THE CONFERENCE OF CALAIS
1520-1521
The most significant point in the mediatorial policy of Wolsey was the
fact that it threw the Papacy entirely into the shade. What Wolsey was
doing was the traditional business of the Pope, who could not openly
gainsay a policy which he was bound to profess coincided with his own.
So Leo X. followed Wolsey's lead of keeping on good terms with France
and the Emperor alike; but Leo had no real wish for peace. He wished to
gain something in Italy for the Medici, and nothing was to be gained
while France and Spain suspended hostilities. Only in time of war could
he hope to carry out his own plans by balancing one combatant against
the other. Charles's ambassador was not wrong in saying that Leo hated
Wolsey more than any other man; and Leo tried to upset his plans by
drawing nearer to the imperial side.
It required very little to provoke war between Francis and Charles;
either would begin the attack if the conditions were a little more
favourable, or if he could secure an ally. But Charles was weak owing to
the want of unity of interest in his unwieldy dominions. Germany was
disturbed by the opinions of Luther; Spain was disturbed by a revolt of
the cities against long-standing misgovernment. Charles was not ready
for war, nor was Francis much better provided. His coffers were empty
through his lavish expenditure, and his Government was not popular.
Really, though both wished for war, neither was prepared to be the
aggressor; both wanted the vantage of seeming to fight in self-defence.
It was obvious that Charles had made a high bid for the friendship of
England when he offered himself as the husband of the Princess Mary.
Wolsey had taken care that Francis was informed of this offer, which
necessarily led to a long negotiation with the imperial Court. Really
Charles's marriage projects were rather complicated; he was betrothed to
Charlotte of France; he had made an offer for Mary of England; but he
wished to marry Isabella of Portugal for no loftier reason than the
superior attractions of her dowry. His proposal for Mary of England was
prompted by nothing save the desire to have Henry as his ally against
France; if he could manage by fair promises to induce Henry to go to war
his purpose would be achieved, and he could still go in quest of the
Portuguese dower. So when Tunstal, the Master of the Rolls, went as
English envoy to discuss the matter, Charles's Council raised all sorts
of difficulties. Let the English king join a league with the Pope and
the Emperor against France; then the Pope would grant his dispensation,
which was necessary, owing to the relationship between Charles and Mary.
Tunstal was bidden by Wolsey to refuse such conditions. England would
not move until the marriage had been concluded, and would not join in
any league with the Pope till his dispensation was in Henry's hand. The
separate alliance of England and the Emperor must be put beyond doubt to
England's satisfaction before anything else could be considered. Wolsey
commissioned Tunstal to adopt a lofty tone. "It would be great folly,"
he says, "for this young prince, not being more surely settled in his
dominions, and so ill-provided with treasure and good councillors, the
Pope also being so brittle and variable, to be led into war for the
pleasure of his ministers." Truly Wolsey thought he had taken the
measure of those with whom he dealt, and spoke with sufficient plainness
when occasion needed. But Charles's chancellor, Gattinara, a
Piedmontese, who was rising into power, was as obstinate as Wolsey, and
rejected the English proposals with equal scorn. "Your master," he said
to Tunstal, "would have the Emperor break with France, but would keep
himself free; he behaves like a man with two horses, one of which he
rides, and leads the other by the hand." It was clear that nothing could
be done, and Wolsey with some delight recalled Tunstal from his embassy.
The closer alliance with the Emperor was at an end for the present; he
had shown again that England would only forego her mediating position on
her own terms.
At the same time he dealt an equal measure of rebuff to France. Before
the conference at Guisnes Francis had done some work towards rebuilding
the ruined walls of Ardres on the French frontier. After the conference
the work was continued till England resented it as an unfriendly act.
Francis was obliged to give way, and order the building to be stopped.
Neither Francis nor Charles were allowed to presume on the complacency
of England, nor use their alliance with her to further their own
purposes.
