Continuity and Change in Elizabethan Foreign Policy - Part 2

In the previous post we saw that at the start of Elizabeth's reign her foreign policy followed traditional lines and we saw how this traditional policy had developed over time.

Elizabeth continued to demonstrate this traditional policy for some time. In 1559 the Archduke Charles (younger son of the Austrian Hapsburgs) was a suitor for marriage with Elizabeth. This was to keep Phillip II of Spain both happy and a potential ally against French aggression particularly in Scotland where 10,000 French troops were stationed threateningly close to England. It was also important to keep Phillip II happy as rule of the Netherlands because of the importance to England of the cloth trade.

From the mid to late 1560's, relations with Spain began to deteriorate. There are several reasons for this, religion being a key one. Phillip II became increasingly annoyed and impatient with England and Elizabeth over their adherence to the Protestant faith. In 1558 Phillip had high hopes that Elizabeth would return to Roman Catholicism. As time went on he realised this was not going to happen. This deterioration meant that the Netherlands trade was threatened, though in reality the Netherlands enjoyed a good deal of freedom from Hapsburg interference. Then in 1566 the Dutch Revolt began. This was to last for most of the rest of the century and involve a near constant war with wild swings of fortune. This changed the situation dramatically; now the Spanish sought to re stamp their authority on the Netherlands and this really did threaten English interests and trade.

To counter this Elizabeth needed to foster a friendship elsewhere in Europe, the obvious place was France. From the late 1560's this is precisely what she did. In 1569 she entered marriage negotiations with the French Duke of Anjou (second in line to the throne) and in 1572 his brother the Duke of Alencon (later to become the Duke of Anjou) became the subject of marriage negotiations. Though these marriage negotiations came to nought they did result in a treaty of friendship, the Treaty of Blois. By this treaty, France abandoned the claims of Mary Stuart to the English throne and a defensive league, designed to prevent Spanish aggression against either of them, was established.

This new friendship was to survive several rocky encounters, including the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572 (massacre of over 3000 Protestants in Paris). The French and the English provided implicit and eventually explicit support for the Dutch in their revolt against Spain, and ultimately both went to war against Spain.

Surely this represents a clear change in English foreign policy? But where is the common denominator in all of this? The Netherlands. The main aim of English foreign policy here and for several hundred years previously, was to ensure the Netherlands remained in friendly hands. While Spain was a friend this was simple, France remained, as previously, the main threat. But when the friendship with Spain broke down and she became increasingly the enemy, the matter became more complex. France became the natural friend to counter balance Spain and to help maintain a friendly Netherlands. (Incidentally, this made sense to the French too - it provided a good counter to the Hapsburg encirclement).

When we look at it this way, Elizabethan foreign policy represented continuity.

Where Elizabethan foreign policy did differ was in Elizabeth's methods. Almost without exception, previous monarchs had treated foreign policy as their own private preserve, as a game from which they could extract fame, prestige, wealth, and personal prowess and the usual means to achieve this was war. Elizabeth used marriage negotiations as in preference to war. War was expensive and she rarely had the luxury of money to spent on such things. Yes she did take England into war, the reign began with war against France and hostilities continued until 1564. She took England into war against Spain in the Netherlands (and at sea). However, two points are noteworthy here:

1. she hesitated to send troops and real help to the Dutch for a long time
2. she attempted negotiations with the Duke of Parma (the Spanish commander in the Netherlands) to avert hostilities even while Leicester was going to the Netherlands with troops in 1585.

In one other important respect Elizabethan foreign policy differed from the past. It did not operate to serve the monarch's personal or dynastic policy. We can see this in several ways:

1. Elizabeth twice allowed herself to be dissuaded from a marriage she really wanted (Dudley in 1560 and Alencon in 1580) because national interests mitigated against it.
2. She went to war reluctantly.
3. She supported rebels against their appointed rulers, something she was always uncomfortable with personally because of the risks to rulers inherent with popular uprisings.