Relations with Other Countries, 1485–1509 (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Relations with Other Countries, 1485–1509
The European landscape in 1485
When Henry VII took the throne, England faced a complex international situation. The political geography of Europe differed markedly from today's borders, and English relationships with foreign powers were closely tied to domestic developments, particularly concerning marriage alliances.
France was considerably smaller than its modern equivalent. Several areas, such as Brittany, operated virtually independently of the French King. England controlled Calais, the sole remaining English possession from the territories conquered during the Hundred Years' War (1338–1453).
Spain was gradually becoming unified under Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, although both provinces continued to be governed mostly separately. This union created a powerful emerging state on England's southwestern flank.
The Holy Roman Empire comprised a conglomeration of states and territories under the nominal control of the Holy Roman Emperor. It included modern-day Germany and extensive lands beyond. One large part was Burgundy, and the Duke of Burgundy also ruled Flanders, which included what we now call the Netherlands.
Their ports, especially Antwerp, held enormous importance for English trade. Antwerp was the most important centre for the cloth trade in Europe, and wool was England's chief export.
Italy was divided into city states that competed with each other for power. European powers were constantly being tempted to intervene for their own benefit. This situation led to the so-called Italian Wars that started with the invasion of Italy by the French King, Charles VIII, in 1494.
Henry VII's aims in foreign policy
Henry VII's foreign policy was initially dictated by two factors: the circumstances surrounding his succession and his lack of money. Later his focus shifted to trade, dynastic expansion and securing his own succession.
Henry had become King by killing Richard III, but his legal status was insecure. There were other claimants to the throne, and England's recent history had been punctuated by struggles for the Crown. In the first years of his reign, Henry's priority was to gain acceptance of his right to rule from other monarchs.
This mattered not only because rivals for his crown might seek shelter or assistance from other countries (as Henry had done in Brittany), but also because favourable words from a foreign ruler might give him more credibility at home.
Between 1485 and 1492, Henry built a series of truces with potentially dangerous neighbours: France in 1485, Scotland in 1486 and the Habsburg Empire (which included the Netherlands) in 1487. Henry also saw advantages in building a longer-term alliance with Spain as an insurance policy against any future problems with France.
In 1489, as part of the Treaty of Medina del Campo, England and Spain decided to work together to defend their lands and promised not to make agreements with France without consulting each other first. The treaty set up equal trading rights for merchants from both countries and fixed customs duties which actually tended to favour English merchants. To deepen the alliance, arrangements were made for the marriage of Prince Arthur to the daughter of the Spanish monarchs. This treaty cemented an Anglo-Spanish friendship that lasted for much of the time until the reign of Elizabeth.
Relations with France were initially friendly because Henry's fight for the throne had been encouraged by the French court. However, he had also depended on Brittany (which was semi-independent from French rule) for sanctuary during his fourteen-year exile.
This put Henry in a difficult position when France moved to absorb Brittany between 1488 and 1492.
He faced a serious problem because an accepted view of national security included the belief that the coastline across the Channel should not be held by just one power. If France gained control of Brittany, the south coast of England would be in a militarily weaker position; Calais (the last surviving outpost of England's medieval empire in France) would be more vulnerable; and trade could be disrupted. These considerations made the 'Breton Crisis' of 1488–92 the major foreign policy problem of Henry's reign, and the only time he committed troops outside the British Isles.
The Breton Crisis
The way in which the crisis unfolded tells us much about Henry's aims and methods in foreign policy. He did not rush towards war because it would be dangerous to employ troops when pretenders to the throne were active, and also because he lacked funds. Instead, Henry opened negotiations with France while at the same time secretly allowing English troops to cross to Brittany to help the Bretons repel the French army. When these manoeuvres failed, he tried to win support at home and abroad for a short campaign.
The Treaty of Medina del Campo bought off Spain, and Henry also approached the rulers of the Netherlands, some small German princes and even the Pope for either assistance at least their neutrality. Parliament was summoned to make a grant of \£100,000 to finance a small force (estimates suggest between 3,000 and 6,000 men).
When this army crossed the Channel in April 1489, Henry made it clear to the French that he was only acting in defence of Brittany; there was no intention to go further and re-open the longstanding English claims to French lands that had been the issue in the Hundred Years' War.
These reassurances did not satisfy the French, who showed their displeasure by receiving the pretender Perkin Warbeck at court and by pouring more of their own troops into Brittany. In the final stages of war, Henry ran a great risk. He led a larger force of 12,000 troops into Brittany, gambling that France did not want a long conflict. He was right: France was beginning to take an interest in the divisions within the Italian peninsula and wanted to be free of commitments elsewhere.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Etaples (1492), Henry's army left France in return for a payment of 745,000 crowns (payable at the rate of 50,000 crowns per year, about five per cent of the King's annual income) to cover the costs of the expedition, and an agreement by the French King not to support Henry's enemies.
This was very important in Henry's dealings with Perkin Warbeck.
