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C4: Henry VIII's last years. England's relations with foreign…
C4: Henry VIII's last years. England's relations with foreign policy
Protestant allies
England needed suitable ally against catholic countries of spain and france. in north germany, many of the princes had turned to lutheranism as means to preserve their semi-independence from C5. To help achieve this they formed the Schmalkaldic league in 1531 and were looking for prot allies.
Cromwell made overtures to the league but nothing was agreed about a possible alliance against the Habsburgs and France. the situation in europe in the 1530s was very fluid which didnt help cromwell get allies.
Because the divorce angered C5, France was the natural ally to seek. however, nothing significant achieved as england more focussed on reformation.
In 1538 threat to england became worse as after a truce between habsburgs and valois. (the truce of nice). the fear of a catholic invasion may have influenced henry in the 6 articles of 1539.
the cleves marriage, 1539
In a bid to strengthen england prot alliances, cromwell organised marriage between king and anne of cleves (duke of cleves in germany). however, cromwell had been misinformed about her appearance so when she arrived in england in 1539 henry took a violent dislike to her. marriage went ahead in 1540 but divorce followed that summer. by this time war was restarting between charles and franics, so prot alliance wasn't as needed.
Events in Scotland, 1540-47
1540s: security of northern border started to waver again. J5 intensified threat by pursuing an actively pro-french policy, e.g in 1538 he married mary of guise, a relative of the french king. H attempted to negotiate an agreement with james which would have guaranteed englands security, but james refused, failing to show up to pre-arranged talks, thus humiliating henry.
1542
: H sends duke of norfolk to attack scots; success. scots army defeated at solway moss in nov 1542. j5 died from a fever this week and left the crown to mqos, his week old daughter.
in
treaty of greenwich
henry proposed to strengthen english influence in scot through marriage of edward and mary. this was too much for scots, and treaty collapsed. the renewal of war happened, with scot nobles looking to france for assistance.
In 1544 and 45, the earl of hertford took the english army on a series of raids in the border region: referred to 'rough wooing' but only alienated scots further.
By his death, H had prevented scot/france alliance but at great cost. only repeated requests for subsidies from parliament, debasement of coins and sale of monastic lands kept the crown solvent. short term measures contributed to financial difficultues of his children
English foreign policy in Europe, 1540-47
By 1541, F and C at war again. In 1542 france allied with ottoman turks against habsburgs. this, and victory over scots, encouraged henry to get involved. allied with habsburgs against france; under agreement both sides promised to invade france within 2 years.
In 1544, henry sailed with an army of 48,000 to calais. him and emperor charles were supposed to march on paris, but both followed their own priorities, each blaming the other for not following the attack. he headed for bolougne, which he captured and fortified.
C + F signed peace treaty at Crepy. H returned home claiming triumph. francis threatened to invade england. south coast put on full alert.
attempt failed due to french incompetence, adverse winds and lack of a french base in england. boulognes defences held out against the french. peace treaty signed in 1546 (treaty of ardres) - henry kept bolougne and was promised a renewal of payments of pension money from french. it was agreed if all pension money paid, bolougne would be returned in 1546: h was confident this was unlikely, and he had gained glory. however, war cost 2 mill which was paid for by large scale borrowing and debasement if coin.
English involvment in Ireland during Henry VIII's reign
H8 regarded ireland as a troublesome, rebellious part of his territories. involvment there always closely connected with f.p. real english control in ireland was confiend to a small area in dublin (the pale).
In 1536, thomas fitzgerald (10th e o kildare) led a rebellion against english crown on the grounds of henrys displacement of the pope. rebellion brutally out down and a more solid basis of gov established to deter future rebellions and make sure ireland wasnt used as a base for foreign enemies.
In 1540 henry declared a new kingdom of ireland with himself as the king. all lands in ireland had to be surrendered to the crown and would be returned after pledges of loyalty. in return, some irish lords were to be included in parliament in london. however new govenor only really controlled the pale.
to extend control, principles of english common law were to be extended across country. breaking down feudal territories was slow, and became known as 'policy of plantations' when it started in E6's reign. under h's reign, ireland was being moved from a clan-based gaelic structure to a more centralised monarchical state. however the irish clung to catholicism
Henry's foreign policy overall
achieved some glory at start and end; middle dominated by divorce. england wasnt a powerful country due to geography. they were at the mercy of events and alliances on the continent. henry was also limited due to shortage of money to fight expensive wars.