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Summary England (1485—1558): the early Tudors: Henry VIII
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All key information pertaining to Henry VIII's reign including Wolsey, the annulment, the reformation, factional conflict, e.c.t...
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Everything to know about: Henry VIIIPrior to 1529:
Henry VIII’s aims after becoming King in 1509:
- To demonstrate a break with the reign of his father
- Lay claim to the French throne
- Gain glory through war - building image as a ‘warrior king’
- To develop England as a well-respected power within Europe
Henry VIII’s aims: Demonstrating a break with the reign of his father:
- Successful:
- Henry was seen as a new hope by the nobility upon his accession.
- Henry executed Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson, the men that were
responsible for implementing Henry VII’s harsh financial policies.
- Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon. She was not allowed to go back to Spain
after her original husband, Arthur’s, death. Henry VIII was seen as chivalrous for
marrying a virtuous woman.
- Henry VIII sought war with France which differed to Henry VII’s aversion to war
and Henry VIII spent more money which differed to Henry VII’s reputation as a
miserly king.
- Unsuccessful:
- Henry VIII maintained many of his Father’s policies, methods of government, and
retained some of his servants - namely Wolsey who would become his most
trusted advisor until 1529.
Foreign Policy: France & Scotland, 1510-1513:
- 1510: Henry was tricked into renewing a truce with France by his advisors Archbishop
Warham and Bishop Fox because they did not approve of war with France.
- 1511: Henry was drawn into the Holy League with the Holy Roman Empire, the Pope, and
Spain against France.
- 1512: Henry sent troops to Spain for a coordinated campaign to take parts of France but
Ferdinand of Aragon took advantage of the troops and took his own parts of France,
sending back the English troops with nothing but financial loss.
- 1513:
- Henry led another campaign in France where England would win the Battle of
Spurs. At the same time, England had successfully won the Battle Flodden against
Scotland who tried to take advantage of England’s war with France.
- Therouanne was captured and given to Maximillian (HRE emperor) who burnt it to
the ground. Just like Spain, the HRE was not very helpful to England in its conflict
with France.
- England ended up claiming Tournai which, though not economically beneficial,
was an internationally known French city that gave Henry military glory.
- 1514: Henry was financially unable to continue his campaign and was forced into a peace
treaty. This would include Henry VIII keeping his conquests but his sister had to marry the
French king Louis XII.
,Wolsey: Why was he able to rise to power?:
- Patronage:
- Wolsey was originally a key figure in both Church (as a Cardinal and Archbishop
of York) and State (as Lord Chancellor) under King Henry VIII.
- He was Bishop of Tournai in France in 1514-18 and Archbishop of York from 1514.
- Wolsey became Lord Chancellor from 1515 to 1529, Cardinal for life from 1515
and, in 1518, he was appointed Legate by the Pope.
- Charm and Opportunism:
- He had the great ability to gauge his audience, to flatter and to be entertaining. He
was sociable, witty and a sponsor of musicians and artists.
- He would always be supportive of Henry’s ideas, for e.g: He had initially been
opposed to Henry VIII’s intent to war with France but when it became clear that
the King would not change his mind, he became the greatest enthusiast of the
idea.
- Henry’s disinterest in doing his job:
- Henry was less interested in day-to-day running of the kingdom and more
interested in music or sports like jousting and hunting.
- Intelligence and industry:
- Wolsey was a yes-man with phenomenal organisational skills: he was
indispensable to the King by his organisation of the French expeditions of 1513
which led to his position as Bishop of Tournai in France in 1514.
- Got his degree from Oxford at 15 and recognised that a career in the Church was
the best way to fame and fortune to anyone born without privilege.
- Worked at an incredibly high standard. He went to and from Flanders in three days
when asked to speak to Emperor Maximillian.
- He would propose a policy and ensure Henry owned it.
Foreign Policy: 1515-21:
- 1515: The landscape of Europe changed: Charles I(V) of Spain and Frances I of France
came to power in their respective countries. Francis had huge successes against the Swiss
in 1515 at Marignano (Swiss were seen as near undefeatable in battle).
- 1516: In the face of highly powerful countries, England’s treasury was nearly empty due to
previous battles. Henry was unable to wage war, especially when France and Spain signed
a peace treaty (Treaty of Noyon). Emperor Maximillian would join this treaty afterwards.
- 1518, Treaty of London:
- Wolsey was able to hijack a papal initiative to raise troops to fight the Ottomans
and turn it into an international peace treaty known as the Treaty of London.
- Wolsey was able to make Henry like he was leading Europe into an era of peace
when the Treaty was signed in London because it was signed by over 20 European
leaders- each signing separately with England.
- Wolsey gave Tournai back to France for them to sign the treaty.
- 1519: Charles V of Spain was elected to become Charles I of the Holy Roman Empire after
Maximillian died. Wolsey worked even harder to keep England’s position in European
affairs because Charles’ new position undermined the agreement.
- 1520, Field of the Cloth of Gold:
- Conflict sparked between France and Spain. Charles came to England to meet
Henry in May, 1520, and then Henry went to meet Francis in June of the same
year.
, - The location of the meeting between Henry and Francis, just outside Calais,
became known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. A Palace was constructed for
Henry there and a two week festival of jousting, feasting and wrestling took place.
- The meeting achieved little diplomatic value as it was mostly for show. England
and France were at war within two years of that meeting. Henry had also made an
agreement with Charles that he would not side with France.
- 1521, Treaty of Bruges:
- In 1521, under the terms of the Treaty of Bruges, Wolsey agreed to invade France
if France did not make peace with Charles.
Foreign Policy: Second French War, 1523-25:
- 1523: England was forced to send an army to France but Charles had abandoned his
enemy to take Milan. This left a cost of £400,000 (a year’s income) as well as the loss of
Henry’s reputation as a peace-maker.
- 1525:
- Charles had taken Milan and then captured Francis in the Battle of Pavia. Henry
saw Charles’ victory in Milan as an ideal opportunity to assert his claim to the
French throne.
- Wolsey was ordered to raise the required funds, but the heavy taxation of the
previous campaigns meant that he was unable to raise the Taxes and the plan had
to be abandoned.
- Charles did not help and he even annulled his marriage with Henry’s daughter,
Mary. This showed England's irrelevance in European affairs.
Foreign Policy: Diplomatic Revolution, 1525-29:
- 1525: England signed a treaty of Friendship with France known as the Treaty of the More.
Upon signing this treaty, Henry VIII gave up his claim to the French throne in return for an
annual pension.
- 1526: Wolsey Pursued an Anti-imperial alliance in Italy known as the league of Cognac
which was established to reverse the French Defeat at Pavia, England joined the league as
a protector.
- 1527: The alliance with France was reinforced through the signing of the Anglo-French
treaty of Westminster and later the Treaty of Amiens (which decided that England and
France would attack Spain).
- 1528: England Declared war on Spain, however, it did not raise an army and a separate
agreement was taken to preserve trade in the Netherlands (since Charles ruled the
Netherlands at this point).
- 1529: The Treaty of Cambrai was signed- though England was invited to join peace
negotiations at the last minute. The treaty was an agreement to end the warring between
Charles and Francis.
Wolsey’s Domestic Policy:
- Wolsey’s domestic policy approach can be separated into three phases:
- 1515-17: Success
- 1518-1524: Success begins to wane
- 1525-1529: Beginning of Wolsey’s fall
Wolsey’s Domestic Policy, 1513-7:
- 1513:
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