Henry II: An Imperialist King?

Page 8 of 9

• 1. Approach to empire
• 2. Relations with France
• 3. Campaigns in Wales
• 4. Approach to Ireland
• 5. Henry lands in Ireland
• 6. Conclusions on Ireland
• 7. Henry and Scotland
• 8. Feudal control
• 9. Find out more
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Feudal control

This is the key to Henry's 'imperialism'. He seems much less concerned with conquering territory than with exerting what might be termed feudal control over his neighbours. This is what he tried in Toulouse in 1159 and in Wales in 1165. When Strongbow's successes threatened to set him up independently in Ireland, Henry intervened to curb this, and conquered Ireland almost by default. His immediate reaction was to find a spokesman he could work with and establish a vassal relationship with him, which only truly broke down when Rory retired, leaving Hugh de Lacy in an even stronger position than Strongbow had been. In 1175, we can see Henry deliberately consolidating these vassal relationships with the rulers of Ireland and Scotland, and in 1177 he did the same thing with the rulers of Wales.

Only in one instance does this model not seem to work. In 1170, Henry claimed out of the blue the right to appoint an archbishop in Bourges, despite its ancestral links with France. He renewed these claims in 1177. Both times, we should see Bourges as a bargaining counter in his endemic dispute with the King of France, and not as any serious attempt to extend his territory beyond the boundaries he had set himself.

'The drive to imperialism was almost a function of so-called 'feudal' kingship...'

Henry's definition of 'Empire' was through feudal control. By that I mean a vassal/lord relationship in which the former swears fealty to the latter in return for control of the lands which he owns. It was a highly personal relationship which had much more to do with individual loyalties than with the direct control of land, and it should not surprise us that by these lights Henry's actions took on an imperialist tinge. The drive to imperialism was almost a function of so-called 'feudal' kingship: kings were still expected to exert their authority over their vassals and weaker neighbours, and to dole out conquered land to their loyal subjects. This would inevitably impinge on Henry's desire to restore the 'status quo ante' as he saw it. In pursuing a feudal authority, he set the terms by which the Kings of England were to interact with their neighbours in France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for much of the rest of their history; and established the first English partition of Ireland, which was to prove as unsuccessful as all the rest.

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Published: 2001-04-01