ABSTRACT

Henry VII's 1492 invasion of France, launched late in the campaigning season, is often depicted as an elaborate political exercise for salvaging the king's honour following defeat over Brittany, as an excuse for imposing taxes, and as a means for extorting from the French King a financially rewarding peace. Henry VII tried to exploit his anger, sending in February 1492 a letter to the electors and Princes of the Empire, in which the Tudor king condemned Charles VIII for marrying Anne of Brittany and for supporting the rebels in Flanders in order to subvert Maximilian I's authority. Henry's letter reads as a well crafted and calculated diplomatic move to help build the political support that would enable Maximilian to undertake an offensive war against France. Henry's decision in mid July to proceed with his invasion came soon after the failure of Nassau's embassy in France, when Maximilian appeared to be moving toward war.