...Do you agree with the view that Henry VIII foreign policy should be seen as a costly failure? It can be agreed that Henry VIII and Wolsey’s foreign policy was an expensive failure to a large extent, but there is some evidence from the sources showing otherwise and demonstrating some success. Sources 1, 2 and 3 all support the source to a certain extent, some more than others, however Sources 1 and 3 also disagree with the question and show some successes to Henry and Wolsey’s policy. Despite this, the idea of their policy being expensive is consistent throughout the sources for costing over a years income for Henry. Henry VIII and Wolsey’s foreign policy can be seen as an expensive failure as shown in all three of the sources. Sources 1, 2 and 3 all refer to the king’s expenses in one way and having not gained much from it. In source 2, it refers to the King as receiving ‘no more land in France’ on top of what his father had already gained, whilst costing the King an ‘infinite sum of money’ demonstrating that Henry had not had much success in his reign but had still spending extreme figures. Using this source, along with our own knowledge we know that Henry failed in securing the French crown for himself as well as the partition of France to himself, Charles and Bourbon, after the Battle of Pavia in 1525. Alongside this, the failures of Henry’s campaign during the war with France including the evaporation of Wolsey and Henry’s passing enthusiasm for another intervention...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...that Henry VIIIs foreign policy in the years 1514-25 failed because he lacked the resources to fulfill his aims? The failure of foreign policy in the years 1514-1525 can be attributed to many factors. Undoubtedly, the lack of resources was one of the main factors that contributed to the failure of Henry's foreign policy. However there are other factors that contributed to Henry being unable to fulfil his aims. Sources 4 and 6, both support the fact that the foreign policy did fail because of the lack of resources to fulfill the King’s aims. However all sources also suggest other possibilities to Henry's failed foreign policy. As soon as Henry took the throne in 1509, it was obvious that he was a king that wanted to fight a war, perhaps to show off his power. However, wars generally led to very expensive costs to the country. Henry's father, Henry VII, left the country in quite a stable state economically, but Henry devoted most of England's money into his campaigns to take over France. To some extent source 4 supports the idea that the foreign policy did fail due to the lack of resources, because it states that “the young warrior family accepted the fact that royal finances could not support a repetition of the campaign of 1513”. This quote implies that lack of resources seems to be the dominant reason for stopping Henry from invading France and therefore source 4 supports the statement to some extent. In the years 1514-25, it's clear that Henry VIIIs foreign policy failed...
Words: 1883 - Pages: 8
...Wolsey’s Foreign Policy in the Years 1515-1525? (30 marks) Wolsey became Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor in 1515, he was extremely able and determined; his foreign policy was mainly directed at preserving peace and trying to make England a negotiator between other countries. During the years 1515-1525 Wolsey’s power was undisputed, this was due to the fact that Henry VIII delegated more and more state business to Wolsey including near-complete control of England’s foreign policy. The extent of Wolsey’s success can be measured in several ways; these include the financial stability of the country, loyalty from England’s allies and respect for Wolsey (and Henry VIII) from English subjects and foreigners. Wolsey’s greatest achievement in creating a successful foreign policy was the Treaty of London, in 1518, which was known as a ‘universal’ treaty of peace, it united all of Christendom under Henry VIII’s sponsorship with a mutual non-aggressive pact that provided collective support and aid in the case of conflict. While doing this Wolsey also saw the opportunity to re-unite France and England by betrothing Henry VIII’s first daughter, Mary, to the dauphin (first son of the King), by doing this Wolsey also achieved Tournai for England again for 600,000 crowns. Bishop Fox described Wolsey’s maneuver with France as “The best deed that was ever done for England; and, next to the King, the praise is due to Wolsey”. Many people have questioned whether Wolsey’s foreign policy was actually...
Words: 739 - Pages: 3
...Wolsey helped Henry with his aim to foreign policy because he was intelligent. He seized the opportunity to keep England maintained the dominance that could arrange matters in Europe. However, he was not born to be a powerful diplomat. During 1512-1514, the First French War, Wolsey gained his first experience of diplomacy. Since he is only a diplomatic apprentice, he was not very successful at the beginning. But the king Henry VIII did not make him a scapegoat for England’s military failure. In fact, what made the king impressed was that Wolsey conducted himself in correspondence with Ferdinand of Aragon. But after all, during this period Wolsey was only a diplomatic apprentice so that he cannot make much influence on Henry VIII’s foreign policy. Things changed after the success of the expedition when Wolsey managed the preparations as the quartermaster-general. It makes Wolsey become a well-known organiser and he was given the opportunity to participate in the conduct of the king’s business. Then Henry made the Valois-Tudor alliance by accepting Wolsey’s suggestion. It could be regarded as the start of Wolsey’s influence on Henry’s foreign policy. Later, in October 1518, Wolsey achieved one of the most successful achievements in his life. The treaty of London was aimed to keep the peace in Europe. It not only claimed that the states cannot aggress others, but also allow them to make war on anyone who contravened the treaty. It ensured forcefully that the states bare not...