The general aspect of affairs was so dubious that it was necessary for
England to be prepared for any emergency, and first of all Scotland must
be secured as far as possible. Since the fall of James IV. at Flodden
Field, Scotland had been internally unquiet. Queen Margaret gave birth
to a son a few months after her husband's death, and, to secure her
position, took the unwise step of marrying the Earl of Angus. The
enemies of Angus and the national party in Scotland joined together to
demand that the Regency should be placed in firmer hands, and they
summoned from France the Duke of Albany, a son of the second son of
James III., who had been born in exile, and was French in all the
traditions of his education. When Albany came to Scotland as Regent,
Queen Margaret and Angus were so assailed that Margaret had to flee to
England for refuge in 1515, leaving her son in Albany's care. She stayed
in England till the middle of 1517, when she was allowed to return to
Scotland on condition that she took no part in public affairs. About the
same time Albany returned to France, somewhat weary of his Scottish
charge. By his alliance with Francis Henry contrived that Albany should
not return to Scotland; but he could not contrive to give his sister
Margaret the political wisdom which was needed to draw England and
Scotland nearer together. Margaret quarrelled with her husband Angus,
and only added another element of discord to those which previously
existed. The safest way for England to keep Scotland helpless was to
encourage forays on the Border. The Warden of the Western Marches, Lord
Dacre of Naworth, was admirably adapted to work with Wolsey for this
purpose. Without breaking the formal peace which existed between the two
nations, he developed a savage and systematic warfare, waged in the
shape of Border raids, which was purposely meant to devastate the
Scottish frontier, so as to prevent a serious invasion from the Scottish
side. Still Henry VIII. was most desirous to keep Scotland separate from
France; but the truce with Scotland expired in November 1520. Wolsey
would gladly have turned the truce into a perpetual peace; but Scotland
still clung to its French alliance, and all that Wolsey could achieve
was a prolongation of the truce till 1522. He did so, however, with the
air of one who would have preferred war; and Francis I. was induced to
urge the Scots to sue for peace, and accept as a favour what England was
only too glad to grant.
At the same time an event occurred in England which showed in an
unmistakable way the determination of Henry to go his own way and allow
no man to question it. In April 1520 the Duke of Buckingham, one of the
wealthiest of the English nobles, was imprisoned on an accusation of
high treason. In May he was brought to trial before his peers, was found
guilty, and was executed. The charges against him were trivial if true;
the witnesses were members of his household who bore him a grudge. But
the king heard their testimony in his Council, and committed the duke to
the Tower. None of the nobles of England dared differ from their
imperious master. If the king thought fit that Buckingham should die,
they would not run the risk of putting any obstacle in the way of the
royal will. Trials for treason under Henry VIII. were mere formal acts
of registration of a decision already formed.
The Duke of Buckingham, no doubt, was a weak and foolish man, and may
have done and said many foolish things. He was in some sense justified
in regarding himself as the nearest heir to the English throne if Henry
left no children to succeed him. Henry had been married for many years,
and as yet there was no surviving child save the Princess Mary. It was
unwise to talk about the succession to the Crown after Henry's death; it
was criminal to disturb the minds of Englishmen who had only so lately
won the blessings of internal peace. If the Duke of Buckingham had
really done so, he would not be undeserving of punishment; but the
evidence against him was slight, and its source was suspicious. No doubt
Buckingham was incautious, and made himself a mouthpiece of the
discontent felt by the nobles at the French alliance and their own
exclusion from affairs. No doubt he denounced Wolsey, who sent him a
message that he might say what he liked against himself, but warned him
to beware what he said against the king. It does not seem that Wolsey
took any active part in the proceedings against the Duke, but he did not
do anything to save him. The matter was the king's matter, and as such
it was regarded by all. The nobles, who probably agreed with
Buckingham's opinions, were unanimous in pronouncing his guilt; and the
Duke of Norfolk, with tears streaming down his cheeks, condemned him to
his doom. The mass of the people were indifferent to his fate, and were
willing that the king should be sole judge of the precautions necessary
for his safety, with which the internal peace and outward glory of
England was entirely identified. Charles and Francis stood aghast at
Henry's strong measures, and were surprised that he could do things in
such a high-handed manner with impunity. If Henry intended to let the
statesmen of Europe know that he was not to be diverted from his course
by fear of causing disorders at home he thoroughly succeeded. The death
of Buckingham was a warning that those who crossed the king's path and
hoped to thwart his plans by petulant opposition were playing a game
which would only end in their own ruin.
