Question 1
Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages and explain which you think is more
convincing as an explanation of the consequences of the loss of Calais.
Passage A
Was the war with France a disaster? The traditional view is that it was. It was an unnecessary diversion which proved costly and unpopular. It is true that the campaign did not prove a happy experience. On the other hand there were some positive features in the conflict with France. The English navy, benefiting no doubt from the extensive administrative reforms of the reign, managed to keep the Channel clear of French shipping and performed valuable convoy duties for the Spanish fleets to the Netherlands and treasure shipments across the Atlantic. It is true that the diplomatic revolution at Cateau-Cambrésis negated the short term benefits of this, but in the long term the navy had gained valuable experience which was to prove of vital importance – ironically against Philip II in the Elizabethan period. The loss of Calais was also not entirely negative. Although it was considered a humiliation at the time and by many subsequent historians, there were positive points. The loss meant that England no longer had to find revenues to defend an outpost which produced no material gain or benefit. It also removed an irritant as far as France was concerned and meant that England and France were more likely to experience a period of peace. It cannot even be proved that the loss of Calais damaged the English wool trade, since that was in decline anyway. The point has also been made been made that the war with France was constructive in the sense that those who opposed Mary were given military roles. The war was therefore an exercise in diverting potentially dangerous members of the aristocracy.
Adapted from Stephen Lee, The Mid Tudors, published in 2007.
Passage B
Queen Mary’s war was the most disastrous of the century. Though some English troops did well at the Spanish victory of St Quentin in 1557, the country demonstrated its feeling against this pointless involvement. The forced loan led to a virtual tax payers’ strike, and people even voted against the war by staying away from mass. The French had hoped to avoid English intervention, but having got it they made the most of it. After a week’s investment, Calais surrendered to the Duke de Guise: after two centuries, the last English possession on the continent, the last token of past greatness and for practical purposes at this time a town much more English than French, fell to the enemy virtually without resistance. Perhaps Calais was nothing but a liability, though its commercial and political usefulness should not be underrated. However, the historian’s cool assessment at this distance of time ill expresses the feelings of the day. Queen Mary shared her nation’s fury at this dishonourable loss, but that did not prevent the nation from blaming it on the Queen. From that day her regime was doomed; even if she had lived she had forfeited the loyalties which, less than five years before, had so easily brought her to the throne.
Adapted from G. R. Elton, Reform and Reformation, published in 1977.
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Answer
