#english_history 

## Henry VII
[[The Tudors#^638188|Henry VII had been careful]] to remain friendly with neighbouring countires in order to improve trade.

## Henry VIII
Henry VIII had been more ambitious, hoping to play an important part in European politics

## Mary I
Mary allied England to Spain by her marriage, which was politically unwise, as England had nothing to gain from being allied to a more powerful country.

## Elizabeth I
Elizabeth and her advisers considered trade as the most important foreign policy matters, as Henr VII had done.
Her foreign policy carried Henry VII's work much further, encouraging merchant expansion. She correctly recognised Spain as her main trade rival and enemy.

At that time, Spain ruled the Netherlands, although many of the people were Protestant and were fighting for their independence. The Spaniards, due to rivalry with France, could only reach the Netherlands from Spain by sea. Thus, Elizabeth allowed the Dutch to use English harbours from which they could attack Spanish ships. When it looked as if the Dutch rebels might be defeated in **1585**, Elizabeth agreed to help them with money and soldiers.

English ships had already been attacking Spanish convoys from the New World since 1570, and it was the result of Spain's refusal to allow England to trade freely with Spanish American colonies. Though these ships were privateers, they were sponsored by the Crown. The most famous of them were John Hawkins, Francis Drake and Martin Frobisher. This led to a [[Tudors' conflict with Spain|war with Spain]]