At face value, the Breton Crisis had been a successful baptism of fire for Henry VII. Early in his reign, while still insecure at home, he had pursued a difficult diplomatic path with skill. England's basic friendship with France had remained intact; military intervention had been brief and had not damaged England's reputation. Moreover, France had been persuaded to stop supporting pretenders to the throne and had made payments that offset the cost of the conflict.
However, it must be remembered that England's armies did not win any of the main engagements in Brittany, and at the end of the crisis the fact remained that Brittany was little more than a satellite of France (it was finally absorbed into the French state in 1532). All the southern shore of the English Channel except for Calais was in French hands. Henry had failed to restore English glories in Europe.
Relations with Scotland
In the Tudor period, Scotland was a distinct country, with its own Parliament and monarch. Relations between Scotland and England were usually strained. To preserve their independence, the Scots had looked to France for support, which created the uncomfortable situation for England of having potential enemies to both the north and the south. Henry VII was concerned that if James III of Scotland refused to accept him as King of England there could be problems in the north, where the Yorkists still had support. He quickly arranged a truce in 1486, but his efforts were ruined by James III's death two years later.
Later, and with the accession of fifteen-year-old James IV, as you will see in later chapters, Scottish history in this period was to be punctuated by the sudden deaths of monarchs and the instability caused by long regencies.
The nobles who governed on behalf of James IV were hostile to England, and James himself showed a willingness to upset his southern neighbour by harbouring Perkin Warbeck between 1495 and 1497. Relations were improved by the Truce of Ayton in 1497 which matured into a formal peace treaty in 1502. In a move for the future, Henry's eldest daughter, Margaret, was married to James IV in 1503, apparently settling the ill-feeling between the two monarchs.
Expanding trade and exploration
As part of Henry's policy of building up the country's strength and wealth, he was keen to encourage trade. This was particularly important in the years immediately after 1485 when his position was precarious, and he knew that building up trade would help with creating wealth. Yet an analysis of his actions shows no coherent pattern. Henry was an opportunist – hence his actions often seem fragmentary and inconsistent.
In particular, he sought to break up the stranglehold of the Hanseatic League, a league of German towns which dominated trade in the Baltic. They aimed to maintain a monopoly of trade there. Navigation Acts were passed (1485–86) which encouraged the use of English ships to carry goods rather than foreign ships. In particular, wines from France could only be imported in English ships. All this assisted the activities of the London-based Merchant Adventurers.
An Act was passed in 1489 that limited the export of English wool and made it illegal for foreigners to buy wool for making into cloth on the continent. This reflected the needs of the important cloth industry in England, and Henry was keen to show his support.
At the end of his reign the export of raw wool was 30 per cent lower than it had been in 1485.
Henry also tried to encourage the English cloth trade by trading agreements with the rulers of Burgundy who controlled the port of Antwerp. The most important agreement was the Intercursus Magnus of 1496, which allowed English merchants to trade freely with all parts of Burgundy except Flanders. There were occasional disagreements and interruptions to this trade agreement, but by 1509 English merchants were shipping more than half the cloth exported to Europe. Overall, 60 per cent more cloth was being exported to Europe in 1509 than had been at the beginning of the reign.
Henry hoped, through England's alliance with Spain, to encourage trade in southern Europe and the developing New World, the term being used to describe the continent of America that was discovered by Spanish sailors during the reign of Henry VII.
Henry also hoped to develop trade in the Mediterranean, especially with Florence. Venice was the Italian city state that dominated trade there and therefore the Venetians were seen as a rival. Indeed, as soon as Henry had persuaded some merchants to trade in the region, Venice retaliated by imposing heavy tariffs on all English goods imported into Venice.
In 1490 a treaty was signed that allowed English wool to be imported into Pisa, the main port of Florence. Henry also restricted the sale of wool to the Venetians. Fearing that Florence would gain trade at their expense, the Venetian government lifted the import duties on English goods. Therefore Henry had gained the right for English merchants to trade with the wealthiest state in the west Mediterranean.
Henry also started to build up an English navy which Henry VIII was able to expand. Although it was small – he left his son only nine ships – the ships were of good quality. They were bigger and better equipped than those of his predecessors. The Regent carried large guns and anticipated the development of warships under Henry VIII and Elizabeth. Portsmouth was established as the country's first fortified naval base.
Henry showed interest in the geographical discoveries of the age by supporting the voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot. John Cabot reached Newfoundland in 1497 and claimed it for England. Unfortunately Cabot died on the way home. His son, Sebastian, sailed with Henry's blessing in 1509, to find a route to the Far East to China round the north of America. This was, of course, impossible, but he did reach what we now call Hudson Bay. When he returned, convinced that he was on the way to finding a route to the Far East, Henry VII had died and the new king was not interested in maritime exploration.
