"Henry VIII Invades France 1544" Topic

"Throughout this year, and the beginning of 1544, preparations were made for the great invasion of France under the combined leadership of Henry of England and Charles of Spain. The cost of the undertaking was so vast, however, that the general coinage of the realm was debased by introducing a larger amount of alloy into its gold and silver coins. By these means the king's mint acquired large sums of money, since the face value of the currency was the same despite the smaller amount of precious metal. Prices naturally rose, at a rate of approximately 10 per cent each year, and the economy took twenty years to recover. These were the results of the king's passion for war.

Other ways of making money were also found. It was decided to exact a ‘benevolence' from the nation. Those who owned lands worth more than an annual value of 40 shillings were to be requested to contribute to the king's coffers; it was their duty to the sovereign. Those who refused were punished. One alderman of London was sent as a common soldier to the Scottish border, where his commander was told to subject him to the harshest and most dangerous duties. Another alderman was simply sent to the Tower, where he remained for three months…"

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Amicalement
Armand

From the Weapons and Warfare website

There is a book out there by David Potter "Henry VIII and Francis I", from Brill. Alas, the pricing is at $267 USD, and I REALLY do not know what the folks are thinking about their pricing policy. Its not the only book in that range – it seems they want to refincance the book with the sales to libraries only.

Of course, you can get the PDF – for the same price :-(

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

There is also a book on the 1509 invasion.

Henry viii and the invasion of france by charles cruikshank. Costs about a fiver.