The Life of King James IV (Final Part)© Simon Hill
Jun 13, 2002
The royal prestige was enhanced further by the martial nature of James’ reign. The manufacture of artilleries and the construction of ships, allowed James to build a powerful army. The Scottish fleet was important in four main ways, firstly it was an asset in complex diplomatic negotiations, it was also successfully used for the daunting of the Isles, foreign piracy in the North Sea was suppressed, and finally it improved James’ chances of leading a crusade against the Ottoman Turks. James still believed it was in Europe’s best interest to seek stability and unite against a common enemy.
In 1509 Henry VIII succeeded to the English throne. Nicholson describes him as an ‘egocentric teenager’ with an ‘inferiority complex’. The treaty of perpetual peace was renewed and Henry VIII also signed a treaty with France. The future King James V was born in 1512 in an atmosphere of growing anger. Arguments and unofficial battles at sea inflamed the trouble between Scotland and England but war was averted.
The English joined the holy league opposed to France. The French King offered James support both in his planned crusade and if he should try to claim the English throne. This encouraged James to renew the Franco-Scottish alliance in July 1512 agreeing to go to war with England if she attacked France. The French king sought to provide a distraction to prevent England invading France. James continued unsuccessfully to negotiate peace. He also asked Denmark to join in the alliance but King Hans was not willing to commit to the French. In March 1513 news reached Scotland that the pope had died stirring up new fears. The new pope guaranteed England that James would be ex-communicated if he broke the Anglo-Scottish treaty. Henry VIII planned to lead his expedition to France in 1513. The French army met with disaster in Italy in June and Henry immediately set sail. On 25th June James negotiated a treaty with the Gaelic chiefs of Ulster and then sent the Scottish fleet to attack the English stronghold of Carrickfergus in Ulster after which they sailed to France. James then mustered the host and invaded England at a slow pace. He took a few castles but did not inflict too much damage perhaps trying to avoid stirring up too much resentment and in the process hoping to secure peace more easily with the English when the war came to an end.
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