Henry's overseas policy on trade therefore achieved some success, but in a limited way. Customs duties rose at the beginning of the reign, but compared with the Hanseatic League, Spain and Venice, England's merchants were only trading small amounts. The main importance lies in the foundations laid and with the way in which the encouragement of overseas trade helped Henry to sit on his throne more securely.
Foreign policy in the last years of Henry VII's reign
Henry found it difficult to maintain his early achievements in the last years of his reign because of changing situations. In England the death of Prince Arthur (1502) and his wife Elizabeth (1503) caused renewed worries about the succession. Henry began to consider whether he should marry again, but a possible Spanish match became less of a possibility when Queen Isabella died in 1504. There was no guarantee that Spain would stay united, and Ferdinand's first priority was to ensure that this happened by becoming Regent. He did so on behalf of Isabella's daughter Joanna, married to Philip, Duke of Burgundy, who had ambitions himself to succeed.
Henry was thus forced to reappraise England's foreign policy. He needed to maintain good relations with Spain (for dynastic and trading reasons) but also with Burgundy (because of England's trade with Europe and also as a possible ally against France should this be needed).
Henry's actions were therefore frequently short term, reacting to the latest European situations.
In 1505 Henry was moving towards more friendly relations with Philip of Burgundy in case of possible aggression from France. He opened discussions about a possible Burgundian bride for his son, Henry. This automatically made relations with Ferdinand of Spain worse. Ferdinand turned to France. Louis XII had felt surrounded by Spain, Burgundy and the Netherlands, and was also ready for friendship. This was cemented in late 1505 when Ferdinand married Louis XII's niece, Germaine de Foix.
However, all this diplomacy was turned on its head when Philip of Burgundy suddenly died in October 1506. This weakened Burgundy. Joanna was said to be mad with grief and deemed unfit to rule. Ferdinand took the opportunity to declare himself King of Castile, in succession to his deceased wife, Isabella. The heir in the Netherlands was the six-year-old Archduke Charles (son of Joanna and Philip), with Margaret of Savoy acting as Regent for her nephew. Bearing in mind the importance of the Netherlands for English trade, Henry was afraid that France might take the opportunity to take some of the Netherlands. It was Ferdinand who was now well-placed in international diplomacy and he was seen as a threat to the other rulers.
Henry thought that his best hope now was friendship between England, the Netherlands and France. It allowed Henry to end the temporary disagreements over trade that had developed. There were several plans for marriage alliances involving these countries, with the intention of isolating Ferdinand.
This all changed when in 1508 the League of Cambrai came into existence. Louis XII and Ferdinand came together with the Archduke Charles and the Pope, in an alliance against Venice, the powerful city state that controlled an important part of the Italian coastline. It looked as if England had been left isolated, but in fact the alliance moved the focus of attention away from England towards Italy for what turned out to be the last few months of Henry's life. None of the other countries saw England as the enemy.
How successful was Henry VII's foreign policy?
Henry wanted security from invasion and recognition of the succession after his death; he wanted England to be a major player on the European stage; and he wanted to secure England's trade. Overall, he succeeded – though not with a carefully thought-out plan that was maintained during his reign. Especially at the beginning and in the last few years he had to be pragmatic. His limited financial budget curbed his aspirations towards expanding English territory.
Key dates: foreign relations in Henry VII's reign
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1486 | Truces signed with Scotland and France; commercial treaty with Brittany |
| 1488 | Succession of 15-year-old James IV as King of Scotland; French attack on Brittany |
| 1489 | Henry intervened to help Brittany remain independent from France; Treaty of Medina del Campo with Spain |
| 1491 | Perkin Warbeck made his claim to the throne |
| 1492 | Resolution of the Breton Crisis in the Treaty of Etaples |
| 1496 | Intercursus Magnus trade agreement with Burgundy |
| 1497 | Scottish invasion of northern England; Truce of Ayton; John Cabot reached Newfoundland |
| 1501 | Marriage of Prince Arthur to Catherine of Aragon |
| 1502 | Death of Arthur; Truce of Ayton matured into formal peace treaty with Scotland |
| 1503 | Marriage of Henry VII's eldest daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland; death of Elizabeth of York |
| 1504 | Death of Queen Isabella of Spain |
| 1506 | Death of Philip of Burgundy – led to succession crisis there and in Castile |
| 1508 | League of Cambrai set up |
| 1509 | Death of Henry VII; Sebastian Cabot sailed to find route to Far East |
Key Points to Remember:
- Henry VII's foreign policy was shaped initially by his insecure position as King and his limited finances, later shifting to focus on trade, dynastic alliances and succession planning.
- The Breton Crisis (1488–92) was the only occasion Henry committed troops abroad. He balanced diplomacy with military action, securing the Treaty of Etaples which brought financial payments and French agreement not to support pretenders, though Brittany was eventually absorbed by France.
- Henry pursued trade expansion through Navigation Acts, restrictions on wool exports, and commercial agreements like the Intercursus Magnus (1496) with Burgundy. By 1509, cloth exports had risen by 60 per cent, though England remained a relatively minor trading power.