Henry VII achieved the aims of his foreign policy. Comment

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Henry VII achieved the aims of his foreign policy. Comment

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enry VII thought an effective foreign policy was essential in the governing and security of the realm. Henry believed that a good foreign policy meant security, recognition and prosperity. Security: Henry thought it very important to prevent other powers from harbouring pretenders to the English throne. Recognition: the beginning of the new Tudor dynasty had to be accepted over seas. This gave Henry a secure position on his throne and the family marriages in Spain and Scotland were vital in his process to achieve international respectability. Prosperity: Henry knew that a rich king was better respected than a poor one. He was anxious to fill his pockets with foreign money and improve the trading of England’s merchants. A successful example of this being the treaty of Etaples in 1492 with France giving Henry a £5000 pension paid to him every year for the rest of his reign.

Henry VII had several areas that he needed to concentrate on in order to prevent any clashes with foreign powers: France, Spain, Burgundy, Scotland and Ireland. Each had its own problems, which Henry was quick to resolve, and in some cases, make money from.

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rance had been a rival with England since William the Conqueror invaded and took control of England. Evidence for this long running feud is the Hundred Years War. Henry VII had a good start this time though, he had been exiled to France and had made some good friends there. In the same year that he came to the throne, Henry negotiated a truce with France that would last until 1487 and after that Henry hoped that he would not need a peace treaty with France in order for them not to attack him. However, in 1487, France was intending to take control of Brittany by marriage. Anne of Beaujeu was proposing the marriage of Charles VIII of France and Anne, daughter of Dike Francis of Brittany. Brittany called upon England for assistance in the matter. Henry agreed to send troops to Brittany, for a price though, while he acted as a mediator between France and Brittany. Brittany shunned Henry’s help as mediator so he therefore renewed his truce with France for another two years. In July 1888 France took Brittany and made sure that the heir to Brittany could not marry without French consent. Duke Francis died 3 weeks later putting his daughter Anne in the custody of France and free to marry Charles VIII, the total take over of Brittany and its incorporation into France seemed imminent. Despite this Henry still felt obliged to defend Brittany so he and Maximillian, Holy Roman Emperor, sent troops to defend the border with France. A downside to this plan however, was that Maximillian could not be trusted as he so often changed sides. Out of Henry’s control, Charles VIII marries Anne in 1891 and Brittany becomes part of France so Henry is left unsure about the future with France. In October the following year, 26000 men are sent to siege Boulogne on the French coast. This was a failed attempt to retaliate as October is not the month to be fighting and Charles was concentrating on Italy at the time. Later that year, Charles and Henry signed the treaty of Etaples, this contained two important sections, France could not harbour pretenders to the throne of England and they would pay Henry an annual pension of £5000 to keep him out of France’s affairs. Both of these sections were very helpful to Henry as he was gathering wealth to establish the Tudor dynasty, and to secure the throne. Henry knew how important it was to prevent pretenders to the throne from gaining support, as he was one himself.

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Towards the end of his reign, Henry attempted an alliance between France, the Netherlands and England, The League of Cambrai. This was not at all successful and it collapsed, Henry was left isolated from Europe. However, was this isolation beneficial to Henry as isolation could lead to nobody being interested in dealing with you so you gain no enemies.

All told, Henry’s dealings with France were somewhat dangerous at the start of his reign but turned out beneficial to him as he had gained an extra £5000 per annum to establish his dynasty.

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