Words: 491 - Pages: 2
...HENRY VIII AND FOREIGN POLICY Introduction Henry VIII was an ambitious aggressive monarch. Unlike his father Henry VII, whose interests were mainly defensive, Henry VIII was an interventionist. He wanted to raise England’s profile in European power politics and was prepared to go to war to capture French territory. He saw himself as the equal of Francis I of France and Charles V of Germany and wanted to show off England's power by claiming that England held the balance of power between them. His chief minister, Wolsey, the humanist, wanted the glory of international diplomacy but wished to avoid the waste of war. His quest for peace, helped to dampen Henry’s martial ambitions. During Wolsey’s period of high office, England only went to war once – in 1523. Wolsey probably spent more time on foreign affairs than on domestic issues. Relations with France 1513 War with France: Why? Henry VIII wanted glory. He wished to renew the Hundred Years War with France. In 1422 Henry VI of England was proclaimed king of France; by 1453 the English had been expelled from France, except for the port of Calais. Henry wished to reassert his claim to the throne of France. Within weeks of his accession, Henry married Catherine of Aragon in order to renew England’s alliance with Spain. Spain might be the ally England needed. What happened? Wolsey organized the expedition. Henry led 30,000 men and captured the towns of Therouanne and Tournai. The French...
Words: 1572 - Pages: 7
...F961A3: Henry VIII to Mary I, 1509-1558 A: What were Henry VIII's aims as king from 1509-1529? Henry VIII's personality and role in government ▪ Henry VIII was a confident and energetic monarch. He had a much stronger claim to the throne than his father and there were no threats to his throne from pretenders. ▪ Henry VIII wanted to achieve glory for himself, his Court and for England. He would attempt to achieve this mainly through his foreign policy. ▪ Henry VIII was not, unlike his father, interested in the day to day administration of English government. ▪ He played a very important role at Court and he had the final say in all matters, but the running of the government and administration, he left to Wolsey - his chief minister from 1514-1529. ▪ Henry VIII was always the centre of attention but he hated writing and debating. Instead he preferred the thrill of hunting and sportsmanship and the excitement of diplomacy. ▪ Although Henry and Wolsey had their disagreements in the period up to 1527, none was serious enough to cause serious problems. ▪ Wolsey was brilliant at managing Henry's overdeveloped ego and Henry may have seen Wolsey as a surrogate father. ▪ After 1527, Henry VIII's energies were focused on the gravest crisis of his reign, the attempt by Henry to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. This problem would lead eventually to Wolsey's fall from power. Henry VIII and foreign policy Introduction ▪ Henry VIII...
Words: 10486 - Pages: 42
...was Henry VII in fulfilling his foreign policy objectives? Generally speaking, overall, Henry VII was successful in fulfilling his foreign policy objectives. Although he did not achieve a number of things in the way he endeavoured to, Henry VII achieved the majority of his foreign policy objectives one way or another. Firstly, Brittany, a part of Europe where Henry spent a large part of his life, was under attack by the French and faced losing their independence, following an invasion in 1487. Henry felt as though he had a duty and sense of obligation to the Britons, and therefore summoned Parliament to grant him extraordinary revenue in order to raise an army sufficient enough to battle against the French. Crushing the potential French control of Brittany was very important to Henry, as by doing so would decrease the possibility of France invading England. This soon became one of Henry's main foreign policy objective, to defend Brittany and potentially, England. Additionally, England and Brittany signed the Treaty of Redon in 1489, in which, Duchess Anne would pay for a small English army to defend Brittany. Henry strived to strengthen is position by forming an alliance with Maximilian. Maximilian had contracted a marriage-by-proxy with Anne, and had no desire fro the Duchy of Brittany to fall into the French hands. The army went to Brittany to support their freedom, but Anne had lost her motive, and reluctantly married Charles VIII. To make things worse for Henry, Perkin...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...Henry VIII’s foreign policy primarily involved France and the Habsburg Empire. Traditionally, Tudor foreign policy tried to steer a path of neutrality with both these states and initially Henry VIII’s foreign policy was no different. Henry knew that England did not have the ability to take on either state but that as a nation she could profit from extending the hand of friendship to both. This plan fell apart when it became plain that Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Charles V would not contemplate any form of association with Henry VIII – as Catherine was his aunt. Charles believed that Henry VIII was depriving Catherine of all honour, something he was not willing to tolerate. However, Henry was astute enough to know that the position of Charles V in mainland Europe was such that he could not do anything about Catherine’s plight in England. Charles had far too much to think about with the Turks on the southeast of his empire to be able to help his aunt. However, he made clear his displeasure at the way Catherine had been treated. Francis I of France tried to take advantage of this breakdown between Henry and Charles. He gave tacit support to Henry’s call for the Pope to nullify his marriage to Catherine. As a result both men met in great splendour at Calais in October 1532, where Francis greeted Anne Boleyn as if she was queen. Francis planned to help Henry further. In October 1533, Francis was due to sign a treaty with Pope Clement VII, which Francis hoped would...