Free from any fear of opposition at home, Wolsey could now give his
attention to his difficult task abroad. Charles V. had been crowned at
Aachen, and talked of an expedition to Rome to receive the imperial
crown. Francis I. was preparing for a campaign to assert the French
claims on Milan. Meanwhile he wished to hamper Charles without openly
breaking the peace. He stirred up a band of discontented barons to
attack Luxembourg, and aided the claimant to the crown of Navarre to
enter his inheritance. War seemed now inevitable; but Wolsey remained
true to his principles, and urged upon both kings that they should
submit their differences to the mediation of England. Charles was busied
with the revolt of the Spanish towns, and was not unwilling to gain
time. After a show of reluctance he submitted to the English proposals;
but Francis, rejoicing in the prospect of success in Luxembourg and
Navarre, refused on the ground that Charles was not in earnest. Still
Francis was afraid of incurring England's hostility, and quailed before
Wolsey's threat that if France refused mediation, England would be
driven to side with the Emperor. In June 1521 he reluctantly assented to
a conference to be held at Calais, over which Wolsey should preside, and
decide between the pleas urged by representatives of the two hostile
monarchs.
If Wolsey triumphed at having reached his goal, his triumph was of short
duration. He might display himself as a mediator seeking to establish
peace, but he knew that peace was well-nigh impossible. While the
negotiations were in progress for the conference which was to resolve
differences, events were tending to make war inevitable. When Wolsey
began to broach his project, Francis was desirous of war and Charles was
anxious to defer it; but Charles met with some success in obtaining
promises of help from Germany in the Diet of Worms, and when that was
over, he heard welcome news which reached him gradually from all sides.
The revolt of the Spanish towns was dying away; the aggressors in
Luxembourg had been repulsed; the troops of Spain had won signal
successes in Navarre. His embarrassments were certainly disappearing on
all sides. More than this, Pope Leo X., after long wavering, made up his
mind to take a definite course. No doubt he was sorely vexed to find
that the position which he hankered after was occupied by England; and
if he were to step back into the politics of Europe, he could not defer
a decision much longer. He had wavered between an alliance with France
and Venice on the one side, or with the Emperor on the other. The
movement of Luther in Germany had been one of the questions for
settlement in the Diet of Worms, and Luther had been silenced for a
time. Leo awoke in some degree to the gravity of the situation, and saw
the advantage of making common cause with Charles, whose help in Germany
was needful. Accordingly he made a secret treaty with the Emperor for
mutual defence, and was anxious to draw England to the same side. The
religious question was beginning to be of importance, and Francis I. was
regarded as a favourer of heretics, whereas Henry VIII. was strictly
orthodox, was busy in suppressing Lutheran opinions at home, and was
preparing his book which should confute Luther for ever.
Another circumstance also greatly affected the attitude of Charles, the
death of his minister Chièvres, who had been his tutor in his youth, and
continued to exercise great influence over his actions. Charles was
cold, reserved, and ill-adapted to make friends. It was natural that one
whom he had trusted from his boyhood should sway his policy at the
first. Chièvres was a Burgundian, whose life had been spent in saving
Burgundy from French aggression, and the continuance of this watchful
care was his chief object till the last. His first thought was for
Burgundy, and to protect that he wished for peace with France and
opposed an adventurous policy. On his death in May 1521 Charles V.
entered on a new course of action. He felt himself for the first time
his own master, and took his responsibilities upon himself. He seems to
have admitted to himself that the advice of Chièvres had not always been
wise, and he never allowed another minister to gain the influence
Chièvres had possessed. He contented himself with officials who might
each represent some part of his dominions, and whose advice he used in
turns, but none of whom could claim to direct his policy as a whole.
