Somerset and Foreign Policy

- The death of Francis I and the accession of the aggressive Henry II ended any hopes of a compromise with the French

-June 47, Henry II sent a fleet of 4000 to Scotland
-Somerset had no alternative and had to intervene directly in Scotland's affairs.
-He did this in the hope of arranging a marriage between Edward and MQS
-At the Battle of Pinkie,England defeated Scotland and got control of the border.

-The attempted joining/ peace between Scotland and England through the marriage of Edward and MQS
-However, it was thought England would dominate, so Scotland joined with France, and MQS would marry the heir to the French throne.

-After they had just been involved in a war, in no mood to make peace!
-England doesn't have enough troops to maintain borders, no constant army
-Costs too much to maintain the army in both France and England!

-Before his changes of leaders had a chance to take effect, affairs in the north were overshadowed by the peasant uprisings in England.
-Unwilling to withdraw troops from the border garrisons, and this delay allowed the situation in England to get out of control.

-Somerset's policy in Scotland was the culmination of Henry VIII's campaigns. He consolidated and built upon the victories from earlier in the 40s.
-At the BOP 15,000 Scottish soldiers were killed at the loss of only 500 English.
-Somerset managed to maintain a presence on the continent, even preventing the French capture of Boulogne during the difficult summer of 49.
-Somerset made substantial efforts, including the EOE, to secure the marriage of Edward to MQS.
-"Somerset's ambition was not motivated by mean or selfish motives, but by the desire to achieve aims that were essentially noble" -Pollard 1902

-The French probably only felt confident enough to attack Boulogne due to the internal situation in England that Somerset failed to successfully manage
-The arrival of 10,000 French troops on Scotland in 1548 led to new Franco-Scottish treaty. This provided the marriage of MQS to the French heir to the throne. This also put the Scots under French control.
-The land acquired during the 1547 campaign proved hard to control. The 25 garrisons that were established proved costly to maintain.
-Somerset spent £580,000 on the Scottish campaign (50% more than Henry in half of the time) This had to be paid for through taxation and debasement
-"Scottish war prevented the government from dealing with inflation, showed government's treatment of peasant rebellions and had a decisive effect on the ambiguous religious settlement" -Bush 1975