Italian Wars

1494 to 1559

France and Italian allies — versus — Spain, Holy Roman Empire and Italian allies

Introduction : 

Map of Italy, 1494

The Italian Wars is a term used to describe a series of Wars between sovereign states of Italy during the early 16th century which involved many states of Europe, and evolved into a continent-wide struggle for power between France and Spain. The series of wars, changing alliances, and reversals which occurred during this period is exceedingly complicated, but the final outcome was the rise in influence of the Hapsburg empire at the expense of France, and also a greatly impoverished Italy. By the end of the Italian Wars, the proud, independent republics of Italy were significantly weakened, and much of Italy was in the hand of the Hapbsburgs.

The period during which these wars were fought was one of cataclysmic developments in Europe. The rise of Spain as a unified nation, the discovery of the New World, the discovery of a trading route to the East by way of Africa, the Protestant Reformation, and the aggressive expansion of the Ottoman Empire into eastern Europe, were some of the critical events of the time, and were at least as important in determining alliances and strategies, as were the petty politics of the Italian states.

The major states of Italy at the opening of the wars were the Republics of Venice, Genoa, and Florence, and the Duchy of Milan in Northern Italy; the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily in Southern Italy, and the Papal States in Central Italy. The northern republics were extremely wealthy due to their control of the Mediterranean trade, and were exceedingly jealous of each other.

At the beginning of the wars, the Duchy of Milan was under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Naples was held by Ferdinand II, an ally of Spain. But the French had influence in Milan, and backed a rival claimant to the throne of Naples. Meanwhile, the politics of the powerful Italian republics was almost entirely opportunistic, and devoid of permanent alliances or principles. The famous author Machievelli lived during this period, and his famous book, The Prince reflects the exploitive and unscrupulous political realities of his age.

First and Second Italian Wars : 1494-1504

Gonsalvo de Cordova

The First Italian War began when the Duke of Milan invited the French to pass through his territory and invade the Kingdom of Naples. This resulted in the formation of a League created to oppose the French consisting of Venice, Spain, the Papal States, and the Holy Roman Empire. The French, under Charles VIII of France, were initially successful, but the tide turned against them, particularly as a great Spanish hero, Gonsalvo de Cordova arose to the defense of the Kingdom of Naples, and drove France from the scene. The Battle of Fornovo, during which Charles VIII was driven from Naples was the end of the first campaign but only the beginning of the Italian Wars.

The Second Italian War began later, when the successor when Louis XII of France, the successor of Charles VIII made an agreement with Ferdinand I of Spain to conquer Naples and divide the kingdom. This time, with Spain on the offense rather than the defense, the campaign against Naples was successful but the two rulers could not agree on a division, and so fell to infighting. Spain's army, still under the masterful leadership of Cordova, gained the upper hand in Naples, but France was left with control of Milan.

Wars of the League of Cambrai and the Holy League : 1508-1516

Bayard defending the bridge

The War of the League of Cambrai occurred in the years immediately preceding the Protestant Reformation in Germany, and considering the highly-politicized activities of Popes Alexander VI and Julius I during this time, it is no mystery why many sincere Christians were thoroughly disgruntled with the papacy.

During the years following the second Italian War, the Papal States engaged in a great deal of military agression and intrique, primarily against Venice. In order to further his own ends, Pope Julius invited the Emperor Maximilian I to attack Venice. When this failed, he turned to France which then controlled much territory in Northern Italy. The "League of Cambrai" was fromed to oppose Venice, and at the Battle of Agnadello, the Venetians suffered a severe defeat at the hands of France. The Venetians, though pressed by France, managed to fend off Maximilian I at the seige of Padua, and made peace with Rome by surrending some contested territory.

Having made peace with Venice, Pope Julius was now more worried about the French presence growing two powerful, so he now allied himself with Venice and Switzerland against France. After an early loss at Ravenna, he formed a new "Holy League", consisting of the Papal States, Venice, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire (mainly the Swiss), and Britain all opposed to France. For a time the war went well for the allies, and several important battles were fought between the English and French outside of Italy, but a lasting peace remained elusive.

When Francis I came to the throne in 1515 he resolved to immediately reclaim France's lost territory in Italy, and made an alliance with Venice against the other members of the Holy League. With Venice now opposed the the Papal States and the Swiss instead of in league with them, the French won a decisive victory at Marignano, reclaimed Milan and negotiated a peace which would last all of four years.

Four Year War, League of Cognac, and the War of 1542 : 
1521-26, 1526-30, 1542-46

Francis I. refusing the demands of the Emperor.

Jealousy between France and Spain regarding their holdings in Italy had been the source of conflict for several decades, but when Charles V, then King of Spain, Austria, and the Netherlands was selected as the Holy Roman Emperor, over the objection of the French king, Francis I, the simmering conflict erupted once more. Hostilities commenced in 1521, with French incursions into the Netherlands, but the center of conflict quickly moved to Italy, as the Pope, Henry VIII of England and Charles V formed an alliance against France.

The war in Italy went badly for the French. Their ally Venice made a separate peace, and the French army was driven first from Milan, and later Francis I himself was captured at Pavia. A peace was negotiated while Francis was in captivity, but he repudiated it almost immediately. As soon as Francis returned to Paris he began forming a new alliance, this time with Venice, the Papal States, and England against the empire of Charles V. This second alliance was called the League of Cognac.

When Charles V heard of the French designs he gathered an army from both Spain and Austria and marched on Rome. The sack of Rome essentially destroyed the power of the Papal states, and caused the Pope himself to flee. France and its allies attempted to lay siege to Naples, but plague broke out and destroyed much of his army. At this point Francis sought peace, and submitted largely to the terms agreed to four years earlier. At the close of the War of Cognac, Spain was the predominant force in Italy and the Hapsburg power was at its height.

This time, the Peace between Spain and France lasted for six years, but it errupted again after the death of the Duke of Milan in 1536. That particular conflict however, was short lived and had no lasting consequence.

Still Francis I was not content. In 1542, he tried once more to restore his fortunes in Italy, this time making an alliance with the Ottoman Turks. The French-Turkish force captured Nice, but it was relieved soon after. The allies fought a pitched battle at Ceresole in 1544 and gained territory from the Charles V, but before the French king could follow up on his victories, Charles V and Henry VIII attacked northern France. The war eventually ended in a stalemate, primarily due to exhaustion, still without a permanent resolution.

Hapsburg-Valois War : 1551-1559

Charles V at the siege of Metz

Five years of relative peace ensued before Henry II, who succeeded Francis I on the throne of France resumed hostilities. The issue, by this time, was no longer Italy, but rather, the French Empire versus the Hapsburg Empire. Charles V's holdings were so massive that France felt it needed to oppose the Hapsburgs at every turn. Henry's initial moves were therefore against Metz and Verdun in the Netherlands. When the French attacked Tuscany in 1553, however, they were soundly defeated at the Battle of Marciano by an army led by Giacomo Medici.

With the defeat of the French army in Italy, and the fall of France's ally Sienna, the war moved back to the Netherlands. The war at that point went generally in favor of the Imperial forces, led by the great hero of the Netherlands, Count Egmond. The French did eventually take Calais from the English, but were ultimately forced to sign a treaty repudiating the French claim to all Italian territories.

After 65 years of nearly constant warfare between France and Spain, control of much of Italy rested firmly in the hands of Hapsburg Spain.