Uncertainty and Strife, 1548–1566

Abstract

With the deaths of Henry VIII and François I in 1547, England and France faced with uncertainty the greatness of Spanish power. Spain was indisputably the world power, its empire in the New World being unrivaled, and the riches from those colonies, especially silver, were transforming the Western European economy. In Charles V’s instructions to his heir in 1548, the emperor recommended that in regard to the Indies Philip keep his eye on the French to ensure that they not send a fleet there, but added that in their previous attempts, the French had not proved tenacious, so that if the Spanish provided strong opposition, France would yield and withdraw.¹ By the time Philip II ascended the Spanish throne in 1556, the revenues from silver were reaching levels that France and England could only envy and could not ignore. Nonetheless, even at such a crucial time, it is too simple to think of England and France as unreserved enemies of Spain. Neither Henry nor François, each ruling for over 30 years, would shy away from working with Spain when he thought he needed to do so. For a time, Henry VIII had been the son-in-law of Ferdinand of Aragon, who also served as the regent in Castile and who had the English king support him against France with the result that Spain alone gained from the war. In 1554 Henry’s daughter, Mary Tudor, was married to Philip of Spain, and remained so until her death in 1558.