DIPLOMACY & DECEPTION: KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND'S FOREIGN RELATIONS WITH EUROPE (C. 1584-1603) Cynthia Ann Fry A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2014 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/5902 This item is protected by original copyright DIPLOMACY & DECEPTION: King James VI of Scotland’s Foreign Relations with Europe (c. 1584-1603) Cynthia Ann Fry This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews October 2014 ABSTRACT This thesis is the first attempt to provide an assessment of Scottish-Jacobean foreign relations within a European context in the years before 1603. Moreover, it represents the only cohesive study of the events that formed the foundation of the diplomatic policies and practices of the first ruler of the Three Kingdoms. Whilst extensive research has been conducted on the British and English aspects of James VI & I’s diplomatic activities, very little work has been done on James’s foreign policies prior to his accession to the English throne. James VI ruled Scotland for almost twenty years before he took on the additional role of King of England and Ireland. It was in his homeland that James developed and refined his diplomatic skills, and built the relationships with foreign powers that would continue throughout his life. James’s pre-1603 relationships with Denmark-Norway, France, Spain, the Papacy, the German and Italian states, the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces all influenced his later ‘British’ policies, and it is only through a study such as this that their effects can be fully understood. Through its broad scope and unique perspective, this thesis not only contributes to Scottish historiography, but also strengthens and updates our understanding of Jacobean diplomacy. Furthermore, it adds to European perspectives of international politics by re-integrating Scotland into the narrative of late sixteenth century European diplomatic history. I DECLARATION 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Cynthia Fry, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length (not including appendices and bibliography), has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2010 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2010; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out at the University of St Andrews between 2010 and 2014. Date: 15 October 2014 Signature of candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: 15 October 2014 Signature of supervisor: 3. Permission for publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews, I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permission that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the printed and electronic publication of this thesis: A) Printed Copy: No embargo of printed copy. B) Electronic Copy: Embargo on all of the electronic copy for a period of five years on the following ground(s): publication would preclude future publication. Date: 15 October 2014 Signature of candidate: Date: 15 October 2014 Signature of supervisor: II TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT I DECLARATION II TABLE OF CONTENTS III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS VII ABBREVIATIONS IX INTRODUCTION: SCOTLAND AS A PERIPHERY? 1 HISTORIOGRAPHY 3 THE HISTORY OF EARLY MODERN DIPLOMACY 15 METHODOLOGY & SOURCES 18 SCOPE & OVERVIEW 21 CHAPTER ONE: ESTABLISHING POLICIES, 1584-1587 24 THE RUTHVEN RAID 24 THE AULD ALLIANCE’S FAILURE TO AID 28 PROSPECTIVE INVADERS & JAMES’S PETITION TO SPAIN 32 ESTABLISHING POWER AT HOME & ABROAD 37 THE LEAGUE OF AMITY 39 RUMOURS OF LEVIES & PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY 42 THE EXECUTION OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 45 CONCLUSION 54 CHAPTER TWO: THE HUNT FOR A WIFE, 1584-1595 56 MARRIAGE NEGOTIATIONS 57 AN ‘IVEL-SEASONED JOURNEY’ 64 AN EXERCISE IN ABSENTEE GOVERNMENT 74 THE PROPOSAL FOR A PROTESTANT LEAGUE 75 CONCLUSION 79 CHAPTER THREE: FEARS, HOPES & REALITY, 1588-1595 81 ENGLAND’S NORTHERN NEIGHBOUR STAYS TRUE 82 UNFULFILLED PROMISES & THEIR CONSEQUENCES 84 THE PARMA LETTERS & THE SPANISH BLANKS 89 ROYAL CONVERSIONS TO CATHOLICISM 97 THE BIRTH OF AN HEIR 98 ‘THE CHIEF AND PRINCIPAL STAY’ 106 CONCLUSION 109 CHAPTER FOUR: NEW FRIENDS & OLD ALLIES, 1596-1603 111 GAUGING SUPPORT & ESTABLISHING AMBITIONS 111 KEEPING FRIENDS CLOSE & ENEMIES CLOSER 118 TAKING