How far were Henry VIII and Wolsey successful in Foreign Policy 1509

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How far were Henry VIII and Wolsey successful in Foreign Policy 1509-29?

Henry's foreign policy was driven by a desire for himself and England to be a major power in Europe. He wanted England to be a ‘Sovereign Nation State’ that is a country that did not rely on other countries. To begin with he wanted to follow the traditional policy of English Kings, which was to wage war against France to reclaim the French crown. The first twenty years of Henry's reign 1509-1529 were dominated by foreign policy and it was in this period that Thomas Wolsey was to rise to prominence.

Yet foreign policy at this time was not just concerned with the prosecution of war or the associated acquisition of territories. It was in fact altogether more complex, both in its operation and objectives. Fundamentally, what Henry and Wolsey both sought was the protection of English interests, which in essence meant ensuring that treaties between foreign powers which were prejudicial or hostile to England's security, her broader political concerns or her commercial interests were prevented. This entailed on-going diplomatic and frequent military efforts to ensure that English interests were at least recognised and at best accommodated. This effectively is what England's foreign policy was all about: it was less a number of isolated and discrete wars and events, and more a series of continuous, albeit often reactive, measures. Foreign policy required an active effort, then, and this often, but not exclusively, meant war. Given the limitations of England's resources, Wolsey was often obliged to defer to the interests of his more powerful allies as the price of winning influential friends. In short, the foreign policy of the period 1509 to 1526 endeavoured to maintain England's interests through a series of mostly appropriate policies. Insofar as absolute gains were limited -- and this is especially true of the period between 1526 and 1529 when Wolsey encountered significant failure -- this was often because of wider circumstances, and not because Henry's foreign policy was vainglorious. Indeed, in the context of the constraints under which Wolsey was obliged to operate, his achievements were relatively successful.

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The Field of the Cloth of Gold was an event to make peace with France Henry and Francis I met in France. The meeting was spectacular. It was a scene of merrymaking. The site was quickly converted into a temporary city and covered with beautifully decorated pavilions. Henry even had a prefabricated wooden hall made which was then built in France. There were tournaments, jousts, banquets, and concerts. To give you some idea of the enormity of the event, Henry took with him nearly 5000 attendants and 3000 horses. 7000 conger eels, 2014 sheep, 312 heron, 70 litres of mustard and ...

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