Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon until 1491 when the young king turned 21 years of age. During Anne'…
Naples
Naples is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy after Rome and Milan. In 2017, around 967,069 people lived within the city's administrative limits while its province-level municipality has a population of 3,115,320 residents. Its continuously built-up metropolitan …
Why did the French invade Italy?
The first French invasion. Because the rulers of both France and Spain had dynastic claims in Italy, it was predictable that after the Hundred Years’ War in France in 1453 and the conquest of Granada by Spain in 1492 both powers would make Italy the battlefield of their conflicting ambitions.
How did Charles VIII of France secure France against foreign invasions?
To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with Maximilian I of Austria (the Treaty of Barcelona with Maximilian of Austria on 19 January 1493) and England, (the Treaty of Étaples with England on 3 November 1492) buying their neutrality with large concessions.
Why did Charles invade Italy in 1494?
Thus, Charles came to imagine himself capable of actually taking Naples, and invaded Italy. In an event that was to prove a watershed in Italian history, Charles invaded Italy with 25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) in September 1494 and marched across the peninsula virtually unopposed.
How many soldiers did Charles VIII need to invade Italy?
Charles VIII gathered a large army of 25,000 men, including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries and the first siege train to include artillery, and invaded the Italian peninsula. He was aided by Louis d'Orleans' victory over Neapolitan forces at the Battle of Rapallo which allowed Charles to march his army through the Republic of Genoa.
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Did King Charles of France invade Italy?
In an event that was to prove a watershed in Italian history, Charles invaded Italy with 25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) in September 1494 and marched across the peninsula virtually unopposed. He arrived in Pavia on 21 October 1494 and entered Pisa on 8 November 1494.
When did Charles VIII of France invade Italy?
1494The wars began with the invasion of Italy by the French king Charles VIII in 1494. He took Naples, but an alliance between Maximilian I, Spain, and the pope drove him out of Italy.
Was Italy invaded by France?
The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps, was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France....Italian invasion of France.Date10–25 June 1940LocationFranco-Italian borderResultSee Aftermath sectionTerritorial changesItalian occupied zone
Did France invade Lucca Italy?
The French army of King Charles VIII of France, which invaded Italy with the goal of conquering the Kingdom of Naples, sacked the walled city of Lucca and massacred its inhabitants after testing its chain-shot cannon for the first time.
Who won the invasion of Italy?
Allied victoryThe Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group (comprising General Mark W....Allied invasion of Italy.Date3–17 September 1943ResultAllied victory1 more row
What effect did Charles VIII invasion of northern Italy have on Renaissance architecture both in Italy and outside of Italy?
The invasion of Charles VIII inadvertently led to the Hapsburg domination of Italy and their rule, created an environment that eventually led to the end of the cultural flourishing that was the Renaissance.
Why did the Allies invade Italy?
In Casablanca, Morocco, in January 1943, Allied leaders decided to use their massive military resources in the Mediterranean to launch an invasion of Italy, which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) called the “soft underbelly of Europe.” The objectives were to remove Italy from World War II, secure ...
Why did the Spanish and French invade the Italian states?
Seeking to recapture Milan, Francis invaded Lombardy at the beginning of 1527, with an army financed by Henry VIII, who hoped thereby to win Papal support for divorcing his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.
How long did France occupy Italy?
Italian-occupied France was an area of south-eastern France occupied by Fascist Italy in two stages during World War II....1940–1943.FlagCoat of armsFlagRoyal Coat of arms
Why did France claim Naples?
When Ferrante died in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, using as a pretext the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples, which his father had inherited on the death of King René's nephew in 1481. This began the Italian Wars.
Who colonized Italy?
Systematic "demographic colonization" was encouraged by the government, and by 1939, Italian settlers numbered 120,000-150,000 in Italian Libya and 165,000 in Italian East Africa....Italian Empire.Italian Empire Impero italiano• Italian Somalia1889• Boxer Rebellion1900• Italo-Turkish War1911–1912• Albanian Protectorate1917–192027 more rows
What was the turning point in the war between France and Spain for control of Italy?
Chapter2 Study GuideQuestionAnswerThe war between France and Spain for control of Italy reached a turning point when Spanish mercenaries sacked Rome in _______1527In Renaissance Italy, most people lived in ______urban communities.large13 more rows
What did Charles make to secure France against invasions?
To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with Maximilian I of Austria (the Treaty of Barcelona with Maximilian of Austria on 19 January 1493) and England, (the Treaty of Étaples with England on 3 November 1492) buying their neutrality with large concessions. The English monarch Henry VII had forced Charles to abandon his support for the pretender Perkin Warbeck by despatching an expedition which laid siege to Boulogne. He devoted France's resources to building up a large army, including one of Europe's first siege trains with artillery .
Why did Charles leave France?
