal Legate?

• There was a threat from the Ottoman Turks who had conquered much of South-Eastern Europe and were to reach the gates of Vienna in 1529.
•  Pope Leo X wanted to launch a universal peace crusade in Europe and appointed Wolsey as papal legate as he knew Wolsey would have a key role in negotiations.

1.

Describe everything about the Treaty of London.

• What it was
• Why it was a successs
• Why it did not cause lasting peace

• In October 1518, In London the Treaty of London was signed. English and French representatives agreed to bind the great powers to eternal peace. 20 other powers later agreed.  It was agreed that Tournai should be returned to France for 600000 crowns (it had brought more expenses than advantages anyway) and it was agreed that Henry’s daughter Mary should marry the dauphin (Son of the French King).
•  This Treaty was a diplomatic success. It was best for England because each state made their agreement individually with England and not with each other. Henry and Wolsey at no cost were established peacemakers of England and England had secured an influence out of all proportion to its real power and wealth.
• Wolsey had made an achievement as he had won himself the reputation of peacemaker and also gratified Henry’s desire for honour and glory.
• This peace, however, was broken with France after 3 years as war had again broken out between Francis I and the new Emperor Charles V, of Spain who had succeeded his grandfather Maximillian. They were fighting over control of Milan which was of great strategic importance as the “Shield” of Italy and which Francis had seized in 1515.

1.

Describe the Field of the Cloth of Gold and the events leading up to it.

Comment on:

• What it was
• What happened
• Why it did not cause eternal peace
• What happened afterwards

• The events which followed showed the importance in Wolsey’s diplomatic position. Henry had a brief meeting with Charles V and this was brief because he was about to embark on the most glamorous and spectacular meetings with Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, located in No-Man’s land between Calais and French territory. Thousands accompanied Henry and Francis equally. They had nearly 2 weeks of wrestling, jousting, dancing and this was a big celebration. Despite the embarrassment when Henry lost a wrestling match to Francis. This ended on the two kings vowing peace.
•  Henry rushed off to meet Charles V after the field of the cloth of gold showing that although it portrayed friendship it meant nothing compared with the diplomatic manoeuvring behind the scenes.
•  One year later, hostilities from Francis to Charles re-opened. In August 1521, Wolsey sailed to Calais to try to negotiate a peace settlement between France and Emperor Charles. He negotiated a treaty with Charles that committed England to war with France if fighting continued. Henry and Charles would work together, and Mary Tudor would marry Charles instead of the son of the French king. Wolsey then returned to the peace conference.

1.

When war was declared in France, what caused it to fail?

War with France was declared in May 1522 and lasted 3 years. There was no popular had demand for war especially as parliament had to raise taxes. The chances of English success increased by rebellion in France, which promised a divided and vulnerable France. Suffolk led an invasion and brought them within 50 miles of Paris. Then the alliance with the Emperor collapsed and the weather turned foul. The retreat was miserable, Henry lost interest in joining his army and Wolsey returned to peace negotiations.

1.

What happened at the "Battle of Pavia 1525"?

What did Henry say to his messenger?

The Battle of Pavia, February 1525 worsened affaires. Francis I was captured, and France had never seemed more open to invasion. Peace was shattered and Henry rejoiced.

He told his messenger “ You are like Saint Gabriel who announced the coming of Christ”.

1.

What happened in the end with Henry's attack on France?

Why did this happen?

What did they do in the end?

• Even though he talked of planning with the Emperor “the means of getting full satisfaction from France. Not an hour is to be lost.”
• His dreams came to nothing!
•  The emperor did not help invading France and home attempts to raise taxes – The Amicable Grant – brought reaction from refusal to pay to full rebellion in Suffolk.
• In the end peace was restored in an Anglo-French Peace treaty – England abandoned territorial claims in France, and the French resumed an annual pension to Henry of 100,000 gold crowns.