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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pain had emerged as a superpower in Europe in the late 1400’s and its unification in 1479 with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon to Isabella of Castile made it a country to make peace with and not war. Henry VII felt the same the treaty of Medina Del Campo settled a marriage of the young Prince Arthur of England to Catherine of Aragon creating a family bond between England and Spain. This treaty also banned Spain, like France, from harbouring rebels against Henry. Another treaty was signed between Spain and England against France. Spain had agreed to assist Henry in attempts to regain land in France as long as England would do the same.
When Isabella of Castile died in 1504 Spain was once again divided. Ferdinand and Henry were now rivals in the marriage market. Due to relations when it was unified, both Aragon and Castile were friendly with England and as Prince Arthur died, Catherine of Aragon was set to marry the new heir to England, Henry (would become Henry VIII). However, this was in question as Henry felt it against his conscience to marry, what was, his brother’s future wife.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand had married the niece of Louis XII of France thus forming a French-Spanish alliance. Ferdinand did this due to the relationship between Burgundy and England; Burgundy was supporting pretenders to the English throne so Spain wanted had made an alliance between France, Spain and England, a powerful combination. In 1506 a newly united Spain was in alliance with France and Henry was left isolated once more, advantageous or disadvantageous? In a revival of the League of Cambrai, the Pope, Louis XII of France, Emperor Maximillian, Charles of Burgundy and Ferdinand of Aragon had joined against Venice. Yet again England is left out and isolated, leaving Henry very safe indeed.
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arly in the 15th Century, Burgundy had established itself as independent from France and in 1435 allied itself with Yorkist England. Edward IV had strengthened the alliance in the 1460’s. This alliance was useful to Edward as Burgundy helped him take control of England after hearing that France had sided with the Lancastrians and wanted to incorporate Burgundy back into France. Burgundy continued to support the house of York providing a safe place for Yorkist pretenders to seek refuge whilst gathering support to take the throne of England. Margaret of Burgundy was the key figure in these actions. A wealthy and powerful woman, she provided the financial backing for pretenders, two particular individuals who had substantial backing from her were Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck.
The Treaty of Windsor was signed between Philip of Burgundy and Henry VII. The treaty meant that Henry would recognise Philip and his wife Joanna King and Queen of Castile. In return, Henry would marry Philip and Joanna’s daughter solidifying the relationship between the two countries. In addition, Henry asked for the Duke of Suffolk to be handed over to him on the grounds of treason. The Duke of Suffolk had fled to Burgundy to seek the assistance of Margaret of Burgundy to help return the throne of England to the house of York. However, following the unexpected death of Philip in 1506, Ferdinand of Aragon proclaimed Joanna insane and her son Charles not only Charles of Burgundy but of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, like his father. Henry could not complete the treaty as Philip was dead and with no daughter for Henry to marry. However, the Duke of Suffolk was returned preventing another possible pretender. As the treaty had collapsed, Henry was once again left isolated from Burgundy, isolated being peaceful.
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n 1382 Scotland was recognised as being independent from England, despite this, English kings were still calling themselves King of Scotland. With it being independent, Scotland was regarded as the back door to England where people could invade through the fragile north. France was allied with Scotland at the time of Henry VII’s reign but Henry had seen to France with various treaties and truces. In 1485 Henry wanted to avoid an expensive war with Scotland and James III of Scotland was noted for trying to stir up revolts in the north and disrupt English security. In 1486, Henry negotiated a three-year truce with Scotland preventing them from entering England on a military basis. Before the truce had expired, James III was killed in fighting leaving his very young son James IV as king. As James was coming of age, Scotland was ruled by the lords and for the next few years the hostility continued. It was not until 1492 when James IV came of age that friendship could be established. However, James supported Perkin Warbeck in his attempt to take the throne of England putting him out of favour with Henry. James ultimately failed to cause unrest in the north and people were happy with the peace between the two sides. Henry tried to settle the matter by proposing the marriage of James IV to his daughter Margaret but James was far more interested in a Spanish princess. It was not until 1499 that James regarded Margaret as a serious marriage proposal and three years later they married. England and Scotland were once again joined. The marriage secured the Treaty of Ayton signed in 1497. This treaty was largely one of peace and it lasted for many years and like most treaties drawn by Henry VII it included a section stating that Scotland could not harbour rebels.
All together Scotland was left happy and England was happy also. Rebels could no longer find refuge in Scotland and it could not be used as a back entrance to England. Despite this peace, Henry was still concerned about their alliance with France.
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nother important area for Henry to make peace with was Ireland. The only part of Ireland under direct English control was a small area around Dublin called the Pale. Much of the eastern side of Ireland was in the hands of Anglo-Irish lords as opposed to the west, which was under the control of Gaelic clans. English Kings had relied upon the Desmond, Kildare and Ormund families to keep the peace in Ireland; the loyalty of these was to come into question in the early years of Henry VII’s rule. Henry was concerned with the possibility that Yorkist pretenders could hide in the vast countryside and when Perkin Warbeck landed in October 1491, his fears were confirmed. Things turned worse when Kildare did nothing to evict the rebel Warbeck so Henry removed him from his position. Poynings, as Lord Deputy replaced him, he immediately arrested Kildare and sent him to England for Henry to deal with. Poynings went on to establish his own law in Ireland, Poynings Law was harsh towards the Irish but meant Henry could rule it easier. The Irish no longer had any independent political power, parliament could not be called without the Kings permission therefore no laws could be passed without the Kings permission. The laws of England would now apply to Ireland as well but this was not negotiated with the Irish. Most important of all was that Ireland could not harbour rebels to England. This meant that Warbeck had lost his support in Ireland and had to leave in 1497. Things changed towards the end of Henry’s rule however with the pardoning of the Earl of Kildare in 1496 and power was returned to him. Later in 1509, complete control if Ireland was returned to the Irish.
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o conclude, all of Henry’s frankly brilliant foreign policies were a success. In France he had prevented them from harbouring rebels and pretenders to the throne, he also got a £5000 pension from them each year with the Treaty of Etaples. Spain was a similar situation, a powerful country that would be dangerous if made an enemy. Peace by marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII was successful and once more Spain could not provide refuge for pretenders to Henry’s throne. Yorkist Burgundy was kept away with the Treaty of Windsor and Scotland was kept at peace with the Treaty of Ayton, which included the section where they could not harbour pretenders or rebels. Ireland, a vast expanse of countryside ideal for Yorkists to hide in was not such a success as Henry was unable to establish control over it. However, he had insured the loyalty of the Desmond, Kildare and Ormund families by pardoning the Earl of Kildare after he ignored the arrival of Perkin Warbeck to his shores.
All told, Henry was at peace with Europe, Ireland and Scotland through various treaties, marriages and truces. He was also somewhat isolated from the rest of Europe, but was this advantageous? He was left alone to do his own business and did not concern the major powers on the continent.