Pembroke-born King Henry VII trade agreements and later years

We’ve covered from his birth in Pembroke Castle through his childhood and into his reign as king.

This week we’ll look at how he was able to establish various trade routes, keeping the peace internationally, his later life and death.

In February 1489, Henry signed the Treaty of Reddon with representatives of Brittany.

The treaty was signed so 6,000 troops were sent to fight to prevent France from annexing Brittany.

He also created a policy to recover the lost Plantagenet claims in France and to recover Guyenne, marking the shift from Britain’s neutrality as France invaded Brittany to intervening in the invasion.

A treaty was signed with France which provided money for England and the French agreed they would not support any pretenders to the English throne.

In November 1492, Henry is said to have mounted a minor invasion of Brittany and signed an alliance with Spain to help keep Brittany out of French hands.

King Henry VII by John Faber the Younger. Picture: Yale Center for British Art

Henry began to subsidise shipbuilding in an attempt to strengthen his position as king and strengthened the navy.

He was one of the first monarchs to recognise the importance of the Spanish kingdom, which had been recently united.

He led peace treaties in Spain and the UK with the Treaty of Medina del Campo, which saw eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales, marry the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon.

The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was also created by Henry, where he betrothed his daughter Margaret Tudor to King James IV of Scotland in an attempt to break the alliance between Scotland and France.

It was said to be the first treaty between England and Scotland for almost two centuries.

Henry also formed an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and was influential in Pope Innocent VIII’s issuing of a papal bull of excommunication against pretenders to the British throne.

Henry was asked by Emery d’Amboise, grand master of the Knights Hospitaller in 1506, to become the protector and patron of the Order.

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Henry VII became involved in the trading of alum from 1486. He licensed ships and obtained alum from the Ottoman Empire before selling it to the Low Countries and in England.

This angered Pope Julius II as the only area in Europe the alum was mined in was in Tolfa in Italy, which meant the Pope was in control over it. But Henry VII was able to bypass this.

King Henry VIII, successor to the throne

In 1494, Henry banned trading with the Netherlands after Margaret of Burgundy supported Perkin Warbeck, who was trying to lay claim to the English throne.

During this time, the Merchant Adventurers moved from Antwerp to Calais and Flemish merchants were ejected from England. Which led to a disadvantage for England and the Netherlands.

Two years later it was reinstated using the Magnus Intercursus which allowed England to remove taxation for English merchants, leading to a significant increase in English wealth.

During his later life, Henry VII had a troublesome time. His son and heir Arthur, Prince of Wales, died at Ludlow Castle in 1502.

The king let his emotions show in a rare moment of intense grief and sobbing.

The death of his eldest son meant that Henry, Duke of York was to be next in line of the throne where he would later be known as Henry VIII and would marry his brother’s widow Catherine of Aragon after Henry VII’s death.

Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth's effigies at Westminster Abbey. Picture: Flickr

In 1503, his wife Elizabeth died and he shut himself away, refusing to speak to anyone for a number of days. Henry VII became sick following the death of his wife and would only allow his mother near him. He then had to give his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland.

He died of tuberculosis at Richmond Palace on April 21, 1509 and was buried in Westminster Abbey next to his wife.

Henry VII was survived by his daughters Margaret and Mary and son Henry VIII. His eldest son Arthur died at the age of 16, his daughters Elizabeth and Katherine died at the age of three and eight days old, respectively, and his son Edmund died at the age of one.