To what extent was security the

primary concern of Henry VII's

foreign policy?

Throughout the reign of Henry VII, his foreign policy would be dictated by four main concerns. These were security, his dynasty, becoming recognised internationally, and that of trade. There can be little doubt that security was a key concern for Henry, but it is whether it was his greatest concern which must be questioned, or indeed, whether any of his concerns stand out as being of greater importance than others.

The way in which Henry VII had taken the throne from Richard III in 1485, in what is often referred to as one of the bloodiest conflicts ever to take place on English soil, meant that security would be perhaps an especially great concern for him. Henry knew how kings could be toppled, for he had done it himself. What is more, since his claim to the throne was loose at the very best, and he had no son or heir, his position on the throne was less than secure. The greatest threat to Henry’s position on the throne at this time can almost certainly be considered France. A French invasion, or French supported rebellion would not have been easily defeated. Indeed, in 1489 Henry makes this clear by signing the treaty of Redon with Brittany, supplying approximately six thousand soldiers in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at preventing the annexation of Brittany to France. By the end of December 1491, the Bretons had accepted defeat and Brittany independence had reached its end.

Almost exactly a year later, in October 1492, a more aggressive Henry assaults the French at Boulogne with a force of twenty six thousand men. France (under the reign of Charles VIII) was at this time firmly fixated on invading Italy, and Charles effectively bought off Henry with the signing of the treaty of Etaples.

This treaty dictated that Charles was not to support any English rebels, notably including Perkin Warbeck (quite possibly the greatest threat to Henry at this time). France also would have to reimburse the costs of Henry's invasion, and pay him money that had been previously promised to Edward IV in 1475.

Around the same time as the 1489 Treaty of Redon, Henry also negotiated the Treaty of Medina del Campo with Spain. This was important as it meant an alliance with one of the largest military powers in Europe, and agreement that Spain would not help English rebels. Additionally, Henry sought help and assurance that Spain would aid England in recovering the territories of Normandy and Aquataine. Although the terms of this treaty would in the end go largely unexecuted, the good relations Henry enjoyed with Spain throughout the next decade helped secure his reign. Threat from Scotland however, was cause for concern for England's security. James IV helped the rebel Perkin Warbeck in his attempts to overthrow Henry both in 1495 and 1497. Successful military action (and counter action) on the part of the English in 1497, causes James IV to accept the truce of Aytom, expelling Warbeck and ending support to him. Henry shows his concern for security again in 1497, signing a one year treaty with Maximillion, leader of the Holy Roman Empire.

Also of importance to Henry however, was international recognition. As afore mentioned, Henry had taken the throne forcefully, Henry needed to be sure he would be recognised as being the true King of England. He also was a relative unknown in world terms, and it therefore was important that he (as well as England) be seen as a true world power. Indeed, merely signing a treaty with a country helped Henry gain recognition internationally, in particular the treaty of Medina del Campo signed with Spain in 1489 helped, Spain being one of the main powers at this time. Another key example of Henry attempting to gain international recognition is in 1496, when he joins the Holy League (an anti-France coalition), on the agreement that he would not have to engage in any military action with the French, which seems to suggest it was more important to him to be seen as important internationally, rather than actually mounting a challenge to the French. Indeed, at the same time he even signs a trade treaty with France.

Again important to Henry himself, was his dynasty. This he secured in the earlier mentioned 1489 treaty of Medina del Campo with Spain. This treaty meant that his oldest son, Arthur, would marry Catherine of Aragon, the hope being that they would in turn have children and the Tudor dynasty would continue ruling England. Unfortunately, less than a year after they were married, Arthur died. This left Henry with but one son, Henry (later to be Henry VIII). Henry VII, still wanting to ensure the continuation of the Tudor dynasty, arranged for his remaining son to marry Catherine. Though Catherine maintained she had never consummated her marriage with Arthur, both Henry VII and Ferdinand and Isabelle of Spain agreed a papal dispensation would be sought from the Catholic Church. This was given, and they married in June 1509, around two months after Henry VII's death. These arrangements, made in the Medina del Campo treaty relatively early in his reign, and again after the death of Arthur, show dynasty to have been a sizeable concern for Henry.

The last, but quite certainly not the least of Henry's major concerns was trade. It could be said that its importance is shown by the fact that Henry passes the Navigation Acts so soon after gaining power in 1485. English trade at this time was inferior to the other trading powers, especially to that of the Hanseatic League (a trading organization made up mainly of Baltic states). It was in response to the Hanseatic Leagues success that the Navigation acts were drafted. The Navigation Acts were passed in 1486 and 1487 and heavily restricted the trade of goods from English ports. They meant that Cargo could not be loaded onto any other than English ships, unless no such ships were available, that over half of a ship's crew must be English, that wine could be loaded solely onto English ships, and that any goods brought to England had to be brought on English ships. Henry also encouraged the building of ships of over 80 tonnes; as this was good both for increasing trade and also the number of ships useable by the Navy. It was therefore, positive for trade and for security.

Unfortunately for Henry, this would not be the end of problems with the Hanseatic League. In 1491 a conference at Antwerp took place in an attempt to sort out the differences between England and the Hanseatic League. Henry was forced to return benefits to the Hanseatic League, as he feared they may fund Edmund de la Pole (who had a claim to the throne as a descendant of Edward III) in an attempt to invade England. This is a clearly therefore a strong example of Henry being forced to put security interests ahead of those of trade. It should also be noted that Henry's conflicts with France over Brittany could be considered an example of Henry putting security over trade interests, as France increased trade duties on English ships as a result. Henry does show interest in trade again in 1506, when Archduke Philip of the Netherlands, along with his wife Joanna, is forced to land in England by a storm. Henry tries to takes advantage of this opportunity with another treaty, called the ‘Malus Intercursus’ (the “evil treaty”, named because of its bias towards the English). This treaty would have meant that English merchants could get free trade with Burgundy, and that the Archduke Philip could not place taxies/duties on English goods. Unfortunately for Henry, Philip died in September of that year, before the treaty was ratified, and as a result trade returned to the previous agreement, the Magnus Intercursus, signed in 1496. This is therefore, a strong example of Henry attempting to seize an unexpected opportunity to benefit trade.

I feel I can conclude therefore, that although security was a major concern to Henry (a concern perhaps exasperated by the means in which Henry came to power) gaining international recognition, improving trade, and his dynasty were too, and in many ways equally important to Henry. Henry’s was more a case of striking a balance between these concerns, rather than concentrating on one to the neglect of the others. It should also be noted that the importance of each concern was not constant throughout his reign, international recognition and security for instance declined in importance as Henry's reign became more secure, and as threats came and passed.