Chief of these officials was a Savoyard, Mercurino della Gattinara,
whose diplomatic skill was now of great service to the Emperor.
Gattinara was a man devoted to his master's interests, and equal to
Wolsey in resoluteness and pertinacity. Hitherto Wolsey had had the
strongest will amongst the statesmen of Europe, and had reaped all the
advantages of his strength. In Gattinara he met with an opponent who was
in many ways his match. It is true that Gattinara had not Wolsey's
genius, and was not capable of Wolsey's far-reaching schemes; but he had
a keen eye to the interests of the moment, and could neither be baffled
by _finesse_ nor overborne by menaces. His was the hand that first
checked Wolsey's victorious career.
So it was that through a combination of causes the prospects of peace
suddenly darkened just as Wolsey was preparing to stand forward as the
mediator of Europe. Doubtless he hoped, when first he put forward the
project of a conference, that it might be the means of restoring his
original design of 1518, a European peace under the guarantee of
England. Since that had broken down he had been striving to maintain
England's influence by separate alliances; he hoped in the conference to
use this position in the interests of peace. But first of all the
alliance with the Emperor must be made closer, and the Emperor showed
signs of demanding that this closer alliance should be purchased by a
breach with France. If war was inevitable, England had most to gain by
an alliance with Charles, to whom its friendship could offer substantial
advantages, as England, in case of war, could secure to Charles the
means of communicating between the Netherlands and Spain, which would be
cut off if France were hostile and the Channel were barred by English
ships. Moreover the prospect of a marriage between Charles and the
Princess Mary was naturally gratifying to Henry; while English industry
would suffer from any breach of trading relations with the Netherlands,
and the notion of war with France was still popular with the English.
So Wolsey started for Calais at the beginning of August with the
intention of strengthening England's alliance with the Emperor, that
thereby England's influence might be more powerful. Charles on the other
hand was resolved on war; he did not wish for peace by England's
mediation, but he wished to draw England definitely into the league
between himself and the Pope against France. Wolsey knew that much
depended on his own cleverness, and nerved himself for the greatest
caution, as Francis was beginning to be suspicious of the preparations
of Charles, and the attitude of affairs was not promising for a pacific
mediation.
This became obvious at the first interview of Wolsey with the imperial
envoys, foremost amongst whom was Gattinara. They were commissioned to
treat about the marriage of Charles with the Princess Mary, and about a
secret undertaking for war against France; but their instructions
contained nothing tending to peace. The French envoys were more pacific,
as war was not popular in France.
On 7th August the conference was opened under Wolsey's presidency; but
Gattinara did nothing save dwell upon the grievances of his master
against France; he maintained that France had been the aggressor in
breaking the existing treaty; he had no powers to negotiate peace or
even a truce, but demanded England's help, which had been promised to
the party first aggrieved. The French retorted in the same strain, but
it was clear that they were not averse to peace, and were willing to
trust to Wolsey's mediation. Wolsey saw that he could make little out of
Gattinara. He intended to visit the Emperor, who had come to Bruges for
the purpose, as soon as he had settled with the imperial envoys the
preliminaries of an alliance; now he saw that the only hope of
continuing the conference lay in winning from Charles better terms than
the stubborn Gattinara would concede. So he begged the French envoys to
remain in Calais while he visited the Emperor and arranged with him
personally for a truce. As the French were desirous of peace, they
consented.
