Henry VIII's
First War
Henry was looking for an excuse to go to
war against France. To quote J. D. Mackie. "A king of England
must be a foe to France and Scotland, the ally of France; he must,
if possible, assert his own right to the crown of one country and
the suzerainty of the other; he must, if he was to attain to full
majesty, wage a successful war." The problem Henry faced was
the temporary conjunction of the majority of the other European
states in the League of Cambrai. Until the League was dissolved
any attack on France would be inviting retaliation from virtually
the whole of Europe.
Henry's desire for war was more than matched by the Venetians need to break up the League before they were annihilated. Despite Henry renewing his father's peace treaties with France and Scotland in 1510, the situation gradually changed in favour of the Venetians. Henry cemented his relationship with Spain by marrying his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, on June 11th 1509. He also pressed for his sister Mary to be married to the Archduke Charles of Burgundy to create a dynastic link with the Netherlands and the Empire.
In February 1510, the Venetians, aided by the English ambassador to the Holy See, Cardinal Bainbridge, made peace with the Pope. Julius II had discovered that inviting the French into Italy had been a grave error. Throughout 1510 and 1511, the Pope, aided by the Swiss and the Venetians, unsuccessfully attempted to expel the French from Italy. By themselves they were not strong enough to do so and their attempts to broaden the alliance were unceasing. A letter from the Venetian Senate to their ambassador in Rome illustrates the diplomatic manoeuvring...
With regard to the Pope's intention of proceeding to ecclesiastical censures against France, do not think fit to dissuade his Holiness; for such censures, as they would be justly pronounced, would avail much with the Christian powers, especially with the King of England, of whom for many days they have received no intelligence. Think it is desirable that the Pope, through the Archbishop of York, should keep urging the King of England and make him acquainted with the rapacity of the French and their evil doing.(10)
France and the Papacy extended the war to the ecclesiastical front, with both sides calling General Councils of the Church. The prospect of schism within the church may have helped to persuade the Emperor Maximillian to break with France. He was also grateful for Henry's help in the Netherlands. An expedition of 1500 men led by Sir Edward Poynings was sent to aid Margaret of the Netherlands against the French client, the Duke of Gelders, in 1511.
On 13th November 1511, England joined the Holy League, initially composed of Spain, Venice and the Papacy. Henry also signed a treaty with his father-in-law, Ferdinand of Aragon, promising to attack France before the end of April 1512.
The French would have preferred to remain at peace with England, allowing them to concentrate on Italy, but seeing war was inevitable, took steps to defend themselves...
The King is going to keep Easter here, and will not leave till he knows the determination of the English, whether they will carry the war into Normandy or Guienne. If into Normandy he will retire into Normandy, whither he is now sending a band of artillery; if into Guienne he will retire thither and has already sent Mons. de Longueville, who is at present at Bordeaux, and a band of artillery. The Queen has made a vow to Our Lady of Follagonum, in Basse Bretagne; and will start as soon as she is well recovered, to protect her Duchy of Brittany against the English and collect troops for the use of the King. The English will regret their rashness.(11)
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