Words: 1171 - Pages: 5
...e 4 makes reference to one of the reasons Henry’s claims were so flawed, “Wolsey worried about Henrys' reliance on biblical arguments.” This shows that Henry clearly had little other evidence to support his reasons for an annulment due to his “reliance” which rightly worried Wolsey as they were constantly being questioned by the Catholic Church. In 1527 Henry presented the case that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was void due to the fact she had previously been married to his brother who had died. Leviticus claims that “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife.” Henry claimed that the dispensation that he had fought for was infact invalid afterall as it went against divine law. A dispensation that had gone against clerical teachings yet granted none the less by the pope, supporting the claims in Source 5 that the “pope would have been happy to please someone as important as Henry.” However it was not the dispensation that caused concern, it was a text from Deuteronomy that claimed Henry was infact right in marrying Catherine as Deuteronomy claimed that if a mans brother dies and he and his wife are without child, then it is the brother’s role to raise his widow. This essentially proved Henry’s claim wrong, weakening his case. However, despite the opposition based on biblical teachings, this was not a large concern as Source 2 and 3 highlight, Wolsey... View Full Essay Join Now Please login to view the full essay... Essay's Statistics Submitted...
Words: 820 - Pages: 4
...Although Henry VIII was widely acclaimed to have been ‘reckless’ as quoted by some historians when it came to foreign adventures, I believe that Henry’s foreign policy could not be entirely labelled as a disaster. I am of the opinion that a number of Henry’s early foreign affairs certainly ended up being failures, however a few events would be more suited to being labelled as a success. It is clear to see that at the inception of his reign, Henry VIII believed it was his chivalric duty to wage war on France – a country that had become the largest kingdom in Europe, and dreamed of reasserting England’s traditional claim to the crown of France, even as a 17 year old. He believed that this what he must do due to the fact that all English kings before him claimed the French throne for themselves, dating back to the reign of Edward III (1327 to 1377). If Henry was to fulfil another one of his ambitions to be known as ‘the most godliest prince that ever reigned over the realm of England’, then claiming the French throne was to be of the highest priority of a young, eager to impress monarch. However prior to an invasion of France in 1512, Henry was tricked by his royal councillors into signing a peace settlement with Louis XII – the king of France. This highlighted Henry’s inexperience as a new king and this treaty was soon broken by Henry. Parliament granted the necessary funds to wage war in April 1512. Henry knew that he could portray this war as a papal one in defence of the church...
Words: 1161 - Pages: 5
...To What Extent did Henry VII Fulfill his Aims It is fair to say that at the end of his reign in 1509, Henry VII was successful in all of his aims. His aims included dynastic security for his crown and economic stability for England. However the main aim upon his usurpation to the English throne, was to secure international recognition of being King of England. Due to his usurpation, Henry held an extremely fragile position on the throne of England. This was as a result of Henry killing Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Also, the War of the Roses meant that England was crippled economically and also in political stability. There was opposition to Henry domestically and internationally, especially from Margaret of Burgundy (cousin of Richard III). Margaret had infleunce within France, and infleunced Charles VIII of France's support for the Pretender Perkin Warbeck. Due England being economically and politically crippled; as well as the threat from abroad meant that Henry had to pursue an active foreign policy in order to gain international recognition. There is no doubt that Henry's active foreign policy also helped Henry to pursue his aims of economic stability and dynastic security. However, the main aim of Henry VII's foreign policy was to gain international recognition of his right to be King of England. The Medina del Campo alliance of 1489 is major evidence of Henry VII's active foreign policy right at the start of his usurpation. The alliance established...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...“The fall of Somerset was principally due to the 1549 rebellions.” Assess the validity of this view. During the final years of Henry VIII life he claimed that effective government should be carried out by council of 16 members. However, the last period of Henry VIII reign the reform faction were dominating and Edward Seymour managed to overthrow the regency council to become the ‘Protector’. Initially the rise of Somerset was a planned coup. But Somerset was arrogant and haughty which resulted in his fall from power in October 1549 after the rebellion against him throughout England. In this essay I am going to explore reasons behind Somerset’s fall, was it the rebellion or was there other factor that contributed to the fall. It can be said that the rebellion played a considerable part in Somerset’s downfall because the two main rebellions were due to his social and religious policies. The Western Rebellion ‘the prayer book rebellion’ was sparked by the reformation of religion. This was because the reformations of religions were radical and completely changed people’s experience of religion. Especially, as the prayer book was translated from Latin to English and the western rebellions often referred to the new prayer book as a ‘Christmas game’. The most radical change in religion came when the Elevation of host got abolished and the attack of images of saints sparked off the acts of iconoclasm. Not only were the Western rebellions angry about the religious reformations but...
