Italian Wars

The Italian Wars were not over pizza and pasta, but for the control of Italy! These wars were mostly fought between the French and Spanish families of Valois and Habsburg. Other nations throughout Europe were involved, such as England and Switzerland, as well as the Papal States in Italy. Let's look at how the Italian Wars affected European politics and the relation with the Protestant Reformation.

Italian Wars Armies

The Italian Wars were mostly fought between France and Spain whilst engaging with the Italian territories. The Papacy switched between supporting sides throughout the conflicts. Let's take a look at the combatants of the Italian Wars.

Spain

The united Spanish crown belonged to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile from 1479. Their daughter, Joanna Trastámara married Maximilian I of Habsburg's son Philip I in 1496, which placed Spain under the Habsburg dynasty. The Habsburgs had accumulated vast amounts of European territories such as Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and The Netherlands through strategic marriages.

Fig. 1 - Charles V. When he was born, he inherited many kingdoms due to the strategic political marriages of the Habsburg family

Furthermore, Frederick III was the first Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor in 1452, which he passed to his son Maximilian I in 1459. When Joanna and Philip I's son, Charles I, was born in 1500, he was set to inherit the large swathes of Europe due to his particular family backgrounds.

In 1519, Charles I became the Holy Roman Emperor, henceforth known as Charles V, and controlled the Imperial forces as well as the armies of his other territories. Charles V was determined to centralise his territories and create a universal monarchy, much like the original Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, to create a power to rival that of the Papacy.

France

France had been ruled by the Valois family since 1328, and hence had almost two centuries of control of the region when the Italian Wars began. Throughout this time, the Habsburg dynasty had expanded through Europe which led to tension with France on its borders.

Fig. 2 - Francis I came to power in 1515 and developed a fierce personal rivalry with Charles V. In particular, he was threatened by the Habsburg territories that surrounded France

Francis I ascended the French throne in 1515. When Charles V inherited much of Europe and became Holy Roman Emperor in 1516, the Valois-Habsburg rivalry intensified as Francis I felt France was threatened by the Habsburg territories, which now surrounded the country.

Francis I attempted to be elected as Holy Roman Emperor at the 1519 elections but failed, and his drive for Italy was to secure French power in Europe and topple Charles V's dominion.

Italy

At the advent of the Italian Wars, Italy was divided into independent sovereign states, the seven main territories included:

• Republic of Venice

• Republic of Genoa

• Republic of Florence

• Duchy of Milan

• Kingdom of Naples

• Kingdom of Sicily

• Papal States

These states grew economically because of their control of the trading routes of the Mediterranean, which had flourished during the Age of Exploration as valuable resources were imported from colonies.

Fig. 3 - At the start of the Italian Wars in 1494, Italy was divided into many independent states and was growing in power due to their control of trade routes in the Mediterranean

In particular, the Republic of Venice was expanding its territories onto the mainland through its economic growth. The Papal States were particularly threatened by Venice's expansion as they had been invaded multiple times, and other countries were threatened because Venice had a stranglehold over trade into their empires.

In 1494, the King of Naples, Ferrante I died. Both the Valois and Habsburg families held distant claims to the throne. This led to the French invasion of Italy in the same year, instigating the Italian Wars.

List of Italian Wars

There were 10 wars during the Italian Wars. Most were fought between Spain and France, but many other nations were brought into the conflicts.

• First Italian War (1494-5)
• Second Italian War (1499-1503)
• Third Italian War (1508-1516)
  • War of the League of Cambrai (1508-10)
  • War of the Holy League (1510-4)
  • Francis' Invasion of Italy (1515-6)
• Fourth Italian War/First Habsburg-Valois War (1521-5)
• Second Habsburg-Valois War/War of the League of Cognac (1526-30)
• Third Habsburg-Valois War (1536-8)
• Fourth Habsburg-Valois War (1542-4)
• Fifth Habsburg-Valois War (1551-9)

The papacy switched sides throughout the conflicts depending on their interests. Let's look at the key alliances that were made during the Italian Wars.

