TUDOR FOREIGN POLICY: TIMELINE
Year
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
England
(Monarchs of England)
Spain & The Netherlands
(Monarchs of Spain)
France
(Monarchs of France)
Scotland & Ireland
(Monarchs of Scotland)
Other (Holy Roman
Empire, Portugal, etc)
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
Aragon & Castile unified
by Ferdinand and Isabella
Battle of Bosworth: Henry
VII takes the throne with
Breton and French
backing
1486
1487
3 Year Anglo-Scottish
truce formed
Defeat of Francis II of
Brittany by France at St
Aubin
Treaty of Redon; Henry
sends 6000 men to the
aid of Brittany
James III of Scotland
assassinated, James IV
succeeds him
Battle of Stoke, Simnel
defeated
1488
1489
Anglo-Breton commercial
treaty
Treaty of Medina Del
Campo with England,
Prince Arthur engaged to
Catherine of Aragon
1490
1491
1492
Columbus reaches the
West Indies, working for
Ferdinand & Isabella;
Conquest of Granada
1493
Trade Embargo on the
Bretons accept defeat by
France
Henry attacks Boulogne,
France quickly moves for
peace; resulting Treaty of
Etaples sets up Henry
VII’s pension
Netherlands to oppose
support for Warbeck
1494
1495
1496
1497
Warbeck gains favour in
Scotland
Magnus Intercursus
Warbeck tries to invade,
fails and is captured
Treaty of Ayton concludes
full peace with Scotland
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
Death of Charles VIII,
accession of Louis XII
Louis XII captures Milan
Death of Prince Arthur
Death of Elizabeth of York
Marriage of Margaret
Tudor to James IV
Death of Isabella
Malus Intercursus
Henry VII dies, Henry VIII
succeeds him
1510
1511
Holy League formed
against France (England,
HRE, Spain, Pope)
1512
1513
First French War
Battle of the Spurs
1514
End of First French War
Battle of Flodden; death
of James IV, accession of
young James V
Swiss forces take Milan
back from France
1515
Louis XII dies, Francis I
crowned; defeats Swiss at
Marignano
1516
1517
1518
1519
Charles (later Charles V)
becomes King of Spain
and Aragon
Luther’s 95 Theses
Treaty of London
Charles V becomes Holy
Roman Emperor
1520
Field of the Cloth of Gold
improves Anglo-French
relations
Valois-Habsburg wars
begin
1521
1522
1523
Second French War
Failed march on Paris
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
Second French War ends
First attempts to annul
marriage to Catherine of
Aragon
Fall of Wolsey
Diet of Worms; Defeat of
the Aztec Empire by
Cortez
Sweden becomes
independent from
Denmark
Battle of Pavia; Francis I
soundly defeated in Italy;
German Peasants’ War
Battle of Mohacs;
Ferdinand becomes King
of Hungary
Ferdinand becomes King
of Croatia
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
Augsburg confession
Act of Supremacy: Henry
formally leads Church of
England
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
Founding of the Jesuit
order
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
Battle of Solway Moss,
James V dies soon
afterwards. Mary of Guise
becomes regent for the
infant Mary Stuart.
Capture of Boulogne
Council of Trent begins
Death of Henry VIII;
Edward is crowned
1548
1549
East Anglian & Western
risings; fall of Somerset
Death of Francis I,
accession of Henry II
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh,
England occupies
southern Scotland. Start
of garrison strategy
Mary Stuart taken to
France
Battle of Muhlberg;
Schmalkadic League
defeated.
1550
France buys Boulogne
back
Withdrawal from
Scotland
1551
1552
1553
1554
Revolt of the German
Princes; Charles V flees
the Holy Roman Empire
Death of Edward; Lady
Jane Grey takes the
throne, but is replaced by
Mary
Act of Supremacy
repealed
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
Charles V abdicates,
Philip II becomes King of
Spain
Death of Mary, accession
of Elizabeth
Religious Settlement, new
Act of Supremacy
1560
1561
1562
1563
1564
Pope orders shunning of
Church of England
services
Charles V abdicates as
ruler of all his territories:
religious peace of
Augsburg.
