War with France and the Loss of Calais

Active learning helps students grasp the complexities of Mary I’s reign by moving beyond dates and events into analysis and empathy. When students examine primary sources or simulate policy decisions, they see how crises shaped policy and how policy responded to crises, making the human and administrative sides of history visible.

• Year 12
• History
• 3 activities
• 30 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze Mary I's motivations for entering the war with France, considering the influence of her marriage to Philip II of Spain.
2. Explain the strategic and economic significance of Calais to England in the 16th century.
3. Evaluate the extent to which the loss of Calais impacted English national identity and morale.
4. Critique the overall success or failure of Mary I's foreign policy in relation to the Habsburg-Valois conflict.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Crisis of the 1550s

In small groups, students analyze data on harvest yields, mortality rates from the 'sweat', and food prices between 1555 and 1558. They must identify the 'peak' of the crisis and discuss how this affected the government's ability to collect taxes and maintain order.

Prepare & details

Explain why Mary entered a war that primarily benefited Spain.

Facilitation Tip: During Collaborative Investigation, assign clear roles (e.g., note-taker, timeline keeper) to ensure all students contribute to the analysis of the 1550s crisis.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Simulation Game

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game: The New Book of Rates

Students role-play a meeting of the treasury officials in 1558. They must decide how to update the 'customs duties' on various goods (like cloth and wine) to increase royal income, demonstrating the 'modernizing' side of Mary's administration.

Prepare & details

Analyze how significant the loss of Calais was to the English psyche.

Facilitation Tip: For the Simulation of the New Book of Rates, provide students with simplified but authentic tax tables so they experience the challenge of balancing revenue and fairness.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: A Reign of Crisis?

Students are given a list of 'disasters' and 'reforms' from Mary's reign. They discuss in pairs whether the 'crisis' was caused by Mary's 'bad policy' or simply 'bad luck' and share their findings with the class.

Prepare & details

Evaluate whether Mary's foreign policy was a total failure.

Facilitation Tip: Use Think-Pair-Share to slow down the discussion of crisis narratives, giving quieter students time to process before sharing with the whole class.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach this topic by balancing the dramatic events (like Calais and epidemics) with the quieter administrative work that laid groundwork for the future. Avoid framing Mary’s reign solely as a series of failures. Instead, highlight the continuity of policy problems and solutions across Tudor rulers. Research shows that students retain more when they analyze primary sources in context rather than relying on textbook summaries.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students explaining how Mary’s government responded to multiple crises, not just listing the crises themselves. They should connect economic policies to social outcomes and evaluate whether those efforts succeeded or failed within the constraints of the time.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Collaborative Investigation, watch for students assuming Mary’s government did nothing constructive despite the crises.

What to Teach Instead

Use the activity’s focus on primary sources about the Act for the Mending of Highways and London poor relief to redirect students toward evidence of policy innovation, asking them to categorize these as responses to crisis or long-term improvements.

Common Misconception

During Think-Pair-Share, watch for students blaming Mary entirely for economic problems like inflation and debased coinage.

What to Teach Instead

Have students analyze a timeline of long-term economic trends from Henry VIII to Mary I, then discuss in pairs how the coinage crisis began before Mary’s reign and what tools she had to address it.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Collaborative Investigation on the Crisis of the 1550s, pose the question: 'Was Mary I’s decision to enter the war with France a strategic error driven by personal loyalty to Philip, or a calculated risk with unavoidable negative outcomes?' Have students debate using evidence from their investigation and the loss of Calais.

Quick Check

During the Simulation of the New Book of Rates, provide students with a short primary source excerpt describing reactions to the Book of Rates. Ask them to identify two specific phrases that reveal the impact on merchants or taxpayers and explain their significance in 1-2 sentences each.

Exit Ticket

After Think-Pair-Share: A Reign of Crisis?, ask students to write one sentence explaining why Calais was important to England and one sentence evaluating whether Mary I’s foreign policy was a complete failure, justifying their answer with a key reason from the discussion.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge advanced students to compare Mary’s Book of Rates with Elizabeth’s later reforms, identifying which policies endured and why.
• Scaffolding: Provide a partially completed timeline for the 1550s crisis, with key events and gaps for students to fill in during Collaborative Investigation.
• Deeper: Have students research how inflation affected different social classes and present findings in a short podcast or blog post.

Key Vocabulary

Habsburg-Valois conflict	A series of dynastic wars fought between the House of Habsburg and the House of Valois for control over territories in Italy and Europe, spanning much of the 16th century.
Calais	A vital English port on the coast of France, held by England since the Hundred Years' War, serving as a crucial military and trade outpost.
Philip II of Spain	King of Spain and husband of Mary I, whose own dynastic ambitions and conflicts with France heavily influenced England's foreign policy during Mary's reign.
Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis	A peace treaty signed in 1559 between France, England, and Spain, which formally ended the Habsburg-Valois wars but resulted in England's permanent loss of Calais.