What were the aims of English Foreign Policy 1529-1558 Essay Example

France, in the hope of marrying Edward and Mary. Even after Mary was relocated to France, Somerset kept fighting, pumping more and more money into garrisoning the Scottish border.Somerset's rule lasted only two years before the Duke of Northumberland seized control. His foreign policy was much less active than previously, which did cause some concern at home.

For example, he immediately ended the wars with Scotland and France. This was seen as losing face, but Northumberland was able to help the economy recover after the wars were ended.His other major act in foreign policy was to relinquish control of Boulogne to France earlier than had been agreed, and for a smaller sum of money. Again, this could be seen as weak but Northumberland needed the money to solve England's more pressing problems at home.

In 1553, Edward died and Mary came to the throne. She brought about a distinct change in foreign policy. For example, she chose as her husband Philip II, the king of Spain. This was a dramatic turnaround in foreign policy, as England had been Protestant and Spain Catholic for some time. Mary was also happy to send English troops to assist Spain in her wars against France.

Her main aim seems to have been to please Philip II and therefore secure a firm Catholic ally.To what extent were these aims achieved?The break with Rome in 1529 was achieved totally - Henry was able to set up his Church of England and get a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Thomas Cromwell played an important role in the break with Rome. However, the break can be seen as unsuccessful as it paved the way

for many other religious problems and disputes which were to come after Henry's death.The marriage alliance with Cleves cannot really be seen as a success. Although Henry did eventually marry Anne of Cleves, by this time it was unnecessary and Henry only went ahead with the marriage to avoid losing face.

Again, Thomas Cromwell had an important role in the marriage alliance, and it was because of this that his fall from power occurred shortly after. The fact that Henry divorced Anne of Cleves as quickly as he could shows that the marriage alliance was not really a success.The wars with Scotland and France can also be classed as a failure. The overall aim was to marry Edward to Mary Queen of Scots, however she was relocated to France and so the prospects of the marriage taking place seemed slim.

However, Somerset made the situation even worse by carrying on the war after Mary had moved because he was afraid of making England look weak. He tied up financial resources that could have been much better spent elsewhere.The aim of Northumberland's foreign policy, as much as he had one, was to help England's economy recover. This is why he ended the wars and relinquished control over Boulogne to France. He was then able to spend money on helping the economy, e.g.

recoining and paying off debts.Mary's foreign policy cannot really be seen as successful - however, this may only be because she was not on the throne long enough to properly implement it. Sending troops to help Spain fight against France was a mistake - it caused unrest at home and it eventually resulted in

the loss of Calais, which made Mary look weak. Her marriage to Philip II was unpopular at court, because there was a strong influence (faction) from Spanish advisors.