Henry VIII foreign policy up to 1529

What were Henry's foreign policy aims from 1512-1514

1) The French crown and general military glory

2) Securing the succession

When was the Holy League formed?

October 1511

Who formed the Holy League?

Pope, Venice and Spain, Henry joined in November 1511

What were the aims of the Holy League at its formation? (4)

Protect the church, reclaim Boulogne from the French, restore Venice to all her conquered territories and a later clause was added giving papal backing to all Spanish conquests outside of Italy

Why might Henry VIII's aims have been different to his father's?

Henry VIII grew up hearing stories and idolising King Arthur and Henry V, he also didn't have to worry about rival claims to his throne or establishing the Tudor dynasty.

What were the dates of Henry's three campaigns in France

1512-14

1523-25

1543-46

Which treaty set out Henry's first invasion into France along with Ferdinand?

Treaty of Westminster signed in 1511 which stated that both England and Spain would attack France before the end of April 1512. Ferdinand would attack the French in Italy while Henry would invade northern France. A joint Anglo-Spanish force would also attack Aquitaine, a former English vassal state.

What was Henry's aim for his first conquest into France in 1512-14

Take Aquitaine which was an area that England had held during the Middle Ages

Why did the first campaign fail? (3 reasons)

Ferdinand of Aragon had promised to support Henry's invasion, however, he just used the English invasion to distract the French whilst he tried to conquer land in the Pyrenees

English troops quickly became short of supplies and were deeply unpopular with the locals, 3,000 got bloody flux and all eventually mutinied

Aquitaine is also in the far south of France which is very distant from England so made logistics very challenging

What did Henry aim for in the second conquest of the first campaign (1513)

Henry wanted to focus on taking areas around Calais as Calais was still under English control so Henry was not dependent on anyone else to help him militarily

What were the successes of the second invasion into France ?

Henry seized Tournai after it surrendered which made him seem glorious and Tournai was very wealthy as it was the route into the wealthy trading hub of Flanders

Battle of the Spurs seen as a success but was really just a propaganda victory

What were the failures of the second invasion into France?

Although Henry took the town of Therouanne, it was unimportant and Maximilian had burned it to the ground- Henry had to pay for the rebuilding

When was the battle of the Spurs?

16th August 1513

What happened during the battle of the spurs?

A skirmish with the French army where Henry was able to capture some french nobles, it was so called because the french cavalry rode away to quickly using their spurs to encourage their horses. Was turned into a great propaganda victory.

What ended Henry's first campaign in France (1512-14)

Wolsey arranged Anglo French Treaty of 1514 which gave Mary Tudor in marriage to aged King Louis XII and it increased the pension being paid to England to 1 million crowns to be paid at 6 month intervals

What was the Auld Alliance?

Alliance between France and Scotland that had been in place since 1295, it made Scotland a severe threat to England

When was the Battle of Flodden?

September 1513, whilst Henry was away campaigning in France

What happened during the Battle of Flodden?

Earl of Surrey led the English army to meet the scots who had invaded England as part of the Auld Alliance. Scottish army was decimated, 10,000 dead including King James IV

Why was the Battle of Flodden a huge foreign policy success?

With Henry's sister Margaret Tudor now regent in Scotland for her young son James V, the Scottish threat had been neutralised for years to come

So overall how successful was Henry's foreign policy from 1512-1514?

Fairly successful, the resounding victory in Scotland secures the border for the next 20 years and neutralises the threat until the 1540s, the results seen in France were a bit more mixed with success in Tournai beneficial for Henry's image but the failure of the first invasion was costly and exhausted the treasury

What were Henry's foreign policy aims from 1515-29?

Become King of France

Demonstrate England as major power

Achieve military glory and honour

When was the Treaty of London signed?

1518

What was the Treaty of London?

Originally papal initiative to fight the Turks, hijacked by Wolsey to create international peace treaty whereby each nation had to sign an individual agreement with England. If any country broke the peace, they risked invasion from the others

How many countries signed with England as part of the Treaty of London?

20, making England look powerful and at the centre of European politics

How successful was the Treaty of London in helping Henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

Mostly successful

-helped England appear as a major power leading Europe to peace

-made Henry look glorious

-as a piece of diplomacy its long-term success was limited as Henry breaks it and goes to war in just 4 years

- also didn't help him further his aim of getting throne of France as it bound him to peace.

When was the Field of the Cloth of Gold?

7th-24th June 1520

What happened during the Field of the Cloth of Gold?

