How successful was Henry VII in achieving his foreign policy aims
When Henry VII usurped the throne in 1485 one of his immediate tasks was to establish positive
links with the other nations of Europe in order to achieve recognition and acceptance of his dynasty.
As his reign progressed and he more established, it was inevitable that he would pursue a more
ambitious foreign policy where he increasingly attempted to drive, rather than respond to foreign
issues. As the aims of Henry’s foreign policy continued to change throughout his reign it is only
through splitting is reign into distinct periods that we can fully judge success, as what may have
constituted foreign policy success in 1487 may not constitute foreign policy success in 1508.
Within the period 1485-1492 Henry’s key aims were to achieve international recognition, discourage
other countries from promoting pretenders and avoid costly and potentially dangerous foreign
entanglements, thus allowing him to focus on consolidating his own fledgling dynasty. On the whole,
Henry was extremely successful in achieving his aims in this period; a series of truces were agreed
with both Scotland and France which both reduced the threat of invasion whilst at the same time
not committing Henry to war in their defence. In addition to this Henry was also successful in
establishing a commercial treaty with Brittany, thus allowing Henry to achieve one of his principle
aims of maximising his income by expanding his trading outlets. His greatest success however was
unquestionably the Treaty of Medina Del Campo with Spain, which achieved all of his major aims; As
well as being recognised as an equal by a great power, Henry also received an agreement from
Ferdinand that he would refuse to support pretenders, further cementing Henry’s dynasty.
It is however essential to acknowledge that Henry did not always achieve his foreign policy aims in
this first period, as demonstrated by France’s annexation of Brittany, which demonstrated her great
power status. Henry’s attempts to support the Bretons through both the Treaty of Redon (in which
he sent 6,000 soldiers) and the invasion of France in 1492 were both unsuccessful, with Henry forced
to acknowledge France’s military superiority. In spite of this, it is apparent that Henry did however
still succeed in one of his principle foreign policy aims, that of dissuading the European nations from
harbouring pretenders. Part of the Treaty of Etaples stated that France would offer no further
support for the pretender Perkin Warbeck, demonstrating clear success for Henry.
With the French no longer backing Warbeck, Henry could now feel secure on the throne. As a result,
he began to adopt a more ambitious policy aimed at boosting his status within Europe and further
maximising his income through the negotiation of beneficial trading interests. Henry’s success in
boosting his status was particularly successful and is best evidenced by his entry to the Holy League
in 1496, in which Ferdinand was willing to allow Henry to enter the anti French alliance in spite of
Henry’s demands that he would not be bound for war with France. This period was also
characterised by successes in other areas, most notably in terms of trade. The Magnus Intercursus
allowed Henry to further trade with the Low countries by negotiating preferential trading rates and
lifting the embargo that he had imposed during Warbeck’s Rebellion. The success of this area of
policy was however more limited, with the Merchant Adventurers threatening some of these gains
by coming into conflict with the government of the Low Countries.
Henry’s greatest foreign policy success in this period was however undoubtedly in the field of
marriage. The marriage of his daughter Margaret to James of Scotland cemented the Treaty of
Ayton, leading to the establishing of positive relations with Scotland for the first time since 1328.
More significant was the marriage of his son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon in 1501. Although the
two had been betrothed since 1489, the fact that the marriage itself took place is testimony to the
success of Henry’s foreign policy in this period, as it was only by increasing his power, status and
wealth that Ferdinand was willing to permit him to marry his daughter.
After his successes in achieving his foreign policy aims up to 1501, the success of Henry declined
significantly after this point. Henry was forced to fundamentally re assess his aims following the
death of Arthur in 1502 and the death of his wife Elizabeth in 1503, and now had to find a suitable
foreign bride for his new heir Henry, whilst also looking for a bride for himself. The death of Arthur
also put the Spanish Alliance in serious doubt, an issue further complicated by the increased
likelihood that the united Spain may break up into a second rate power (and therefore poor quality
ally) following the death of Isabella in 1504. With all that Henry had worked for seemingly in ruins,
he now also had to search for a potential new ally. Henry struggled on all three counts; he was
unable to find a bride for his son during his lifetime (the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of
Aragon took place after Henry VII’s death), and his own attempts to find a suitable wife in the form
of Joanna of Naples or Margaret of Savoy proved unsuccessful. This lack of success was also mirrored
in his attempts to seek alternative allies. Despite initially being included in the anti Spanish League of
Cambrai, Henry eventually found himself excluded from this in order to accommodate the Spanish,
and by the end of his reign found himself without any major ally.
Henry’s third period of foreign policy was clearly his most unsuccessful in terms of achieving his
aims, however this must be put in context, and is largely testimony to how successful he was in the
years before this. Having achieved his principle aims of achieving international recognition and
acceptance relatively early on , it was always likely that he would face disappointment later on in his
reign as his objectives became increasingly ambitious. Whilst his foreign policy was in no way a
complete success, as most notably demonstrated by the collapse in relations with Spain, Henry
arrived to the throne as a usurper, and on his death had no major enemy, with no foreign power
willing to back an alternative claimant who may challenge his son’s claim to the throne.