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Henry VII - Foreign Policy (England's position in Europe in 1485 and…
Henry VII - Foreign Policy
Relations with Europe
Spain and Burgundy 1:
When Castile and Aragon were united under Ferdinand and Isabella Henry sought to improve trade links with Spain, and also strengthen his dynastic security by creating an alliance.
In 1488 Henry suggested a marriage between his son
Arthur Tudor
and
Catherine of Aragon
. Although negotiations were slow, by 1489 the
Treaty of Medina del Campo
was signed. This was the most significant treaty of Henry's rein and agreed that:
Arthur and Catherine would marry
Catherine's
dowry
would be £40,000, paid to Henry in instalments
Spain would
not help any English rebels
There would be benefits for English trade with Spain
If either country was at
war with France
, the other would intervene immediately
Spain and Burgundy 2:
As Catherine's sister,
Joanna
had married
Phillip of Burgundy
Henry hoped to be able to use his ties with Spain to create an alliance with Burgundy too.
Although Arthur died and Catherine was then betrothed to Henry VIII in 1503, changes in Spain meant the marriage would not take place for another 6 years. After
Isabella's death
in 1504 her
daughter Joanna, and husband Phillip of Burgundy, heir to the HRE, were to inherit Castile
, while Ferdinand would return to only rule Aragon.
However,
Ferdinand was not prepared to do so
. Unsure of what to do and not wanting to ruin his trading relations with the Netherlands or anger Phillip, but also not wanting to lose links with Spain,
Henry was stuck in the middle
. Another issue was Phillip was harbouring a Yorkist threat to the throne,
the Earl of Suffolk
, and Henry worried they may support him, which threatened his dynastic security.
Spain and Burgundy 3:
As Ferdinand sought help from
Louis XII of France
, Henry was
forced into closer relations with Burgundy
, and
sent money to Phillip
to aid him on his expatiation to claim Joanna's place on the throne.
As luck would have it,
bad weather drove Phillip onto the English shore
where he was forced to take shelter. While Henry's guest, Phillip was persuaded to sign the
treaty of Windsor
which promised:
the
Earl of Suffolk
would be handed over to England
Prince Henry would
marry Phillip's sister
Spain and Burgundy 4:
However, just as Henry and Phillip had signed the treaty, everything changed again. French support for Ferdinand had failed and he was forced to abdicate the throne for Joanna and Phillip. However, in 1506
Phillip died
, allowing
Ferdinand to retake Castile
, Maximilian took on the HRE for his young grandson Charles, and Joanna had a break down.
Henry tried to restore links with Spain by proposing his
own marriage to Joanna
, however Ferdinand refused. However, Henry did successfully arrange a
marriage between Charles and Mary
. Henry tried to marry his son to the niece of Louis XII in France, however, worried of antagonising Spain, Louis rejected, instead forming an alliance with Spain-
The League of Cambrai
.
Scotland 1:
Scotland was the
traditional enemy of England
, and there had been increased hostility there ever since Edward IV had captured the Scottish towns of Berwick and Dunbar. However, Scotland was more favourable inclined to him than Richard III, which resulted in a
three year truce being signed in 1486.
Despite another
9 year truce in 1493
after James III was killed in the battle against Scottish Nobility, when his son, James IV, came of age he wanted to assert himself by
going to war
with the traditional enemy. This threat was increased when Scotland gave shelter to
Perkin Warbeck
in 1495. However, when Warbeck failed to gain support in England James soon realised he would be of little value to him and began to worry about the possibility of an English invasion on Scotland.
Scotland 2:
In 1497 the
Treaty of Ayon
was sign between England and Scotland, also leading to Warbeck's execution in 1499. The peace was reinforced by the marriage between Henry's daughter
Margret Tudor
to
James IV
in 1503. This helped to get Henry get noticed by other European powers and helped
consolidate his rule to the throne
.
Despite this, Scotland did not abandon the
Auld alliance
and
border raids continued
, suggesting Henry did not secure the northern border, but simply stabilised it.
