However, a failure of the foreign policy, which is out of Wolsey’s control, is how England was repeatedly deserted by their allies. On several occasions such as the First and second French war, Charles and Wolsey had agreed to invade France but each time England was abandoned by Spain. This shows that Henry was obviously not taken seriously by Charles. England was left isolated in 1529, in the Treaty of Cambrai. This also shows how Henry was no longer considered an equal to the Holy Roman Empire and France.
Wolsey’s foreign policy was a failure as several policies were not organised. In 1527, Henry sought a divorce from Catherine. This would require an annulment from the Pope, but after the Battle of Pavia Charles V had controlled much of Italy and therefore was able to influence the pope and from May 1527 – after ‘the sack’ – he controlled Rome and thus the Pope. An alliance with France, the treaty of Westminster, was therefore necessary as the only legitimate way of creating military conditions in which the Pope would be free to agree to the divorce. As Charles was in control of the Pope, and obviously did not want his aunt, Catherine, to suffer divorce, he did not allow it. The condition of the Treaty of Westminster was that Mary, Henry’s daughter, was presented to the Dauphin of France. The Anglo-Imperial alliance was unorganised because this was an alliance that also had the condition that Mary would be betrothed to Charles V. Now she was promised to both. The Field of Cloth of Gold, in 1520, was unorganised because it did not create alliances, but just gave each nation a chance to show off their wealth (which Henry could ill afford). It also gave the impression to Charles that Henry was siding with the French.
However, Wolsey conducted a flexible and reactive foreign policy. Wolsey recognised the need to ally effectively in order to preserve English security and interests. In the period 1520-22 Wolsey organised meetings with, both, Francis I and Charles V, meeting with the imperial agents in secret in Bruges shortly after the Field of Cloth of Gold. Wolsey’s intentions were always to make a treaty with Charles in this period, but in order to get the best possible deal out of the Emperor and avoid a commitment to war, he kept communications with France open.
Wolsey’s foreign policy was successful as it pleased and satisfied Henry. Wolsey’s Policies made Henry look like a chivalric King. The Battle of Flodden in 1513, while Henry was campaigning against Louis XII in France, James I of Scotland by request of the French invaded England. This was done presumably to distract England. However England defeated the Scottish and killed James I, neutralising Scottish threat as the infant James V became King. This event made Henry stand out in Europe. The Treaty of London, 1518, was a Non aggression pact. Although it was short term, it did create peace. This treaty was considered a triumph for Wolsey, which in turn reflected very well on Henry.
However, a major failure for Wolsey’s Foreign Policy was the Lack of resources for success. In 1525, after Francis I was captured, Henry took advantage of France’s weakness and planned to invade France again and take the crown. However, the ‘Amicable Grant’ was ordered by Wolsey. This was a heavy tax without parliament approval. Henry’s plan to invade could not happen due to the failure of the Amicable Grant, and therefore lack of money and resources. In 1528, when Henry was trying to get a divorce, Wolsey tried to get the Pope on his side. Wolsey stopped trade with the Netherlands, which was the centre of trade for Charles’ empire. He banned the English cloth makers from using Dutch markets, but some English merchants were held hostage in retaliation so these efforts failed. Also there was a lot of unrest in English towns as the cloth workers were already hit by a bad harvest. This caused unrest in England and did not even inhibit Charles’ dominance over Europe.
In conclusion, to a large extent Wolsey’s foreign policy was a failure. Most of the policies set up did not work. The treaty of London and the First French war were a success but again they were only short term. A lack of money, resources and manpower meant that Henry’s aims could not always be achieved. The planning of alliances was disorganised. Wolsey tried to make alliances with both but when something was needed from the country they were not allied with at the time, the situation became very tricky. The alliances and England became so weak that England went on to be left out in the Treaty of Cambrai in 1528 and England was no longer considered as an equal to Charles and Francis.
by
yakfredgeorge (student)
