‘The foreign policy of Henry VIII failed to achieve its objectives in the years 1509 to 1547’
During these years, Henry VIII was the monarch on the throne and his foreign policy was at very important to him. Throughout his reign, the objectives of his foreign policy changed but it was mainly focused on proving himself to his subjects. In this essay, I will be arguing for and against the statement, nonetheless, I do agree that Henry VIII failed to achieve the objectives he set in his foreign policy.
Whilst his father dealt used diplomacy with other countries, Henry VIII preferred going into battle, which also helped achieve another objective of his; to be a warrior king. During the early years of his reign, it could be argued that Henry had managed to prove that he was different to his father and that he was a warrior king, albeit with a …show more content…
Due to Ireland’s strong religious affiliation to Rome, getting the Pale under greater control from London was a task but once achieved, Henry’s objective of achieving more influence and power was reached, which could be seen as a success. Furthermore, Cromwell managed to increase the power of the Irish Parliament for his own legislative purposes, in turn allowing him to grant Henry the title of King of Ireland in 1541. This proved that Henry’s and his government’s attitude towards Ireland worked to an extent and thus, allowing him to achieve his objective of increasing his influence. However, it argued that even through he gained more influence, his policies in regards to Ireland were not as successful as hoped, due to most Irish people refusing to adopt Protestantism and him not having the funds to carry out the full policy. Furthermore, despite him being called King of Ireland, he ruled only a small part of the country, therefore showing that his objective of trying to expand his influence had limited
During these years, Henry VIII was the monarch on the throne and his foreign policy was at very important to him. Throughout his reign, the objectives of his foreign policy changed but it was mainly focused on proving himself to his subjects. In this essay, I will be arguing for and against the statement, nonetheless, I do agree that Henry VIII failed to achieve the objectives he set in his foreign policy.
Whilst his father dealt used diplomacy with other countries, Henry VIII preferred going into battle, which also helped achieve another objective of his; to be a warrior king. During the early years of his reign, it could be argued that Henry had managed to prove that he was different to his father and that he was a warrior king, albeit with a …show more content…
Due to Ireland’s strong religious affiliation to Rome, getting the Pale under greater control from London was a task but once achieved, Henry’s objective of achieving more influence and power was reached, which could be seen as a success. Furthermore, Cromwell managed to increase the power of the Irish Parliament for his own legislative purposes, in turn allowing him to grant Henry the title of King of Ireland in 1541. This proved that Henry’s and his government’s attitude towards Ireland worked to an extent and thus, allowing him to achieve his objective of increasing his influence. However, it argued that even through he gained more influence, his policies in regards to Ireland were not as successful as hoped, due to most Irish people refusing to adopt Protestantism and him not having the funds to carry out the full policy. Furthermore, despite him being called King of Ireland, he ruled only a small part of the country, therefore showing that his objective of trying to expand his influence had limited