There were genuine reasons of state behind most of these
engagements, aside from Henry's personal glory and that which he
wished to bestow on his countrymen through victory. The early wars
with the French were conducted, in part, as an effort to keep the
power of the French king at bay. Alongside Charles V's great, inherited empire,
France was the major power in Europe, and its aggressive behavior
toward the Italian states showed what an acquisitive appetite such
power fostered. France's threats to the Papacy were also looked
upon with great disquiet in Henry's England. Henry joined the Holy
League and fought expressly in defense of the Holy See in Rome
with singular zeal. He was urged along in this zeal by the tremendous
influence of Cardinal Wolsey, who sought to please the Vatican
and position himself, unrealistically, as a potential candidate
for the papal tiara.
Henry's posture in foreign relations shifted dramatically
after the break with Rome, and he had to balance new hostilities
with the Emperor Charles, a staunch Roman Catholic and Catherine
of Aragon's nephew, with the ever-present dangers posed by the
French, England's traditional Enemy Number One. His switched alliances with
the French and the Emperor throughout the decades of his reign
demonstrate, as historian G.R. Elton puts it, "the treacherous diplomacy
of the time which so largely consisted in switching allies at the
right moment." Henry may have injured England's international
position by fighting against the powerful Charles at the close of
the 1520s. In the end, with a small victory over the French in
the 1540s, Henry proved himself but a mediocre force on the international
scene.
The Scottish wars were the most pressing of Henry's military concerns,
and it was fortunate for him that his armies conducted these wars
successfully. It was an unfortunate situation for a king such as
Henry, looking for international prestige, that the northern lands
of the main British island formed a hostile nation against England–allying
itself with England's enemy the French–and would not be subdued.
English kings had claimed lordship over the Scots for many centuries,
and fought for unified government over the whole of the island.
Henry's victories laid some groundwork for such a future unity.
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