'Dynastic Security Was the Most Important Aim in Henry Vii's Policy', How Far Do You Agree?

King Henry VII was the monarch between 1485-1509, he had a long yet unstable reign shaken by his weak claim to the throne. In order to consolidate England's position in Europe, Henry began to follow a defensive foreign policy in order to improve relations with other European countries and thus increase the protection of England if they were to ever be attacked by France who was one of the main powerful countries leading in Europe. Predominantly, the most important aim of the foreign policy was 'dynastic security'.

Dynastic security was Henry VII's most important aim because it allowed him to get rid of rebels such as the pretender Perkin Warbeck and in order to secure the dynasty Henry had to make allies with other countries so they can accept him as king of England and if the most powerful countries such as France and Spain were to accept him, surely, the public would have to as well. In 1492, after Henry had intervened with affairs between the marriage of Charles VII of France and Anne of Brittany; France had gave him a pension of £5000 every year to keep him out of affairs – this was the Treaty of Etaples. This was not necessarily forming a bond between the two countries however in return France could not harbour pretenders to the throne of England. Both promises were very helpful to Henry as it gave him the wealth to establish the Tudor dynasty and secure the throne and also prevented pretenders to the throne from gaining support which could threaten his role.

At the time of Henry's reign, Spain was one of the most powerful countries in Europe as it was run by Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Through the Treaty of Medina Del Campo, Henry settled the marriage of his son, Arthur to Catherine of Aragon. This would create a bond between Spain and England and therefore make England more powerful – it also gave Henry the chance to watch over the royal family in Spain and make sure no rival power base was established. The treaty also gave Henry...