Henry viii and his foreign policies essay PDF

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‘The foreign policy of Henry VIII failed to achieve its objectives in the years 1509 to 1547’. Assess the validity of this view. Henry VIII, second son of Henry VII, was raised as a Renaissance prince and became heir apparent to the throne after Arthur’s death. The ascension of Henry VIII in 1509 was a major turning point of English foreign policy, whereas his foreign policies were cultivated by his hunger for personal glory, and his desire to see England become a major power in Europe. Henry VIII did make attempts to steer a path of neutrality with the other European counterparts but ultimately valued territorial expansion in France and security in hopes of preserving the Tudor Dynasty. The break of Rome and Wolsey’s fall from power in 1529 altered the nature of Henry’s foreign policy into a more defensive approach. Nonetheless, some of the objectives were achieved in the short term through various treaties but there were a few that were short lived, ending in collapse of treaties, reinvasion of European counterparts, ultimately unable to achieve all its objectives at once. The foreign policies in the early years of Henry VIII’s reign were quite successful on the surface and was able to achieve Henry VIII’s objectives of peace and glory. As seen from Thomas More’s statement that Henry VIII “does not wish for gold or gems or precious stones, but virtue, glory and immortality”. The Treaty of London in 1518 was regarded as a ‘glittering success’, bringing immediate fame to Henry VIII, satisfying his hunger for personal glory. The treaty bonded twenty countries together in peace, helped Henry VIII’s prestige and ended the threat of English diplomatic isolation in Europe, which led to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 that added to the prestige of England abroad. This shows that English interests were often pursued through diplomacy in addition to war and there were significant diplomatic achievements which advanced Henry VIII’s reputation amongst other European superpowers. Treaty of London in 1518 and the Field of the Cloth of Gold were significant aspects of an active diplomatic initiative, insinuating that Henry VIII’s objectives were achieved at one point. For a brief while, Henry VIII was the arbiter of Europe and London was its foremost capital. Henry VIII also learnt from his mistakes in the First French War and captured Tournai and Therouanne, alongside Maximillian with little resistance from the French in the Battle of the Spurs. The capture of Tournai and Therouanne brought ‘glory of Battle of the Spurs’, were good bargaining tools and was able to reflect Henry VIII’s strong kingship, which can be seen as a considerable victory. The victory also brought him popularity at home and respect abroad, and he gained the satisfaction of defeating France. In the Battle of Flodden 1513, whilst Henry VIII was fighting in France, the Earl of Surrey although outnumbered and held the weaker position on the battlefield also won against the Scottish invasion of England. Due to Scotland’s traditional alliance with France, Scotland was seen as a great threat to Henry VIII, therefore the victory was well valued, thus further securing the Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII's claim to France was in justifying his cherished objective of occupying French territory, it also served a more practical purpose as a lever to extract concessions from the French. He was actually also very flexible regarding his claim to the French throne and, in this period at least, tended to use it as a negotiating device. As seen from his agreement to forego further warfare in return for French help in securing the annulment of his marriage.

Henry VIII believed that it was essential to undermine papal authority in England after the Pope’s refusal to grant Henry VIII the divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Moreover, it was Wolsey's inability to obtain the annulment for Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon that disappointed Henry VIII and resulted in Wolsey’s dismissal from his role as Lord Chancellor. This resulted in the Break of Rome in 1529 that was driven by Henry VIII’s will and no other, altering English foreign policy greatly from Hapsburg favouring to a more defensive approach. English foreign policy in the 1530s also became more focused on achieving the control of the English Church and satisfying Henry VIII’s need for a new wife. Henry VIII’s isolation from other European Catholic counterparts was less of a concern at the time, since Cromwell had not only gotten Henry VIII his divorce but also given him greater powers than any king before him through the Act of Restraint of Appeals in 1534. Thus, due to his change of nature in his foreign policies, he valued the marriage with Anne Boleyn and the security of the Tudor Dynasty, over its strong impact on Anglo-Spanish relations. However, most of Henry VIII’s foreign policies were only short-term measures and ultimately failed to reach his objectives. The Battle of the Spurs was expensive, costing £1.6 million and Tournai and Therouanne benefitted Maximillian more than England, making the territories more of a bargaining tool for the future of France, rather than a permanent land. This insinuated his failure to achieve significant territorial goals, since the wars were seemed to be fought more with the objectives of his allies rather than Henry VIII’s in the early years of his reign. Moreover, the Treaty of London was short-lived, since the treaty collapsed with the uprising of Charles V and the death of Maximilian in 1519. The Battle of Spurs also resulted in domestic disturbances, such as the Amicable Grant of 1525, illustrating how short--sighted and non-durable his foreign policies were, and how the foreign policies of Henry VIII fundamentally failed to achieve his objectives. In addition, the Break of Rome in 1529 isolated England from other European counterparts and in the 1530s the only attention paid to Europe was to deal with the Pope, whereas the Pope excommunicated Henry VIII in 1538, further separating England from the Hapsburgs. Cromwell made overtures through the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance in hopes of bridging the gap between England and other Protestant countries but nothing was agreed amongst them. Furthermore, the marriage to Anne of Cleves which was meant to further strengthen England’s relationship with the countries failed miserably, ending shortly on the grounds of non-consummation. In conclusion, the foreign policies of Henry VIII did achieve some of his objectives in the years 1509-47, with the Treaty of London being one of the “glittering success”, however most of them were short-sighted, non-durable and naïve, with the treaties being short-lived, ending in collapse of treaties, reinvasion of European counterparts. Henry VIII ultimately was unable to achieve his main objectives, and had changed his approach from aggressive and defensive and back to aggressive at the time of his reign, often sacrificing some of his objectives to get what he wants....