Henry at War

The political and religious face of Europe in the sixteenth century was very different from that of today. The choice of Henry VII to make Spain an ally was a wise one. France and Scotland, England's two closest neighbours, Wales being united with England, were far from friendly towards the English. At least with the might of Spain threatening France's borders one probable enemy would be otherwise engaged. With his love for the military it is no surprise that Henry led an invasion into France in 1513.

Taking the opportunity to attack their old foe while the king was away the Scots attacked their southern neighbours. The Scots suffered a disaster at Flodden. King James IV was killed along with 10,000 of his men. His wife, who was Henry's sister Margaret, now ruled Scotland in the name of her son. Henry was not a man to be trusted when it came to warfare. In 1520 he met with King Francis I of France on what has been called 'the field of the cloth of gold'. He signed a treaty with the newFrench king. Francis had an enemy in the form of Charles V, the King of Spain and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

With the alliance with Spain now past into history as a result of the new Spanish ruler it would be reasonable to expect Henry to honour his treaty with Francis. He did not. Once more he signed a treaty with Charles whose empire included Spain, the Netherlands, and parts of Germany, Italy and France. Such are the twists and turns of Tudor politics that in 1527 he had signed a treaty with France against Charles V. Charles V attacked and ransacked Rome capturing the Pope.

Henry saw the opportunity to use the situation to his own ends and applied to Pope to annul his marriage to Catherine. In 1542 Henry joined with Charles V against the French and their allies the Scots. It was following the defeat of the Scots army at Solway Moss that their king, James V, died leaving Mary Stuart as Queen of Scots. With warfare in mind Henry did leave a legacy; The Royal Navy was of his creation. Henry's navy performed with great credit in 1545 when a fleet of some 200 French ships attacked along the south coast of England. Despite the loss of the 'Mary Rose' the French were seen off.