Mary I Foreign Policy

- Sp alliance = inevitable once MI became Q

- 1553 Habs Valois wars, fighting HRE/Fr border area 

- Fr feared potential alliance and Fr ambassador backed Wyatt's rebellion and the plan to marry Eliz to Courtenay 

- 1554- Marriage treaty, Wyatt's rebellion (not much in FP)

- Spring 1555- MI showed genuine desire to be at peace and acted as mediator between Fr and Sp (didn't work) 

- Sept 1555- obvious that MI not pregnant so Philip left Eng 

- Oct 1555- Jan 1556 - CV abdicated and Philip = K of Spain 

- Feb 1556- PII and HII = Treaty of Vaucelles = peace between Fr + Sp 

- July 1556 - alliance between HII/Fr and the Papacy - Pope Paul IV = very anti Spain (due to Italian Wars 

- Sept 1556- PII attacked Papacy/Italy 

- Fr HII counter attacked and Eng became under pressure to join war on the side of Spain 

- PII was asking MI to attack Papacy whilst she was trying to return England to Rome at the same time

- Strong opposition to the war in England - didn't want to get involved in Sp war - treaty said they shouldn't 

- Jan 1557 - Eng sent 6000 troops to Neths - done as a defence to protect Neths under marriage treaty but PII got no offensive help from Eng

- March 1557 - PII returns to Eng and asks PC for help and they refuse 

- MI goes to war eventually, Fr was openly tolerating Eng Prot exiles in France 

- Rumours that HII was goiing to attack Calais 

- Apr 1557- Prot exile Thomas Stafford tried to invade Eng with Fr help - landed in Scarborough and was arrested three days after landing 

- That was the final straw, not forced into war by Sp 

- June 1557- Eng declared war on Fr

- Navy put into Channel to patrol it and garrisons reinforced on Scot border (anticipating Auld Alliance) 

- June 1557 - Scottish raids on border began as expected 

- Troops on war footing in Calais, told to be ready for Fr attack 

- July 1557 - 7000 men sent to Fr to fight led by Earl Pembroke (offensive) but already got 6000 men in the Netherlands (defensive) 

- PII = army of 70000 men 

- August 1558 - Battle of St Quentin PII v HII (PII won with minimal Eng help) 

- Fr just lost war so wanted to get something back, Calais = easy pickings

- Mid winter 1558- launched surprise attack across the frozen marshes of the Calais Pale (surprise as don't normally fight in winter)

- 2000 Eng troops in Calais - not received reinforcements and stood no chance against 27000 Fr troops 

- Jan 1558 Fr captured Calais and Calais Pale within 3 weeks 

- Eng govn raised army of 7000 to attack 

- Fleet of 140 left Eng to attacl Brest - plan was to swap one port for antoher - but only succeeded in capturing Le Conquest (fishing village) 

- Didn't need to pay for garrison anymore and Calais merchants weren't that important 

- Last bit of territory left from 100 yrs war, inevitabe Fr would take it at some point 

- Calais had been used to launch HVIII invasions of Fr but Eng FP was different under Ed, M or Eliz 

- Seen as a fai;ure in the relationship with Sp and a result of Sp marriage, PII abandoned Eng in the end 

- Seen as humiliating as K of England ruled Calais since 1347 

- PII and HII both camped near Amiens ready for battle but prepared to negotiate (both running out of money) 

- Oct 1558- peace talks began at Cateau Cambresis 

- PII initially asked for Calais back but Nov 1558 MI died so PII abandoned Calais 

- Apr 1559- Peace of Cateau Cambresis signed between Sp and Eng