League of Venice

After France's invasion of Italy in 1494, Pope Alexander VI created the League of Venice to rebuke France's advances. The allies included the Papal States, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice. The Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, took advantage of the League to arrange the marriage of his son, Philip I, to Ferdinand II's daughter Joanna Trastámara in 1496 - the fateful connection of the Habsburg family which would produce Charles V.

League of Cambrai

This alliance was formed in 1508 between the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, France, and Spain . The League of Cambrai attacked the increasingly powerful Republic of Venice. Much of Venice was divided up between the allies over the 2 year period of the War of the League of Cambrai with varying degrees of success.

Holy League

Following the League of Cambrai, Pope Julius II became increasingly concerned with the aggression of the foreign allies to take Venice. As a result, he formed the Holy League to remove the French dominance in Italy. Initially, the alliance was between the Papal States and the Republic of Venice in 1510, but by 1512 the allies included Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England (ruled at this time by Henry VIII) and Switzerland.

Fig. 4 - Pope Julius II was instrumental in organising the alliances in the first part of the Italian Wars. His switching of sides demonstrated the Papacy's desire for political power in Italy

The Holy League successfully drove France out of Milan with the decisive Battle of Novara in 1513 between Switzerland and France. However, once Francis I became King of France, he began another invasion of Italy in 1515 and successfully resecured Milan from the Swiss in the Battle of Marignano.

League of Cognac

When Charles V was elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1516, the Habsburg-Valois rivalry erupted with the First Habsburg-Valois War in 1521. As Charles V's domination in Europe grew, the new pope Clement VII founded the League of Cognac in 1526. The allies included the Papal States, France, Duchy of Milan, Republic of Venice, and Republic of Florence.

Fig. 5 - The Sack of Rome in 1527 was a demonstration of how the Protestant Reformation affected the Italian Wars as Lutheran Imperial troops rebelled against Charles V to intimidate the pope

Charles V's Imperial armies began advancing through Italy, establishing dominance after the Battle of Pavia in 1525 against the French. In 1527, some Lutheran rebels in the Imperial army instigated a Sack of Rome, eventually leading to Pope Clement VII's surrender. He agreed to hand over a large amount of Papal territories to Charles V.

After signficant French losses, peace was agreed between Charles V and Francis I with the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529. With the pope in his back pocket, Charles V had accumulated even more power in Europe and forced the Pope to crown him officially as the Holy Roman Emperor in 1530.

Peace lasted until 1536, when Francis I attempted to regain parts of Italy with the Third Habsburg-Valois War. Conflicts over Italy continued with another two Habsburg-Valois Wars (Fourth in 1542-4, Fifth 1551-9) in a wider theatre of Europe and involving the Ottoman Empire with a French alliance in 1542. Eventually, the wars resulted in the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, with Charles V's successor, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, gaining control of most of Europe.

Italian Wars and The Protestant Reformation

The Italian Wars provided a distraction to the Protestant Reformation occurring at the same time throughout Europe. Whilst the Italian Wars resulted in the weakening of the Papacy's political influence, the Protestant Reformation reduced the Pope's religious authority as well.

The Sack of Rome in 1527 saw the direct results of the Protestant Reformation as Lutheran rebels held Pope Clement VII hostage in Rome. This allowed Charles V to control much of the Papal territories and the pope himself. In England, the preoccupied Pope delayed negotiations for Henry VIII's annulment, and he went on to begin the English Reformation.

Fig. 6 - The Italian Wars allowed Charles V to control the pope. He thus called the Council of Trent in 1545 in an attempt to resolve the matter of the Reformation. This started the Catholic Counter Reformation but failed to quell the rise in Protestantism

As Charles V was distracted with the Italian Wars, his solution to the Protestant Reformation was simply to call a council to debate and resolve the matter. The Pope had refused at this point, but the sacking of Rome allowed Charles to push the council through. Eventually this resulted in the infamous Council of Trent in 1545, which began the Catholic Counter Reformation.