The success of a 15th or 16th century monarch can often be broken down and assessed by their actions regarding foreign policy. A judgement has to be made by the interpretation of the word “effective” in context. Foreign policy is arguably the key to stability or the making of an unsuccessful king. This coupled with the amount of foreign enemies, unsuccessful battles, and level of profit accumulated in relation to the cost of battle among others are some of the factors that resulted in a kings reputation being formulated. Henry VII as a monarch has a reputation of rebuild and restructure in regards to foreign policy and kingship, but the extent to which foreign policy is the key to stability can be assessed.
Known as the ‘auld alliance’, reputation with France had shaped the support among the population of monarchs for years upon years. Henry VII was seen to be in a legacy of debt to the French king after he has supported Henry Tudors claim to the throne. In previous years control of France had made the reputation of the king but this time it could be seen as the ultimate controlling factor. Immediately this was seen to act as a stabilising factor, this left the English king in a position of comfort knowing that a positive relationship with France has already been achieved and did not have to be forced. However, in 1482 Henry was seen to send troops to support Anne, the Duchess of Brittany against France. Although this action was not one of aggression, and certainly didn’t compromise stability. Henry admitted his troops towards the end of the year which stressed that he only intended for a short campaign. The number of troops that were sent were also limited but were strong enough to show England as a powerful force to its neighbours. This was a tactical success for the crown of England, showing them with power but also with a suitable level of respect for the French thrown as through this attack it forced French movement into Italy, resulting in the Treaty of Etaples being formed. As a result both the kingdoms of England and France came off in a beneficial situation. This shows foreign policy as the key to the stability as by ensuring a constant and threat less relationship with the largest enemy to the throne, Henry was able to expand top other foreign allies to strengthen their wealth, success and further a strong kingdom in England.
However, despite the relationship that has been resolved with France, it was far from not being a threat. France was described quintessentially by historians such as John Guy as being the “lynch pin to all English foreign failures of the period”. With this in mind it was clear to see that despite Henry’s incredible ability to form a thriving Anglo-French connection, the alliance between France and Scotland was still a threat to the stability in the sense that if an attack was formed from the two nations that were still bonded. A threat from the north and the south the oldest alliance of English enemies were still in support of one another and it was apparent that it was hard for Henry VII to effectively deal with this and allow a stable foreign policy to be formed.
Coupled with the still existing connection with France, Scotland and their ruthless, rugged king, James IV, can be seen as a huge destabilising factor in the reign of Henry VII. By 1487, James was seen to be unsure where his loyalties lied, he wanted to end the “oldest rivalry seen in the history of the British Isles” (Taylor) but didn’t want to compromise his alliance that was still powerful with France. Initially he chose the latter, Henry was unable to break the bond that was apparent between his two greatest age old rivals. Immediately it could be seen that this was a downfall in his foreign policy, for the first year of his reign actions regarding Scotland were out of Henry’s control, emphasising that it wasn’t an immediately stabilising factor. Furthermore, it could be seen that through the support that Scotland provided to pretenders such as Perkin Warbeck, this was highly undermining to the English throne, this lack of English control was a destabilising factor in the early years of his reign. Vergil described Henry’s dealings with Scotland as “[lacking] finesse” due to the manner in which he let their actions slide by with little response at the start. However, it can be argued that in the subsequent years to follow the foreign policy that was implemented by Henry can be seen to be effective and therefore consoling a stabilised position. From the years of 1486 to 1488 a truce was formed between the English as the Scottish. James IV made peace with England by signing the Treaty of Ayton at St Dionysius's Church in Ayton in Berwickshire due to his actions regarding Warbeck. This was an act of stabilisation in the sense that it allowed the king with two years to rule unrivalled by those who provided the greatest threat to him. Although this was only a temporary solution to the problems regarding foreign policy with Scotland. The alliance was France was still strong and threatened rumbles of discontent towards the English on more than one occasion. Despite this, on the contrary it can be seen that Henry’s foreign policy with Scotland was effective and resulted in a lack of major threat or uproar, a stabilising factor.
One of the most reformist policies that Henry VII undertook in response to foreign policy was his work with Spain. As a newly formed European powerhouse, the united Spanish kingdom was one Henry was keen to ally with. After Isabella of Castilla married Ferdinand of Aragon, the “unified” marriage meant that Spain were a rising power in Europe. Henry was keen to ally against France, a more tactical decision than going to war against them and enforced a level of stability than the costly toll of war it still meant that England had a tactical advantage over the French. Henry was so keen to form this alliance in the knowledge that there was a lack of rivalry and history between the English and the Spanish, described by Judge as an “un-tormented limb of Europe”, an area not before allied with the English crown. This meant that it was unrivalled and non-complicated. This provided a certain level of trust. Furthermore, a key reason that Spain was seen to be so essential to stability was its involvement with the “New World” trade. After the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus Spain was rife in powerful and thriving trade links. Henry had seen a key opportunity to strengthen the expanding web of power that England was beginning to rebuild after the “intuitive reputation” left behind by nobles such as Warwick in the past. Forming links through trade allowed England to form trust and gain wealth and prosperity; money not only brought prestige but also security from foreign invasions, something that was key in stabilising Henry VII’s reign.
