Foreign Policy

• Henry VII's straightforward foreign policy aims

  • Maintain good relations with Europe
  • Gain international recognition for the Tudor dynasty
  • Maintain national security
  • Defend English trading interests

  
• Brittany and France

  1. 1487: French invaded Duchy of Brittany

  2. 1489: Treaty of Redon - Henry agreed to support claim of Duchess Anne

  3. 1491: 6000 English troops sent to Brittany but Anne surrendered to France and married Charles VIII

  4. 1492: Charles VIII interested in invading Italy, not England, so Henry invaded France with 26,000 men

  5. 1492: Treaty of Etaples signed - Charles agreed to no longer assist pretenders, pay Henry 745,000 crowns

  
• Henry's strategy was successful - he defended national and dynastic interests, improved his financial position and created a relatively friendly relationship with France

  
• Burgundy, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire

  • Margaret of Burgundy, Maximilian, and Philip supported pretenders to the English throne
  • Bulk of English trade went through Antwerp and Bruges under Burgundy's jurisdiction
  • Henry put a trade embargo on Burgundy, conflicting with aim of maintaining trade
  • Relations improved when Perkin Warbeck left Burgundy and Intercursus Magnus trade agreement signed in 1496
  • Intercursus Malus treaty in 1506 further improved England's trading position

  
• Spain

  • Treaty of Medina del Campo (1489) - mutual protection, no harbouring of pretenders, marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur
  • Problems with marriage arrangements and Catherine's dowry
  • Henry suggested Catherine marry Henry ('spare'), Ferdinand reluctant
  • 1506 Treaty of Windsor - Intercursus Malus, return of Earl of Suffolk, marriage proposal for Henry
• Scotland

  1. 1485-95: Tense relations

  2. 1495-96: King James IV supported Perkin Warbeck, invasion of England failed

  3. 1497: Cornish rebellion prompted truce between England and Scotland

  4. 1501-1503: Agreement for James to marry Henry VII's daughter Margaret, Treaty of Perpetual Peace

  
• Ireland

  1. Henry only ruled the 'Pale' around Dublin, rest of Ireland ruled by independent chieftains

  2. Earl of Kildare, a Yorkist supporter, crowned Lambert Simnel King of Ireland

  3. Henry replaced Kildare with Edward Poynings who passed 'Poynings Law'

  4. Kildare later abandoned Yorkist cause and served Henry loyally, securing submission of Irish chieftains by 1500
• Henry had 4 children: Arthur, Henry, Margaret and Mary
• Arthur's death in 1502 increased the insecurity of the Tudor Dynasty
• Even with Earl of Suffolk imprisoned in 1506, the succession remained insecure as it rested on the survival and acceptance of Henry VIII by ministers

  
• Henry VII died in April 1509, a faction led by Bishop Fox declared for Henry VIII
• Charles VIII

  King of France 1483-1498, his main concern was to assert claim to throne in Naples, reducing threat to Henry VIII

  
• Maximilian I

  Holy Roman Emperor 1493-1519, gained control of the Netherlands through marriage to Mary of Burgundy
• James IV


  Succeeded Scottish throne at 15 in 1488, responsible for 1496 invasion of England but didn't pursue policy, married Henry VII's daughter Margaret, killed at Battle of Flodden in 1513
• Gerald Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Kildare


  Leading member of Irish nobility, known as 'uncrowned king of Ireland', Henry became dependent on him for law and order in Ireland
• Key Chronology


  • 1487: French invaded Brittany
  • 1489: Treaty of Redon
  • 1491: 6000 English troops sent to Brittany
  • 1492: Treaty of Etaples
  • 1496: Intercursus Magnus
  • 1497: Cornish rebellion, Ayton truce
  • 1501-1503: Marriage of Margaret to James IV
  • 1502: Death of Arthur
  • 1506: Treaty of Windsor, Intercursus Malus
  • 1509: Henry VII dies, Henry VIII succeeds