Assess the Impact of Foreign Relations on English Government Finances and the Economy in the Period from 1485 to 1603

Assess the impact of foreign relations on English government finances and the economy in the period from 1485 to 1603.

Throughout the Tudor era, foreign relations were key for all five of the monarchs who ruled during the period from 1485 to 1603 due to the implications that they could have on other policies, especially financial and economic. The various monarchs dealt with the issue of foreign relations in wholly different ways during their respective reigns; for example Henry VII and Edward VI’s advisor, Northumberland, were very similar in their desire to avoid war and confrontation. At the same time, Mary and Elizabeth I had many similarities with the most obvious being their desire to not engage in the expansion of trade and their propensity to go to war regardless of the funds and finances that were available to them. Finally, Henry VIII and Somerset were similar to each other in so far as they both wanted expansion, although Henry was slightly more adept at doing so. The foreign policy that was pursued at the start of the time period in question was all about keeping good foreign relations as Henry VII had just taken the throne and many other European Kings were sceptical of him due to the fact that he didn’t have a dynastic right so as a result government finances were barely affected. However, by the end of the reign the continuous aggressive policies pursued by Elizabeth against, primarily, Spain meant that government finances were in tatters – though a lot else changed during the period in question.

For the duration of the time from 1485 to 1603, a lot of the foreign policy was affected in some way or another by Spain. This is where Henry VII’s largely conservative policies started as his approach to Spain was different to most of the other monarchs. The most important development with Spain during the reign of Henry VII was the signing of the Treaty of Medina del Campo on March 26th 1489. The Treaty enabled Henry to both trust the Spanish and also gain valuable money that could be put towards the defence of England against the French, who were still disapproving of his lack of a hereditary claim to the throne. The treaty contained an agreement that the two countries would support each other in the event of a war against France. Also, the marriage treaty between Arthur Tudor and Catherine of Aragon came with a dowry of 200,000 crowns which meant the gains made by Henry far outweighed the costs. It also helped him to regain money that had been lost when he lent £138,000 to Burgundy to nullify the threat of a Spanish invasion. This was a reflection of the policies that Henry pursued for most of his reign as he kept a very good hold on government finances and ensured that his foreign policy wouldn’t affect the economy too much. Northumberland pursued largely similar policies with Spain as Henry had done sixty years earlier. However, Northumberland risked deflating the English economy