The Italian Wars: Final Years 1536-1559
Conflicts This final stage of the Italian Wars is not as climactic as the previous war because of the fact that at this point both sides had exhausted themselves from the warfare. Also, the wars during this time period were not exclusively fought in Italy, which the ones previously took place for the most part…
The Italian War of 1521-1526
Prelude The political situation in Europe after the War of the League of Cambrai was initially peaceful as all sides had exhausted themselves militarily and were not eager for another destructive war. However, the succession over the Holy Roman Empire with the death of Emperor Maximilian I in 1519 would become contested between Charles I…
The Italian Wars 1508-1516: War of the League of Cambrai
Prelude The Republic of Venice during the early 1500s was one of the most powerful states in Italy, arguably the powerful due to its involvement in the spice trade that provided great wealth to the city. Because of this wealth, Venice was able to gather a large military force that allowed the republic to expand…
The Italian Wars: 1499-1504
Prelude After Charles VIII had died in 1498, he was succeeded by his cousin Louis of Orleans, who became known as King Louis XII. Louis XII had the same ambitions of Italian conquest as his cousin and set his sights on the Duchy of Milan, which his side of the family had a claim to.…
The 1st Italian War 1494-1498: Charles VIII’s War
Prelude The political situation by the late 15th century in Italy had been becoming more and more complex as time had gone on. In particular, the Kingdom of Naples ruled by King Ferdinand I, or Ferrante, was an illegitimate son of Alfonso V of Aragon making Ferrante not Italian but from the Iberian Peninsula. Also,…
Introduction to the Italian Wars
The Italian Wars were perhaps the most important events to happen to Italy during this time period, as Italy was fractured and did not have a strong enough state to unite the peninsula. Because of this, Italy became susceptible to foreign countries in particular the Kingdom of France under the Valois dynasty and the Holy…
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The Italian Wars During the Renaissance 