France recaptures Calais
Death of Henry II,
accession of Francis II;
Treaty of CateauCambresis ends Italian
wars
Death of Francis II,
accession of Charles IX
Ferdinand I becomes Holy
Roman Emperor
Lords of the Congregation
rebel against Mary of
Guise
Mary Stuart returns to
Scotland
Huguenot/Catholic
violence begins to break
out; Le Havre expedition
Loss of Le Havre
Death of Ferdinand I
1565
Mary Queen of Scots
marries Lord Darnley
Darnley and others
murder Mary’s secretary,
Riccio
Darnley murdered, Mary
marries Bothwell
Mary flees to England;
her infant son James
becomes King
1566
1567
1568
Mary Queen of Scots
arrives in England
1569
1570
Northern Rebellion
Ridolfi Plot; Papal
excommunication of
Elizabeth
Treason act; upholding
the Bull of
Excommunication a
treasonable offence
Expulsion of the Sea
Beggars; Execution of the
Duke of Norfolk
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1578
St Bartholomew’s Day
Massacre
Death of Charles,
Accession of Henry III
First Seminary priests
arrive
1576
1577
Sea Beggars capture
Brielle and Flushing;
Dutch Revolt begins in
earnest
Catholic League formed
by Guise faction
Drake sets off on world
voyage; Martyrdom of
Cuthbert Mayne
Official end of James VI’s
minority
1579
1580
1581
1582
1583
Drake returns from
circumnavigating the
globe; Papal
pronouncement in favour
of Elizabeth’s
assassination; Campion &
Parsons mission to
England
Edmund Campion found
and executed; Act to
retain Obedience
implements heavy fines
for recusancy
Spain captures Portugal;
Iberian unification
Act of Abjuration:
Netherlands declare
formal independence
Throckmorton Plot
1584
James VI of Scotland
takes full control of
government
Assassination of William I
of Orange
Direct English
intervention in the
Netherlands under
Leicester
1585
Act against Jesuits &
Seminary Priests
1586
Mary formally disinherits
James in favour of Philip
of Spain to try and get the
Spanish to work on her
behalf; Babington Plot
Execution of Mary, Queen
of Scots; Land seizure act
Spanish Armada defeated Defeat of the Armada
1587
1588
Paris revolts against
at Gravelines
1589
1590
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
1601
1602
1603
Henry III
Death of Henry III;
accession of Henry of
Navarre, as Henry VI
Restraining & Gathering
act stops Catholics
meeting one another
Death of William Allen
Archpriest controversy;
unpopular George
Blackwell appointed by
Rome to supervise
English Catholics
English defeated at
Yellow Ford by Hugh
O’Neill
Death of Elizabeth,
accession of James VI of
Scotland as James I
HENRY VII
- Came to the throne with a weak claim
- Focussed on security for this reason (Warbeck & Simnel problems)
- Recognition from other monarchs vital (Medina Del Campo & Marriages)
- Had a strong financial focus to help keep his position secure (Magnus & Malus intercursus, trade treaties)
-
Made money from his invasion of Brittany via his pension
HENRY VIII
- Wanted to compete with other European monarchs (Field of the Cloth of Gold, Treaty of London)
- Very stable position left by Henry VII (No major claimants or contenders to his throne)
- Mismanaged finances badly to pay for wars with little gain (Lost vastly more money than he got from gaining Boulogne, 3 French wars)
- Debased currency for finances, money gained from monasteries not conserved
EDWARD VI
- Somerset regime; wanted to deal with Scotland more permanently and marry Mary Stuart to Edward
- Large expenditure on garrisons
- French still able to move Mary to France
- Policy failed, despite further currency debasement to pay for it
- Northumberland regime; tried to move expenditure back to workable levels
- Gave Boulogne back to France, ended garrison policy
- More aggressively Protestant
- Succession altered in favour of Jane Grey to try and keep Protestantism going; this fails majorly.
MARY
- Married to Philip of Spain
- English foreign policy very strongly linked to Habsburg/Spanish interests
- Enmity with France and Papacy as a result despite England’s return to Catholicism
- Loss of Calais the result of being in this conflict and largest foreign policy loss
ELIZABETH
- Wanted to end turmoil of mid-Tudor era and religious issues
- Thus had a very stability and security focussed regime and policies
- Resisted demands from court to be “Protestant saviour of Europe”
- Intervened in Netherlands, Le Havre, Scotland to prevent Spa/Fra controlling all the nearby coast and/or having Scotland as an invasion base.
- Preferred not to innovate in government and instead kept nobles on side (left tax rates at Marian levels, allowed monopolies etc)
- After Scotland ceased being a threat (became Protestant 1568 onwards) and Le Havre fails, less obvious tensions with France, Spain becomes the
major enemy due to its interference in the Netherlands