Twenty years of civil war and instability had prevented England from pursuing their claim for the throne of France following the defeat at Castillon in 1455. The claim had not been forgotten though and the loss of land and revenues continued to be a source of displeasure. For King Edward IV, there was a matter of prestige. He had twice won his crown and with it came that of France. Or at least that is what he claimed.
England at Peace
Following the decisive victories over the Lancastrian forces at Barnet and Tewkesbury the situation within England had stabilised. Henry VI was dead and his son, Prince Edward, had been slain at Tewkesbury. The primary sources of opposition were also dealt with: Warwick had died on the field of battle at Barnet, Margaret of Anjou was captive.
Edward IVs Continental Ambitions
This meant that Edward could finally turn his attention to the continent. To stand any real chance of victory, he would need allies. First and foremost, he needed them within his own Parliament, and this proved to be rather more difficult than perhaps you would expect. Earlier expeditions had been funded, only to see them never depart and the money conveniently frittered away on other things by the Royal Household.
In 1473 Edward managed to persuade the Commons to back an invasion. They did so on conditions, primarily that the money for the expedition would be released only after the army had been mustered. Now, he needed continental allies.
England’s European Allies
Allies against the French were not particularly hard to find in the late 15th century. Whilst the English involvement in the Hundred Years War is very well known to many, the involvement of Burgundy, Brittany, The Low Countries, and the German Princedoms in continental conflict, often involving France, is often overlooked. In Burgundy and Brittany, Edward had two natural bedfellows for war. Both had been sympathetic to the Yorkist cause and Burgundy had a track record of allying with the English against France.
As is often the case, negotiations over an alliance took some time to agree. At first, in 1473, Charles the Bold of Burgundy rebuked the idea. In 1474, he was persuaded to change his mind.
Charles the Bold agreed to send a Burgundian Army in support of the English invasion. In return, Edward promised to guarantee Burgundy’s borders and to cede some land from conquests to the Duchy.
The Agreement was signed in London on 25 July 1474.