The Relations of England with France and the Habsburg Empire in the Reign of Mary Tudor (As Assessed by British Historians)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the foreign policy of England during the reign of Mary Tudor. Based on the views of modern British historians, it considers in particular the relations that established between England and the Habsburg Empire. The results obtained show that England’s foreign policy during that period was obviously defined by the marriage of the queen to Philip of Habsburg, the heir to the Spanish Empire. Traditionally, most historians, regardless of the direction of British historiography to which they belong, have assessed this marriage negatively, as it worsened the relations with France and tightened the domestic religious policy. In recent decades, however, many British historians representing different schools have argued that the union between Mary Tudor and Philip was beneficial to England. They agree that the alliance with the most powerful and richest country in Europe at that time was the only way out for England, which had fallen into a difficult economic situation. The war with France was a good way to divert attention from the religious strife in the country. Since different historical trends and approaches coexist in modern British historiography, many issues related to the study of the foreign policy pursued by Mary Tudor are still debatable and await further research and substantiation.