Who was more important in directing foreign affairs from 1515-29, Henry VIII or Wolsey?.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey became chancellor in 1515 and fell from power in 1529 when he converted to the wrong side of Henry VIII's favour when he was unable to acquire the permission for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Between this time Henry and Wolsey had many foreign affairs, such affairs were largely with France or Spain, the two biggest powers in Europe at this time.
October 1518 saw the Treaty of London, which was the first real chance that Wolsey could shine on an international scale. This treaty gathered all major European leaders and twenty lesser princes together in London to make a pact stating that if one of the countries involved in the treaty were to be invaded by another country, then the rest of the parties included in the treaty would help the country that had been invaded. Wolsey was put in charge of organising this congregation. This was a huge opportunity for Wolsey as he was finally organising something very important. This meeting made Henry feel as if he was at the very centre of Europe's state of affairs and this was just what Henry sought after. Although Henry definitely did want to feel as important as he did that day, the Treaty of London was not down to his efforts. Wolsey wrote up the treaty, made sure that all crucial leaders were to be there and he was the man who made sure that the treaty went through without a problem.
Short after the success of the treaty, Wolsey made another treaty with France that made the trust between the two countries grow further. The treaty benefited Francis in that Tournai was restored to France and that he was set to marry Henry's daughter Mary when she was to come of age. Although Henry lost the town of Tournai, which he saw as an accomplishment of battle no matter how small an accomplishment it was, Henry's yearly pension from France was increased.