Source 4 agrees with the view that Henry VIII’s foreign policy failed because he lacked the resources to fulfil his aims. From source 4 we can learn that Henry’s allies proved to be dishonest and untrustworthy as they were bribed to go against the treaty they had made with England, “His allies proved unscrupulous and unreliable. Maxamilian and Ferdinand were bribed by the French to disown their treaty obligations to England, leaving Henry to fight alone”. Henry VIII struggled to fight alone and “accepted the fact that royal finances could not support a repetition of the campaign of 1513. So instead of overthrowing the King of France, Henry made peace with him.
Between the years of 1625 to 1629, discontent between Crown and Parliament was rife after a number of problems that caused conflict to arise. One of the major issues that caused such discontent was Buckingham’s foreign policy however, there were other reasons too such as Charles promoting Arminianism, Parliament not granting Charles tunnage and poundage and Charles refusing to remove Buckingham to name a few other reasons. Buckingham’s foreign policy is easily a significant factor as to why relations between Crown and Parliament began to get worse. Perhaps the most considerable factor was the failed Cadiz expedition. Buckingham was blamed heavily as the Cadiz expedition was a total failure.
However it wasn’t just Trotsky’s misjudgements that accounted for his failure it was the strength of Stalin that undermined Trotsky’s power and the opposition of both Kamenev and Zinoviev that made Trotsky weak. It was his misjudgement in failing to act against Stalin criticizing destroying him that was his weakness allowing Stalin to topple him. Trotsky had many misjudgements that made him weak and disliked, his opinion over the NEP put him in a very difficult situation he believed that the NEP was a reverse in Bolshevism and that it wasn’t a very good policy for Russia to obey if it were to turn communist, but Trotsky’s opinion wasn’t very respected due to him not being a Bolshevik from the beginning and having a sense of betrayal to the Russian people. Trotsky also only attacked the party bureaucracy which Lenin
Do you agree with the view expressed in Source K, that the diplomatic situation was the main reason for Henry’s failure to attain an annulment from Catherine by 1529? It is very clear that there was more than one factor that caused some difficulties for Henry VIII’s failure to gain an annulment from his marriage to Catherine by 1529. However, it is possible that the diplomatic situation has role in his failure, as it didn't help his case of getting an annulment and caused an impediment to his situation. Since the Pope was under the influence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, it made Henry’s situation more difficult due to the fact that he needed the Pope to grant his annulment, and what made it worse was that Charles V was the nephew of Catherine and had a great input into any of the Pope’s decisions. Source K argues that the Diplomatic situation was a highlight of Henry’s failed attempt to gaining an annulment.
Many factors affected the royalist defeat in the civil war; most causes are interrelated between the weakness of the royalist party and the strength of the parliamentarians. One of the most notable weaknesses of the royalist side was the inadequate leadership of Charles i. Charles proved to be a very weak leader in the years 1642- 1646 as he failed to solve a hand full of problems which escalated at great speed. However Charles himself was a causing factor towards the defeat, this was mainly down to his personality. Due to being so distant from the court, communication was a major problem. This was only escalated by Charles’ speech impediment which also made him seem weak and impractical, and meant that in the case of an emergency, a solution would always be harder to reach.
The Anglo-French alliance undermined Charles, which they hoped would seek to the freedom of the Pope. In 1527, the treaty of Amiens agreed that England would pay for a French attack on Charles. However with Wolsey’s focus on foreign policy and his efforts to try and obtain a divorce he neglected the domestic affairs of
Henry’s lack of political skill played a huge part in the feud between York and Somerset, which started in 1950 when Rouen and Normandy were lost to the French. This feud started because York blamed Somerset for the loss of Normandy. Which in 1453, he made clear by putting Somerset on trial for treason in France. Henry failed to resolve the feud between the two nobles because his personality wasn’t strong enough. This eventually lost him the support of York, after countless amounts of times that York attempted to prove his loyalty, which played a big part in his downfall because York was a very important noble.
Therefore when evaluating the reforms Wolsey managed to implement or fall back on in this particular case, it is important to judge by the standards of sixteenth century citizens rather than our own. One of the most important reasons for Wolsey’s lack of success was his pride and inability to forget past matters, in turn leading him to target influential people that could easily overpower his reforms, such as his battles against enclosure. A particular example of this is his feud with Amyas Paulet. Several years before assuming power, Paulet had placed Wolsey in the stocks after creating a riot. Once Wolsey had gained position as Lord Chancellor, Wolsey forced Amyas Paulet to wait in daily attendance in Wolsey’s court for five years and if failing to do so, would have all his property confiscated.
Do you agree that Wolsey’s foreign policy was defensive? FALL OF WOLSEY Do you agree with the view that the main reason for Wolsey’s fall from power was his failure to secure the annulment of the King’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon? FAILURE TO OBTAIN AN ANNULMENT BY 1529 Do you agree with the view that the main reason for Henry’s failure to obtain the annulment of his marriage in the years 1525-29 was the determined opposition of Catherine of Aragon? Do you agree with the view expressed in source X that the diplomatic situation was the main reason for Henry’s failure to attain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine by 1529? THOMAS MORE Do you accept the view that More was a cruel man with little compassion for others?
However, Henry had not been aware that the Spanish had already defeated the French and made peace, and the soldiers that did not die of illness were sent home. This was a failure in that Henry felt humiliated in the eyes of the rest of the world, and felt let down by both the other members of the Holy League. However, an important lesson was learned about the workings of the European politics of the 16th century, and also about the capriciousness of its monarchs; working only in their own interests. What was learned from this early failure would shape Foreign Policy decisions in the years to come.