What was Wolsey’s involvement in the foreign policy of Henry VIII?
Key individuals:
- Francis I of France:
- Like Henry was a young king and both had a competitive rivalry and a rather tumultuous relationship. Notably involved in the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
- Charles V of Spain:
- Became Holy Roman Emperor in 1519
The aims of Henry VIII’s foreign policy:
- Aggressive policy against the French – The threat of the ‘Auld Alliance’ between France and Scotland drove a desire for an aggressive policy against them, his predecessors had the title ‘King of France’ so Henry thought he could claim what he believed was rightfully his
- Honour and glory – Henry’s chivalrous personality, intense rivalry with foreign powers such as Francis and Charles
- Maintain links with the Netherlands – Needed this for the vital cloth trade, Netherlands controlled by HRE (Charles)
- Peacemaker of Europe – Wolsey convinced Henry to pursue the role of a diplomatic peacemaker possibly due to the declining prestige and reputation of England in war. ~Wolsey encouraged Henry to use peace as a weapon of diplomacy rather than war which he didn’t have the money or strength for.
- Secure his dynasty – Largely unsuccessful. Mary married Louis XVII, but he died, Charles promised to marry her, he won Pavia and was way more powerful than England so he refused, she eventually married the Duke of Suffolk and was given up in the European marriage market without Henry having the final say.
- Collect his pension – The early French expedition arranged for the supplementation of the French pension, however, this was very little in comparison to the extremely large expenditures Henry was involved in, particularly in wars against France.
Stages of foreign policy:
First French War 1512-1514
Treaty of London 1518
Field of Cloth of Gold
Treaty of Bruges 1521
Second French War 1523-1525
Pavia and the Invasion of France 1525
Diplomatic Revolution
The Great Matter
Henry’s desire to assert himself led to the establishment of an aggressive policy against France. However, by the end of 1529, it became clear that this approach could not be sustained due to Henry’s financial pressure and he adopted Wolsey to handle a more diplomatic and peaceful approach to foreign affairs Henry gained the reputation of being ‘the most godliest prince that ever reigned.’
| Event | What happened? | Success/failure | Theme and significance |
| Battle of Flodden, 1513 | Whilst Henry was away fighting for France, Catherine organised troops to defeat Scottish invaders | Very successful (but Henry had very little involvement in it himself) | Military gloryJames IV was killed and Margaret Tudor was placed as Regent of Scotland. Huge military victory that neutralized the threat of Scottish war and allowed them to gain more influence. |
| Battle of Spurs, 1513 | Wolsey organised a force of 30,000 men and successfully captured the French towns of Therouanne and Tournai. A treaty was negotiated in which it agreed to the French pension, England keeping Tournai and Mary marrying Louis XVII. | Success (to an extent as the towns captured were of little importance) | French throne/Military glory/Secure the dynastyHenry succeeded in a battle against his main rival France. These early campaigns against France helped Henry achieve his aims but came at a huge financial cost. Marriage alliance would allow greater influence of England in Europe |
| Treaty of Noyon | Charles made peace with Francis. Further reinforced by the Peace of Cambrai when Maximillian made peace with Francis so 3 powers were in an alliance that excluded England. | Failure | Military glory/foreign recognitionRevealed how diplomatically isolated England was. Without allies, Henry could not wage war on France as he desired. |
| Treaty of Cambrai, 1529 | Between Charles and Francis | Failure | England had been completely forgotten about and sidelined. |
| Treaty of London, 1518 | ‘universal peace’ was signed by England and 20 other countries against the Ottoman Empire. Agreed to commit to a policy of peaceful cooperation and aid war to the ruler who broke the terms of the policy. The precursor to the more important League of Cognac was signed in 1526, where England’s allies helped with the financial burden of war. | Success (to an extent because ultimately, it was short-lived and its failure was inevitable following the growth of Charles V) | Foreign recognition Made Henry and Wolsey look like big diplomatic peace negotiators at the centre of European affairs. |
| Anglo-French Agreement, 1523 | England sent an army to France in order to aid Charles. Charles quickly lost interest and England could no longer afford war so was forced to make peace. | Failure | French throneThe invasion cost around £400,000 and was very expensive. |
| Treaty of Bruges,1521 | With Charles V and agreed to invade France, supplement the French pension that Henry was going to lose and that Charles would marry Mary. | Success | |
| The Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520 | A grand, lavish meeting between Francis and Henry in which the two rivals met and participated in several activities to ‘out-do’ each other. Whilst the event intended to advance the cause of European peace, it failed as Charles grew more suspicious of an English-French alliance so tensions rose. | Failure | Foreign recognition Nothing concrete achievedAntagonised other relations e.g. with Charles who got jealous |
| Battle of Pavia, 1525 | Charles captured France – annoyed Henry. Later on, at the Sack of Rome, Charles had full control over the Pope too so now the annulment seemed even more unlikely. | Big failure | Military glory/Securing the dynastyCharles captured France and Henry couldn’t.Louis XVII died, Charles initially promised to marry Mary but backed out after Henry antagonised him by pursuing a war with France instead of supporting him at Pavia. Mary married the Duke of Suffolk, without Henry’s consultation, and it was a loss of face for Henry as he could no longer use her as a pawn in the European marriage market. Charles had control over the pope, Charles was Catherine’s nephew, and he would never agree to a divorce – Henry still lacked a legitimate male heir. |
| Amicable Grant | Henry/Wolsey’s attempt at raising taxes to fund war with France. | People refused to pay extortionate taxes, causing rebellion particularly in the North. | |
| Treaty of More/Treaty of Westminster, 1525-27 | Solidified friendship | ||
| Treaty of Amiens, 1527 | Following the Sack of Rome. England allied with France and agreed to invade the HRE together |
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