However, a factor that can be analysed to show that foreign policy was not the key factor in stabilising was Henry’s work within his government. Henry replaced aristocracy with previous power with those who he knew and could trust. An example of this was the appointment of John Marston as the Archbishop of Canterbury, He also used more of his loyal men from campaigns in Burgundy and from the Battle of Bosworth to create a central council, something that would become more prominent in the later years of his reign. In addition to this in 1485, 1487, and 1504 Henry brought in acts of livery and maintenance, these helped provide funds for Henry from nobility whilst maintaining control over them. They had to wear badges to show who they served and this provided social stability for Henry, as a result of this very few people caused uprisings as they would be punished be the acts if they didn't serve their retainers. The king also reduced the power of the church and this brought about a positive image of his kingship, gaining the support and trust of the people. Another area of admin that Henry used to stabilise his reign was the continued use of the Chamber system for financial management and by the middle years of the 1490’s it was dealing with 90% of the crowns income. By bringing it all into one central area it made it easy for the king to keep track of what he was owned and from whom. In order to be considered as a successful king money was key and the manner in which it was dealt with was highly important, asserting dominance and control over the land and people; after all as described by Elton “Henry VII was the greatest land owner in all of the land”. With this reputation came a need to be organised and the remaining chamber system allowed this to possible. It can be argued that through the trust implemented in his allies and the organisation upheld through the use of more personal and intimate chambers it allowed the government and admin of Henry VII’s reign to lead to a stable grip over the country he ruled.
Furthermore, another element of Henry’s reign that can be argued to be a key stabilising factor was the relationship with the aristocracy. This was seen to be something that needed to be assessed due to the importance of nobles as part of Henry’s kingship. They provided economic benevolences, they kept law and order in their spheres of influence and provided the thrown with military support. If Henry was able to keep these people prosperous and useful without allowing their power to succeed them like what was seen to happen with nobles of the past they would have been a key asset to his reign. He was able to do this through a system of offering rewards and threatening punishment to his men in order to keep them in line. Once again those who were loyal to him at Bosworth were able to reap in rewards and when land was redistributed they were favoured considerably. This reinforced the trust that had formed between them and allowed a strong relationship to be formed. IN addition, for those who he didn’t favour so much he distributed fake titles that had no purpose other than to consolidate his relationship with the nobility. For example he appointed someone in the role of “order of the garter”. As a result of this method of rewards he was able to build a level of popularity among the people which aided his reign as king of England. The second part of his techniques regarding the aristocracy was carried out by implementing a series of punishments on those who were not “loyal citizens to the crown”, quote from Elton concerning the Henry’s policy. He introduced attainder as well as bonds and recognisances. These acted as major sanctions to those who disobeyed him. One of these was known as the legal guarantee off behaviour, where 42 out of 62 members of peerage were conscripted under. He also was able to exploit feudal dues over land and rose unnecessary tax on events such as marriage. This resulted in the throne became more wealthy and those who had power to upset it in a situation of shrunken power. It can be argued that as a result of these methods of control used by Henry VII that his dealings with the aristocracy were key in stabilising his reign, the fact that so many monarchs of the past had met their downfall due to the work of “over-mighty nobles” Henry was able to learn from where others had failed and built a kingdom around his success.
In conclusion, it was apparent that Henry VII was a revolutionary king in terms of foreign policy. Although the dealings with the people of his own country through the government and the relationship that was formed with the aristocracy did aid his rule but it was no means as effective with dealing with the stability of his reign. Something that is crucial to any question regarding stability is ensuring that the foreign policy was something that was thriving and successful. The fact that Henry was able to stop any major alliances being formed with the “pretenders” meant that the major threat to de-stabilising his rule was already diminished. Likewise, the way in which he was able to deal with the situation in France and Scotland, two of England’s oldest enemies, avoiding any unsuccessful conflict it can definitely be seen as effective action in his foreign policy. With the lack of conflict that ensued as a result of the way this was dealt with it meant that Henry’s policy was not only effective but the intelligence used by him gained him a lot of support as many people looked at him as an inspiration. His ingenious tactics, although short lived, with the Spanish kingdom allowed England to strive into a position of healthy economic prosperity, something that for centuries before and centuries after had always acted as a key to stability. In summary, as a monarch the foreign policy of Henry VII can be seen as being effective due to profit he made abroad, the alliances formed, the lack of unsuccessful battles and the fact that England went unchallenged as a European powerhouse for a series of years; from this it is apparent that the key to Henry’s stability as king was his actions regarding foreign policy.