Was a meeting between Henry and Francis I of France just outside Calais to reinforce the Anglo French friendship from ToL, was a lavish event with feasts, music, jousting, sport and an expensive display of wealth on both sides

How much did the field of the cloth of gold cost?

a year's income but it was still cheaper than war

How successful was the field of the cloth of gold in helping Henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

Somewhat successful

-certainly demonstrated England's power and Henry's glory as English displays were generally agreed to have outdone the French

-BUT certainly did not help him get any closer to being the King of France

-hienry's defeat during an impromptu wrestling match with Frances dented his glorious image.

When was Henry given the title of Defender of the Faith and why whom?

1521 by Pope Leo X

Why was Henry given the title defender of the faith?

He wrote a book in defence of the Catholic church called the 'Defence of the seven sacraments' which was a defence of key aspects of Catholicism in response to Martin Luther's criticisms in the 95 theses

How successful was being given the title of defender of the faith in helping Henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

Largely successful

- recognition from arguably the most powerful figure in Europe made Henry look both highly glorious and at the centre of European affairs due to close relationship with Rome.

-However, it did nothing to further his aim to become king of france

-undermined by its lack of long-term success as henry breaks with Rome just over 10 years later so cordial relations destroyed

What and when is the first foreign policy turning point in the period 1515-29

It is in 1521 when Henry shifts from being allied with both Charles V and Francis I to just being allies with Charles with the Treaty of Bruges

Why did Henry have to stop being allied with both Charles and Francis in 1521?

Francis declared war on Charles which forced Henry to choose between them

Why did Henry instinctively favour an alliance with Charles over Francis in 1521? (3 reasons)

1) Natural English francophobia

2) Catherine pushing henry towards charles, her nephew

3) English merchants favouring links with the Netherlands due to trade through Antwerp

What were the terms of the Treaty of Bruges? (4 points)

1) Henry and Charles would jointly declare war if Francis refused to make peace

2) Charles would compensate Henry for the pensions from France that he would lose during a war

3) The Treaty would be kept a secret

4) Charles V was betrothed to Henry's daughter Princess Mary

When was the Treaty of Bruges signed and who arranged it?

It was signed in 1521 and negotiated by Wolsey who travelled to Bruges to reach an agreement with Charles V

How successful was the Treaty of Bruges in helping Henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

Somewhat in the short term

- it demonstrated England was a major power and political player in Europe allied to mighty and important HRE

-HOWEVER success drastically limited by the fact it didn't place him any closer to being King of France, simply bound him to support HRE in expensive conflicts little to do with Britain.

- Also, Henry's subsequent actions towards CofA strained relations with her nephew charles so cordial relations short lived anyway

Which war was a direct consequence of the Treaty of Bruges?

The Second French War 1522-23 which cost lots and had no benefit for England

What happened during the second french war

Treaty of Bruges failed as a deterrent and Francis didn't make peace with Charles so England had to send in an army. Army led by Charles Brandon (Suffolk) made no territorial gains and received little support from Charles' troops

Why was the second french war such a failure

Henry was let down massively by allies- Charles V focused all of his attention on recovering Milan and the Duke of Bourbon failed to bring the troops he promised to help Henry take Paris

How much money did Wolsey try and raise to fund the second french war

800,000 in taxes which caused outrage

How much money did he actually raise

300,000 with taxes and a further 200,000 in forced loans

How much did the second invasion (with the Duke of Bourbon) cost England?

A further 400,000

How successful was the second french war in helping Henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

Completely unsuccessful

- totally negative for England as it cost hundreds of thousands

-bought Henry no military glory as English troops got bogged down in mud and had to return with nothing to show for it

-he was no closer to being King of France

- It also didn't make England look like a major power, they looked at the beck and call of the HRE and weak.

Why did Charles feel Henry had abandoned him

He left France after the failure of the second french wars due to financial strain

When does Charles V capture the King of France?

1525 after the Battle of Pavia

What happened at the battle of pavia?

Spectacular victory by Charles who totally destroyed the French and captured Francis and most of his nobles

What did Henry try and negotiate with Charles for once he had captured Francis at Battle of Pavia

They would immediately invade France together

Divide it amongst Charles, Henry and Duke of Bourbon

Henry would be known as King of France

But Charles did not trust Henry anymore after he left France

How successful was the battle of pavia in helping henry achieve his foreign policy aims

somewhat in the short term

- defeat of france had weakened one of henry's main rivals and strengthened the position of charles V who Henry was allied with which helped achieve his aim of making england look like a major player.

-HOWEVER success massively limited in the long term as henry withdrew from france, leading charles to distrust him and not agree to any of his demands, placing him no closer to his goal of the throne of france

- he didn't look glorious as it was just charles' victory

When was the Amicable Grant?

1525

What was the Amicable Grant?

Henry wanted to capitalise on Francis' absence from France so Wolsey sent out commissioners to collect a non parliamentary tax to fund another campaign

Was Wolsey able to collect the Amicable Grant?