Words: 1364 - Pages: 6
...Do you agree with the suggestion in Source N that Henry and Wolsey conducted and effective foreign policy in the years 1515-1525? Sources L and N agree that Henry and Wolsey conducted an effective foreign policy in the years 1515-25 although as source L is a painting it has a motive and probably a bias one whilst source M disagrees with the statement by highlighting ‘troubles associated from the Amicable Grant’. In source N (which is featured in a book wrote about Henry VIII at the time in question) contradicts itself to make its point. “Failed to bring great gains to the country, but it did thrust the country into a major role which that its wealth and population scarcely justified...” this makes the reader think that this was worth it for the positives it brought. There were many successes of their (Henry and Wolsey’s) foreign policy. Wolsey was a successful peace broker, and the treaty of London in 1518 was a great example of him ability. This treaty in 1518 was an agreement of peace which seemed to put England in to the centre of diplomatic affairs in Europe (which was what Henry wanted). The treaty bound France, Spain, the Papacy, HRE and England against the Turkish. At the time it seemed like a great success as it seemed to signify the end of fear of England being isolated in Europe, however in the long term it failed despite the short term success. Another success was the foreign policies flexibility despite England and the King having such low income and money. This...
Words: 795 - Pages: 4
...Europe where Henry spent a large part of his life, was under attack by the French and faced losing their independence, following an invasion in 1487. Henry felt as though he had a duty and sense of obligation to the Britons, and therefore summoned Parliament to grant him extraordinary revenue in order to raise an army sufficient enough to battle against the French. Crushing the potential French control of Brittany was very important to Henry, as by doing so would decrease the possibility of France invading England. This soon became one of Henry's main foreign policy objective, to defend Brittany and potentially, England. Additionally, England and Brittany signed the Treaty of Redon in 1489, in which, Duchess Anne would pay for a small English army to defend Brittany. Henry strived to strengthen is position by forming an alliance with Maximilian. Maximilian had contracted a marriage-by-proxy with Anne, and had no desire fro the Duchy of Brittany to fall into the French hands. The army went to Brittany to support their freedom, but Anne had lost her motive, and reluctantly married Charles VIII. To make things worse for Henry, Perkin Warbeck was simultaneously trying to gain support from the French. Henry launched a late invasion on France in 1492, in which, the French reacted immediately by trying to sought a peace settlement. The Treaty of Etaples were signed in November 1492, in which Charles VIII agreed to withdraw his support for Perkin Warbeck, and pay a pension to Henry VII as a...
Words: 279 - Pages: 2
...Year 12 Henry VIII Revision Guide 1 How to answer questions on the Tudors Section A Essays: How far do the sources agree that? Introduction: Explain what you can learn from each source Briefly cross reference the sources Provide an argument in response to the question Main paragraphs: State a similarity or difference between the sources – make sure you focus on ‘How Far’ Select relevant information from the sources to support this point Place this in context using your brief own knowledge Use provenance to explain this similarity/difference Conclusion: Sum up how far the sources agree based on content and provenance Section B Essays: Do you agree with the view that? Introduction: State your line of argument – how far do you agree with the view? State the main similarities and differences between the sources Main paragraphs: State a reason for yes/no. Make sure you phrase this in a way that links to your line of argument and answers the question. Remember that each source will suggest a different reason for yes/no. Support this reason with evidence from the sources and your own knowledge Cross-reference between the sources Weigh up the evidence of the sources. Consider provenance for primary sources and judge secondary sources based on the evidence included and the weight given to certain evidence Link back to your line of argument Conclusion: Explain how your argument has been proven with reference to the sources and your own knowledge...
Words: 34668 - Pages: 139