On 16th August Wolsey entered Bruges in royal state, with a retinue of
1000 horsemen. Charles came to the city gate to meet him, and received
him almost as an equal. Wolsey did not dismount from his horse, but
received Charles's embrace seated. He was given rooms in Charles's
palace, and the next day at church Charles sat by Wolsey's side and
shared the same kneeling stool with him. Their private conferences dealt
solely with the accord between England and the Emperor. Wolsey saw that
it was useless to urge directly the cause of peace, and trusted to use
for this purpose the advantages which his alliance would give. He
succeeded, however, in considerably modifying the terms which had been
first proposed. He diminished the amount of dowry which Mary was to
receive on her marriage, and put off her voyage to the Emperor till she
should reach the age of twelve, instead of seven, which was first
demanded. Similarly he put off the period when England should declare
war against France till the spring of 1523, though he agreed that if war
was being waged between Francis and Charles in November, England should
send some help to Charles. Thus he still preserved England's freedom of
action, and deferred a rupture with France. Every one thought that many
things might happen in the next few months, and that England was pledged
to little. Further, Wolsey guarded the pecuniary interests of Henry by
insisting that if France ceased to pay its instalments for the purchase
of Tournai, the Emperor should make good the loss. He also stipulated
that the treaty should be kept a profound secret, so that the
proceedings of the conference should still go on.
Wolsey was impressed by Charles, and gave a true description of his
character to Henry: "For his age he is very wise and understanding his
affairs, right cold and temperate in speech, with assured manner,
couching his words right well and to good purpose when he doth speak."
We do not know what was Charles's private opinion of Wolsey. He can
scarcely have relished Wolsey's lofty manner, for Wolsey bore himself
with all the dignity of a representative of his king. Thus, the King of
Denmark, Charles's brother-in-law, was in Bruges, and sought an
interview with Wolsey, who answered that it was unbecoming for him to
receive in his chamber any king to whom he was not commissioned; if the
King of Denmark wished to speak with him, let him meet him, as though by
accident, in the garden of the palace.
When the provisions of the treaty had been drafted, Wolsey set out for
Calais on 26th August, and was honourably escorted out of Bruges by the
Emperor himself. On his return the business of the conference began, and
was dragged on through three weary months. The imperial envoys naturally
saw nothing to be gained by the conference except keeping open the
quarrel with France till November, when Henry was bound to send help to
the Emperor if peace were not made. Wolsey remained true to his two
principles: care for English interests, and a desire for peace. He
secured protection for the fishery of the Channel in case of war, and he
cautiously strove to lead up both parties to see their advantage in
making a truce if they could not agree upon a peace. It was inevitable
that these endeavours should bring on Wolsey the suspicions of both. The
French guessed something of the secret treaty from the warlike
appearance which England began to assume, and cried out that they were
being deceived. The imperial envoys could not understand how one who had
just signed a treaty with their master, could throw obstacles in their
way and pursue a mediating policy of his own. Really both sides were
only engaged in gaining time, and their attention was more fixed upon
events in the field than on any serious project of agreement.
When in the middle of September the French arms won some successes,
Gattinara showed himself inclined to negotiate for a truce. The
conference, which hitherto had been merely illusory, suddenly became
real, and Wolsey's wisdom in bargaining that England should not declare
war against France till the spring of 1523 became apparent. He could
urge on Gattinara that it would be wise to agree to a truce till that
period was reached; then all would be straightforward. So Wolsey
adjourned the public sittings of the conference, and negotiated
privately with the two parties. The French saw in a year's truce only a
means of allowing the Emperor to prepare for war, and demanded a
substantial truce for ten years. Wolsey used all his skill to bring
about an agreement, and induced Gattinara to accept a truce for eighteen
months, and the French to reduce their demands to four years. But
Charles raised a new difficulty, and claimed that all conquests made in
the war should be given up. The only conquest was Fontarabia, on the
border of Navarre, which was still occupied by the French. Francis not
unnaturally declined to part with it solely to obtain a brief truce, as
Charles had no equivalent to restore. Wolsey used every argument to
induce the Emperor to withdraw his claim; but he was obstinate, and the
conference came to an end. It is true that Wolsey tried to keep up
appearances by concluding a truce for a month, that the Emperor might go
to Spain and consult his subjects about the surrender of Fontarabia.