No, due to the forced loans and taxation raised for the second french campaign the people of england rebelled against the amicable grant

What were the consequences of the amicable grant

1. Nobility concerned with level of resistance to taxation

2. Henry backed down in the face of public anger

3. Wolsey was forced to pay the prison expenses of those arrested

Rebellion

How successful was the amicable grant in helping henry acheive his foreign policy aims

completely unsuccessful

-it raised no funds so he couldn't take any action towards his aims at all

-His inability to take military action made him look far from a major European player and certainly not glorious therefore not only did it not allow him to further pursue his aims, it limited some of the gains he had previously made in his aims of importance and glory

When was turning point 2 for foreign policy in this period and what was is known as

It was known as the 'diplomatic revolution' and it began in August 1525

When and under what conditions was Francis released by charles

he was released within a year on the condition he did not threaten imperial interests in italy

What did the treaty of More contain and when was it agreed

August 1525, Henry gave up his claim to the French throne in return for a pension of £20,000 and abandoned charles as an ally, turning to france

What was the League of Cognac and when was it created

1526, it was an anti imperial alliance financed by England who joined as a 'protector'

who helped construct the League of Cognac

Wolsey

Which two treaties further reinforced friendship with France post the diplomatic revolution

the 1527 treaty of Westminster where Princess Mary was offered in marriage to either francis or his son and the Treaty of Amiens also in 1527

How successful was the diplomatic revolution in helping henry achieve his foreign policy aims?

somewhat successful

- it helped england step out of the shadow and disastrous alliance with HRE

- but success severely limited by the fact that henry had to give up on his claim to france which was a huge setback for his first aim

-also prevented him from gaining military glory, -however although england joining the league of cognac placed him at risk of being dragged into more costly conflict, it did make him look like a central european power

When was the sack of rome

1527

What happened during the sack of rome

Imperial troops ransacked rome and Pope Clement was taken prisoner by the emperor

Why was the sack of rome such a disaster for henry specifically

because his foreign policy aims had become tied to his great matter and with the pope under the control of catherine of aragon's nephew who england had abandoned as an ally, he was very unlikely to get his divorce

when did england and france declare war on HRE together but why was it insignificant

they declared war in 1528 but english troops were never mobilised and not even a trade embargo was enacted

When was the battle of Landrino and what was the result

June 1529, french troops defeated so henry's hopes of using the french to help defeat the emperor were dashed

When was the Peace of Cambrai agreed

August 1529

what was the peace of cambrai

A peace agreement between france, HRE and Papacy which wolsey was never informed about. It left charles v in effective control of italy

how successful was the sack of rome, subsequent defeat of france by HRE and the signing of the peace of cambrai in helping henry achieve his foreign policy aims

completely unsuccessful

-Henry unable to get his annulment

-no closer to taking france

- doesn't look glorious or politically important

- henry just left diplomatically isolated, charles still in control of of italy and he looks lonely and unimportant

What were the four main factors that hindered henry's aim to seize the french throne and secure military glory

lack of

resources

revenue

population

in comparison to his enemies

and also unreliable allies

what was the population of england in this period

2.75 million

what was the population of france in this period

15 million

what was the population of the holy roman empire in this period

23 million

what was henry's annual revenue at this time

100,000

what was francis' annual revenue

350,000

what was the hapsburg's annual revenue

560,000

Why did England's smaller population hinder his ability to meet his foreign policy aims

He was unable to raise an army able to match those of the french king or the emperor

Why did henry's lack of wealth in comparison to european kings affect his ability to meet foreign policy aims

he struggled to raise revenues necessary to be successful militarily and had to rely on taxation to fund wars which was very unpopular, he also quickly burned through the surplus that henry vii had left him

Give two examples of Henry's allies being unreliable between 1512-29

1512- Ferdinand used henry's forces in france as a distraction while he seized navarre rather than helping him and then made separate peace with france

1522- The Duke of Bourbon failed to show up to meet Henry with an army to help take Paris

Why do some historians believe that Wolsey undermined henry's foreign policy aims

They believe that Wolsey's ambitions to be Pope which would have required the support of european powers meant that he put his desire to secure alliances before Henry's more military based aims.

Give 3 examples of Wolsey's mistakes in foreign policy in this period

1) he insulted the emperor in the negotiations following Pavia which contributed to Charles' negative response to henry

2) His failure to raise the amicable grant was the key reason that Henry was unable to invade France in 1525 when Francis was imprisoned and it was likely this would have been the best opportunity for Henry to gain land in France

3) The switch to an alliance with Francis I when Henry needed to not have alienated Charles V to get his divorce