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Henry VII
The Seed Time; Part 5

The Seed Time; Part 5

The story begins with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon with Isabella of Castile, which formed the nucleus round which the nation of Spain gradually formed out of the mass of little kingdoms and provinces of the Peninsula. About the same time Maximilian of Austria (of the house of Hapsburg) had married Mary of Burgundy, thus winning for the house of Hapsburg all Charles the Bold's Burgundian dominions, including the Low Countries. The daughter and heiress of the Spanish sovereigns, Juana, married Philip the Handsome, Maximilian's only son. This brought the Hapsburgs into Spain. The newborn son of Philip and Juana, Charles (born 1500) would be heir to vast dominions. Spain, the duchy of Austria, Burgundy and the Low Countries, lands in Italy, and the Spanish possessions oversea would all be his. The prize that was offered to Henry VII was the hand of Katherine of Aragon, sister to Juana, and Henry accepted it for his eldest son, Arthur. Arthur, however, died within a year of his marriage, and the bride was affianced to the king's second son Henry, afterwards Henry VIII.

Here, then, was the first great marriage-stroke, entwining the fortunes of England with those of Spain and Austria, securing its aid against the ambition of France. In the future lay other unexpected great events destined to spring from it - the English Reformation and the Marian persecution.

Not content with this, another blow was aimed at France by the politicians of the house of Hapsburg. France had been the enemy of England, and therefore the ally of Scotland. To detach the Scots from the French and so leave France isolated would be a master-stroke. To effect this the hand of Margaret, Henry VII's elder daughter, was offered to James IV of Scotland, and that monarch accepted it (1502).

Having thus raised England to a position of great influence in Europe Henry VII died, and left the working out of his schemes to his son.

The Seed Time; Part 5

Chronology