So Wolsey departed from Calais on 25th November, disappointed and worn
out. As he wrote himself, "I have been so sore tempested in mind by the
untowardness of the chancellors and orators on every side, putting so
many difficulties and obstacles to condescend to any reasonable
conditions of truce and abstinence of war, that night nor day I could
have no quietness nor rest." There is no doubt that Wolsey wrote what he
felt. He had laboured hard for peace, and had failed. If he hoped that
the labours of the conference might still be continued by his diplomacy
in England, that hope was destroyed before he reached London. On 1st
December the imperial troops captured Tournai, which they had been for
some time besieging, and news came from Italy that Milan also had fallen
before the forces of the Emperor and the Pope. Charles had seemed to
Wolsey unreasonable in his obstinacy. He had refused a truce which he
had every motive of prudence for welcoming; and now events proved that
he was justified. Not only had Francis been foiled in his attempts to
embarrass his rival, but success had followed the first steps which
Charles had taken to retaliate. The time for diplomacy was past, and the
quarrel must be decided by the sword.
So Wolsey saw his great designs overthrown. He was a peace minister
because he knew that England had nothing to gain from war. He had
striven to keep the peace of Europe by means of England's mediation, and
his efforts had been so far successful as to give England the first
place in the counsels of Europe. But Wolsey hoped more from diplomacy
than diplomacy could do. Advice and influence can do something to check
the outbreak of war when war is not very seriously designed; but in
proportion as great interests are concerned, attempts at mediation are
useless unless they are backed by force. England was not prepared for
war, and had no troops by whom she could pretend to enforce her
counsels. When the two rival powers began to be in earnest, they
admitted England's mediation only as a means of involving her in their
quarrel. Wolsey was only the first of a long series of English ministers
who have met with the same disappointment from the same reason. England
in Wolsey's days had the same sort of interest in the affairs of the
Continent as she has had ever since. Wolsey first taught her to develop
that interest by pacific counsels, and so long as that has been
possible, England has been powerful. But when a crisis comes England has
ever been slow to recognise its inevitableness; and her habit of hoping
against hope for peace has placed her in an undignified attitude for a
time, has drawn upon her reproaches for duplicity, and has involved her
in war against her will.
This was now the net result of Wolsey's endeavours, a result which he
clearly perceived. His efforts of mediation at Calais had been
entirely his own, and he could confide to no one his regret and his
disappointment. Henry was resolved on war when Wolsey first set forth,
and if Wolsey had succeeded in making a truce, the credit would have
been entirely his own. He allowed Henry to think that the conference at
Calais was merely a pretext to gain time for military preparations; if a
truce had been made he would have put it down to the force of
circumstances; as his efforts for a truce had failed, he could take
credit that he had done all in his power to establish the king's
reputation throughout Christendom, and had fixed the blame on those who
would not follow his advice. It is a mark of Wolsey's conspicuous skill
that he never forgot his actual position, and never was so entirely
absorbed in his own plans as not to leave himself a ready means for
retreat. His schemes had failed; but he could still take credit for
having furthered other ends which were contrary to his own. Henry was
well contented with the results of Wolsey's mission, and showed his
satisfaction in the customary way of increasing Wolsey's revenues at the
expense of the Church. The death was announced of the Abbot of St.
Alban's, and the king, in answer to Wolsey's request, ordered the monks
to take Wolsey for their abbot, saying, "My lord cardinal has sustained
many charges in this his voyage, and hath expended £10,000." So kings
were served, and so they recompensed their servants.