'Wolsey's foreign policy reveals that he had no other aims than to exalt his master's power and his own glory' How far do you agree with this verdict?

... 'Wolsey's foreign policy reveals that he had no other aims than to exalt his master's power and his own glory' How far do you agree with this verdict? Wolsey's political principles have been subject to much criticism since his death and to this day historians continue to disagree regarding its validity. The title denies that Wolsey had any 'guiding political principles'1, however traditional accounts of his foreign policy have attempted to attribute to Wolsey a coherent policy and motivation. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century the emphasis was on Wolsey as 'impresario of a European, balance of power'. A.Pollard2 considered that the motive of Wolsey's foreign policy was primarily concern for the papacy; he considered that ' as long as Wolsey pulled levers of English diplomacy Henry VIII remained the favourite son of the Roman church'. Others argued that Wolsey was first and foremost a crusader of peace, supported by his

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