THE DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE 127 CONCLUSION 133 III Table of Contents CONCLUSION: THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCE & AMBITION 136 JAMES’S FOREIGN POLICY: THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF EUROPE 137 APPENDIX I: AMBASSADORS TO SCOTLAND, 1584-1603 144 AMBASSADORS FROM BRUNSWICK (BRU) 144 AMBASSADORS FROM DENMARK-NORWAY (DN) 144 AMBASSADORS FROM ENGLAND (EN) 147 AMBASSADORS FROM FRANCE (FR) 154 AMBASSADORS FROM MECKLENBURG (ME) 157 AMBASSADORS FROM THE PAPAL COURT (PC) 157 AMBASSADORS FROM SPAIN (SP) 158 AMBASSADORS FROM THE SPANISH NETHERLANDS (SN) 159 AMBASSADORS FROM THE UNITED PROVINCES (UP) 159 APPENDIX II: AMBASSADORS FROM SCOTLAND, 1584-1603 161 AMBASSADORS TO BRANDENBURG (BRA) 161 AMBASSADORS TO BRUNSWICK (BRU) 162 AMBASSADORS TO DENMARK-NORWAY (DN) 162 AMBASSADORS TO ENGLAND (EN) 166 AMBASSADORS TO FRANCE (FR) 170 AMBASSADORS TO FLORENCE (FL) 174 AMBASSADORS TO HAMBURG (HA) 176 AMBASSADORS TO HESSE (HE) 176 AMBASSADORS TO MECKLENBURG (ME) 177 AMBASSADORS TO THE PAPAL COURT (PC) 178 AMBASSADORS TO PERSIA (PE) 179 AMBASSADORS TO POLAND-LITHUANIA (PL) 179 AMBASSADORS TO POMERANIA (PO) 180 AMBASSADORS TO SAXONY (SA) 180 AMBASSADORS TO SAVOY (SY) 181 AMBASSADORS TO SCHLESWIG (SE) 182 AMBASSADORS TO SPAIN (SP) 182 AMBASSADORS TO SWEDEN (SW) 184 AMBASSADORS TO THE UNITED PROVINCES (UP) 185 AMBASSADORS TO VENICE (VE) 186 BIBLIOGRAPHY 188 ARCHIVAL SOURCES 188 PRINTED PRIMARY SOURCES 193 MONOGRAPHS 203 CHAPTERS IN EDITED COLLECTIONS 213 JOURNAL ARTICLES 226 UNPUBLISHED THESES 236 DIGITAL REPOSITORIES & DATABASES 238 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must begin by thanking my supervisor, Professor Steve Murdoch, for all of the support and assistance he has given me over the past five years. Whether it was books from his shelves, images from archival research trips, or his time and knowledge, Steve has always been generous with his resources and eager to assist me in my research. Without his friendship and guidance, this thesis would never have been undertaken, and I would not be the historian I am. Moreover, without him I would not have the knowledge of Scottish hills and single malts that has proven essential to the completion of this thesis. In addition to the guidance of my supervisor, I thank all those who have over the years, provided helpful comments and feedback on my research, especially Professor Roger Mason (St Andrews, internal examiner), Dr Toby Osborne (Durham, external examiner), Dr Alexia Grosjean (St Andrews), Dr Guy Rowlands (St Andrews), Professor David Stevenson (St Andrews), Dr Amy Blakeway (Cambridge), Professor Paul Hammer (CU Boulder), Dr Simon Healy (History of Parliament Trust), Dr Anna Kalinowska (Polish Academy of Sciences), Dr Kathrin Zickermann (UHI), Dr Jenny Wormald (Edinburgh), Dr Roberta Anderson (Bath Spa), Dr Sara Wolfson (Canterbury Christ Church) and Dr Jacqueline Rose (St Andrews). I would also like to thank the administrative staff at the School of History – especially Elsie Johnstone and Lorna Harris – for all of their help with paperwork, funding applications and general queries about how to get things done within university bureaucracy. My fellow University of St Andrews history doctoral candidates – Dr Adam Marks, John Condren, Dr Claire McLoughlin, Adam Grimshaw, Dr Bess Rhodes, Dr Beth Tapscott, Dr Siobhan Talbott, Claire Hawes, Dr Martyna Mirecka, Dr Andy Drinnon, Laura Hedrick, Darren Layne and Bjorn Nordgren have also provided a wonderful support network and sounding board on which I have tested my ideas. In addition, Dr Rhodes kindly pointed me towards exceptional resources in the NRAS, and Dr McLoughlin was particularly helpful in providing information on Scoto-Spanish trade under James VI. Likewise, John Condren was very helpful during my time in the French archives and subsequently with French language queries. I am indebted to the University of St Andrews School of History, the Russell Trust and the Royal Historical Society for providing various sources of funding to support my research. I must also thank all of the archives I utilised in this project and their staff for helping me to identify and obtain sources, especially Leon Jespersen at the Dansk Rigsarkivet, the staff at the Nationaal Archief den Haag, Mary McHugh at the Scottish Catholic Archive and the archivists at the National Library of Scotland.