How successful was Henry VIII’s foreign policy? Essay

Henry VIII was a young king with many aims for England. His foreign policies mainly focused peace and security as expected by most kings however he choose to achieve this through war. Wolsey however wanted it through many peace agreements. Henry VII’s foreign policy can therefore be split in to aims he tried to achieve. These were: to please the pope, to increase security, to maintain the ‘balance of power’ to increase his prestige and finally for the image of a glorious kingship or his own reputation. Henry had to try and please the pope as the pope was god’s voice on earth and people were very religious including Henry in his youth. If the pope was an ally of Henry’s he could gain more prestige and increase security. In 1521 Henry proved his loyalty to the Catholic Church by writing his book called defiance of 7 sacraments. This he wrote this after Martin Luther started Protestantism. This gave Henry the title of ‘Fidei defensor’ (defender of the faith) which the monarch still has today. Although pope Paul III did try to take this title away in 1530 after Henry being excommunicated from the church, however in 1544 the English parliament declared through an act it to be reinstated. In 1512 Henry was invited in to the Holy league which was a group headed by Pope Julius II. The group was England, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and the pope all against France. However in 1525 the king wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled. This was a problem as he had to get permission to marry her as she was her brother’s widow. No pope should ever overturn any decision of another since they are god’s voice on earth so what they say god says and if 1 pope says another is wrong that means god was wrong. Henry could therefore not marry Anne Boleyn while he was a member of the Catholic Church. So he left it and England became protestant. He was also then excommunicated which is being kicked out of the church but he already left. Another bad foreign policy was the Avignon project which was Wolsey saying he would step in as pope why the actual pope was in captivity by the holy roman emperor. This was bad as people saw this as Wolsey only wanting to be the pope. In summary it was a short term success hence Henry being given the title by the pope and him being invited into the holy league. On the other hand it was a massive failure in the long term as he quits the religion and then is excommunicating leaving England a country with no allies and no democratic significance. Due to Henry being a young king he would also be seen as a weak one. This would then put security as a big aim of his. The treaty of London in 1518 increased security massively as it called a cease fire across Europe. However was also seen as a failure since it collapsed with the uprising of Charles V in 1519. The field of the cloth of gold also increased security as it cemented the friendship between France and England using competitive sports. This replaced violent confrontation with peaceful competition. On the other hand the treaty of Cambrai in 1529 was made by French, pope and Charles to exclude Henry from forefront affairs making him very isolated. In conclusion it was a short term success as the treaty of London did stop any wars for a short time however it collapsed but it was due to Henry so could still be a success because he could not stop Charles becoming powerful so could not stop the collapse. Also Henry was never invaded so in the long term it was still a success. Henry had to maintain a balance of power because if one country was to get too much power it would risk his security. The holy league and treaty of London are examples of were nations have got together to maintain a balance of power. Although Charles did stop the treaty and upsetting the balance more by becoming a super power in Europe. The league of cognac in 1526 was though set up by pope, France, Venice, Florence and England against Charles to maintain a balance. An argument against the success would be that he went to war with France upsetting the balance furthermore. To sum up it was a success until Charles V arrived then he upset the balance of power to much. Prestige was important in Europe as England has never been seen as a major country compared to Spain or France any king especially Henry wants to be better then both countries. The field of the cloth of gold helps this showing a strong relationship with a strong ally. The battle of Flodden in 1513 is also a good example because James IV dies along with many of his nobles weakening Scotland. However it could be seen as a mockery towards Henry as Catherine is the person who led the fighting why he is fighting in France. Also the treaty of Noyon showed a friendship between France and Spain forming which meant no need for Henry to be the middle man weakening his prestige. In summary this was a failure as it was not Henry at Flodden although it did increase the countries prestige it lessened Henry’s personal prestige. Finally Glorious kingship was Henry wanting to be remembered throughout history as a great king. He also wanted to increase his own reputation in Europe. The war in France increased the image as a glorious king according to Henry as he seed the best way to gain it by going to war and winning which is what he did at the battle of spurs in 1513 where he gained Tournai and Therouanne in northern France. Henry did not want to use treaties to gain the image as Wolsey suggested he should do. Treaty of more in august 1525 was therefore seen as a failure because Henry had to give back the land he had in France which he just spent time, money and men capturing for his annual pension to be resumed. In conclusion this was a short time success as the wars did give him a great image but the treaties to follow did not. On the other hand Henry is still remembered today but not as a glorious king but as a fat king with many wives. Overall henry’s foreign policy was very successful but only in the short time. The treaty of London possible the best thing he did. However once Charles came to the scene everything went bad and his foreign policy did not work. Finally leaving the church left him very isolated and without support since all the big powers in Europe were catholic and he was not.