The Brittany Crisis

• Charles VIII was a minor when he came into power, so Anne of Beaujeu acted as regent and aimed to secure the semi-independent brittany in 1487.
• Duke Francis II of Burgundy wanted to preserve breton independence, but he had no male heir, only two young daughters, so Anne of Beaujeu aimed to marry Charles VIII to Anne of Brittany (the duke's eldest daughter)
• France securing Brittany scared Europe as it would significantly enhance the power and strategic capabilities of an already mighty nation. Ferdinand of Spain and the Habsburg Maximillian both attempted to intervene, so french troops were dispatched into Brittany in May 1487
• in reply to french troops entering Brittany, Maximillian sent 1500 troops and Spain sent 1000 troops to stop france from securing Brittany.
• henry was worried that french control of Brittany would increase their potential to invade England and harry English trading ships, as france would control almost the entire southern shore of the Channel.
• Henry also did not want to fight France as he was wary of antagonizing them so early into his reign, and full-scale war would stretch his scarce finances. he was also a guest of France during his exile, meaning he wanted to maintain a good relationship with France
• by July 1488, french control was almost complete after France defeated brittany and its allies at St Aubin du Corbier, and other European powers began looking to england for diplomatic solutions due to them being involved elsewhere
• Henry owed Brittany due to them housing him during his exile, so he sent unofficial aid to Brittany (mercenaries led by Lord Scales) in order to help brittany whilst maintaining a good relationship with France
• Henry gained foreign recognition by creating treaties like the Treaties of Redon and Dordrecht in February 1489 with Brittany and the Holy Roman Empire respectively. However, Maximillian did not honour his side of the treaty, making peace with Charles VIII of France in July
• Grants and a benevolence in 1490 had raised £181500 for war with france, and Henry had invested lots of prestige in the war. he could not admit defeat in order to maintain credibility. however, fighting france was inevitable defeat, and would be very draining, so henry attacked in winter in order to ensure the war would be short
• Henry was worried about usurpation by Yorkists as fighting dfrance would encourage them to support rebellions, so he began prioritizing peace with france, which was eventually gained through the treaty of etaples in November 1492.
• the treaty of etaples made france give a substantial £159,000pension to england in exchange for england removing all troops from french soil
• although B~rittany was lost, Henry achieved international recognition, promoted economic prosperity through alliances, gained credibility and security, and kept costs down