France 1:
Breton crisis (1487-1492):
France sent a force into Brittany to try and convince the Duke of Brittany to change his mind about marrying his daughter to Maximilian of the HRE and marry her to Charles VIII of France instead. Both Maximilian and Ferdinand sent troops to Brittany, who also asked England for help. Henry tried to negotiate between Brittany and France but the Breton's refused to negotiate. When the Duke of Brittany died, his daughter Anne became ruler and the french immediately seized her.
The treaty of Redon
was
created with Brittany
in 1489, under which Henry promised to send 6000 troops, paid for by the Bretons, to help in their defence.
However, in 1489
Maximilian
signed the
treaty of Medina del Campo
and
made peace with France, as did Spain
. Henry now would lose his credibility if he made peace with France, but could not risk going to war with them either due to their new allies.
France 2:
England's Invasion in 1492
: Despite the risks, Henry announced his intention to
assert his claim to the French throne
. When he crossed the Chanel in October the campaigning season was almost over, meaning any conflict would be short.
The french king was also more interested in invading Italy
, and therefore wanted to get rid of the English troops quickly. Charles offered Henry peace and on November 3rd signed
The Treaty of Estaples
, which promised to; -give
no aid to English rebels
, -pay the
arrears of the Treaty of Picquigny
, and -pay most of Henry's
expenses in Brittany
.
France 3:
After the Treaty of Estaples:
England was invited to join
The Holy League
in 1496 to drive France out of Italy. England had trading relations with France but did not want to lose the friendship of the league. Henry had
not been able to preserve his good relations with France
after the Treaty of Estaples, however had been able to
nullify the Auld alliance.
In 1508 however, Henry tried to create an anti-Ferdinand alliance with
France
and the
Netherlands
called the
League of Cambrai.
However just before the conclusion of this league
Louis XII of France decided he dared not join
in fear of angering Ferdinand, and created a new league with him instead. At the end of Henry's reign he was
diplomatically isolated
, however the new anti-Venice league supported him, and as relations with France had improved
Scotland was less of a threat.
England's position in Europe in 1485 and Henry's aims
Brittany and France:
Henry was allied with
Brittany
as he had been a refuge there in 1471, however
France
wanted to take over Brittany and had provided Henry with previous financial aid. This put Henry in a difficult position as France had the biggest and most powerful army in Europe, while
England's military power was weak
, however he could not abandon alliance with Brittany.
Scotland:
Had an alliance with France
(the Auld Alliance)
which compensated for its size and small financial income and meant England could be
attacked on ether side
simultaneously. Carried out constant raids across the border, forcing England to keep expensive military bases there, so was
more of a nuisance than a serious threat.
Spain:
Was the new major power in Europe, the marriage of
Ferdinand and Isabella had brought Castile and Aragon together and turned them into an international power.
However
Spain had other aims
, e.g. war of Granada, securing French border etc. which kept them prioritised, and may result in an alliance with England against France.
Burgundy:
In terms of
trade this was the most important area
for England. However, Margaret (sister of Richard III) had married the duke of Burgundy and offered a
base for Yorkist threats to the throne and their supporters
. This was a direct threat to Henry and meant the important
Cloth trade was threatened too
.
Holy Roman Empire:
Covered most of central Europe, although the
power of the emperor was limited
. It had
acquired Burgundy in 1477
when Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy so its relationship with England became greater, however
its major conflict was with Italy
, so for England it was not a major threat
Italy:
Did not exist as a country until 1485, but was a collection of states.
France, Spain and the HRE
all had claims to land there which resulted in an
outbreak of Italian wars,
meaning attention was diverted away from Northern Europe and made
Henry's position less vulnerable.
Henry's aims:
Financial security: A major aim of Henry's was to
avoid war
, as it was very costly, and
England was in a weak financial position.
He also wanted to
increase the revenue from Trade
as it would strengthen the monarchy, therefore he wanted to maintain cloth trade with Burgundy and
develop closer trading relations with other nations
(however this was second to national security)
Henry's aims:
Dynastic (national) security: Henry wanted to
secure his somewhat weak position on the throne
, both from domestic threats and foreign ones.
He also wanted to
consolidate foreign support
to improve his
trade
links, which would help to secure his dynastic position.
He wanted to
improve relations with the major powers
and
gain allies
. (This would give him protection, recognition and dynastic security)
He also wanted to gain
prestige & recognition