Henry VIII foreign policy

HENRY VIII FOREIGN POLICY

1510 - RENEWAL OF THE TREATY OF ETAPLES

Rome was persuaded to enter an alliance against France leading to the creation of the Holy League which joined England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Venice, and the Papacy in an anti-French alliance but Henry was being used by Ferdinand of Aragon and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I.

1512 - FIRST INVASION OF FRANCE

Henry sent an army of 10000 men to Southwest France under the command of the Marquis of Dorset however this achieved very little and was just a distraction to help Ferdinand.

1513 - SECOND INVASION OF FRANCE

Henry led a force to northeastern France. He won the the Battle of the Spurs. He captured the towns of Therouanne and Tournai. Tournai was eventually sold back to the French for less than the English piad to repair damages after the siege. The renegotiated French Pension was lost. The war was costly and Henry had to liquidate his assets inherited from Henry VII and there were rumours about a Taxation revolt in Yorkshire.

A second campaign was considered in 1514 but was abandoned when Ferdinand and Maximillian made seperate peace with France, Wolsey recovered the Etaples pension and arranged a marriage between Henry's younger sister Mary Tudor and King of France, Louis XII.

1513 - WAR AGAINST SCOTLAND

Whilst Henry was away fighting in France he left Catherine of Aragon as regent. In September 1513 James IV tried to take advantage of this and crossed the border with substantial force but was defeated at the Battle of Flodden by a smaller army led by the Earl of Surrey. James, and most of the Scottish nobility, were killed, leaving the throne to the infant James V.

• By the end of 1514 Henry had run out of money to continue a warlike foreign policy, consequently he was unable to exploit the weaknesses of Scotland following the death of James IV at Flodden.

1514 - MARRIAGE OF LOUIS XII AND MARY TUDOR

1515 - DEATH OF LOUIS XII

Louis was succeded by Francis I, who Henry saw as a personal and political rival. Henry sought an alliance with Ferdinand.

1516 - DEATH OF FERDINAND OF ARAGON

His grandson and successor, Charles V, sought an alliance with the French. Charles and his other grandfather agreed the Treaty of Cambrai, leaving England dangerously isolated.

• England remained a relatively minor power and could not really compete with the major powers of France and Spain.
• Henry significantly overestimated English power. Wolsey then had to frame the details of foreign policy based on that assumption.

1517 - DUKE OF ALBANY SENT TO SCOTLAND

Francis I decided to undermine Anglo-Scottish relations which he was able to do since the Duke of Albany, heir presumptive to the Scottish throne, was a member of the French nobility. Albany was able to consolidate his position by being appointed regent to the Scottish throne. Whilst Wolsey and Henry saw Albany as a French agent, any threat he posed was…