Charles bequeathed a meagre legacy: he left France in debt and in disarray as a result of his ambition. However, his expedition did strengthen cultural ties to Italy, energizing French art and literature in the latter part of the Renaissance.
How many children did Anne and Charles have?
Issue. The marriage with Anne resulted in the birth of six recorded children, who all died young: Charles Orland, Dauphin of France (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495), died of the measles when three years old. Buried at Tours Cathedral. Francis (August 1493), was premature and stillborn.
What did Charles VIII's coat of arms show?
Coat of arms of Charles VIII, showing France Moderne and France Ancient quartered with Jerusalem cross, representing Charles's claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
How many men did the League lose in the Fornovo?
At the Fornovo in July 1495, the League was unable to stop Charles from marching his army out of Italy. The League lost 2,000 men to his 1,000 and, although Charles lost nearly all the booty of the campaign, the League was unable to stop him from crossing their territory on his way back to France.
How did Charles die?
Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door at the Château d'Amboise, his place of birth. Since he had no male heir, he was succeeded by his 2nd cousin once removed, Louis XII from the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois .
Why did Savonarola believe that Florence was the right place to restructure the Church?
He believed that once Charles had ousted the evil sinners of Florence, the city would become a center of morality. Thus, Florence was the appropriate place to restructure the Church.
Why did France invade Italy?
The first French invasion. Because the rulers of both France and Spain had dynastic claims in Italy, it was predictable that after the Hundred Years’ War in France in 1453 and the conquest of Granada by Spain in 1492 both powers would make Italy the battlefield of their conflicting ambitions. In the event, it was an Italian who called ...
What was Charles' response to the French invasion of Florence?
Charles’s response was at first stunningly effective. He crossed the Alps in early September 1494 and marched south. At Florence, Lorenzo’s successor, his son Piero de’ Medici, had declared in favour of Ferdinand. But the rapid advance of the French forces demoralized him, and he sued for peace in November.
Who threatened Ludovico?
Prince (later King) Ferdinand of Naples, angry that his grandson-in-law, Gian Galeazzo, duke of Milan, was excluded from power, threatened the regent, Ludovico. In reply, Ludovico successfully urged King Charles VIII of France to vindicate the claims of the French royal house to Naples. Charles’s response was at first stunningly effective.
What was Venice looking for in the Imbroglio?
Venice, characteristically emerging with spoils from the imbroglio (the Neapolitan ports of Otranto, Brindisi, and Trani), was looking for new triumphs, while Pope Alexander VI was considering means to disrupt the peace of Italy on behalf of his son Cesare Borgia. Load Next Page. Ask us a question.
Background
Invasion of Italy 1494-1498
Italian Wars
- Charles VII's invasion was a failure and it achieved nothing. However, it is of great historical significance because it ushered in an unprecedented period of warfare in Italy. The Italian Wars or the Hapsburg-Valois Wars, after the two Royal families who fought for control of Italy, disturbed the peace of Italy for several decades. The invasion of 1494 was to start a series of wars that on…
Cultural Impact of The Wars
- The Renaissance was a movement that sought to imitate the lost world of ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance unlike the Middle Ages, stressed the individual, reason, beauty, and secular values. This outlook became known as Humanism and changed European society. The Renaissance not only produced great works of art but also resulted in dramatic change in the ou…
Spanish Domination
- The French invasion worried many other of the emerging nation-states of Europe and was worried the Spanish elite. They held the island of Sicily and after the French invasion, they became much more involved with affairs on the Italian mainland. They took part in nearly all the Italian wars that took place after the invasion of Charles VII.The kingdoms of Europe were becoming national sta…
Conclusion
- The Invasion of Italy by France in 1494 was to usher in a new era. One that was marked by war and political turmoil. The wars caused great economic disruption and led to a reduction in the amount of patronage available to artists and this resulted in a decline in the arts in Italian society. The wars that resulted from Charles VIII resulted in a ch...
Overview
The First Italian War, sometimes referred to as the Italian War of 1494 or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Charles VIII of France, who had initial Milanese aid, against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and an alliance of Italian powers led by Pope Alexander VI, known as the League of Venice.
Timeline
This is an overview of notable events including battles during the war.
• 25 January 1494: king Ferdinand I of Naples died and was succeeded by his son Alfonso II of Naples (who also laid claim to Milan). King Charles VIII of France disputed the succession, and began preparations for an invasion of Italy to enforce his claim on the Neapolitan kingship.
• ? 1494: Neapolitan occupation of Bari
Prelude
Pope Innocent VIII, in conflict with King Ferdinand I of Naples over Ferdinand's refusal to pay feudal dues to the papacy, excommunicated and deposed Ferdinand by a bull of 11 September 1489. Innocent then offered the Kingdom of Naples to Charles VIII of France, who had a remote claim to its throne because his grandfather, Charles VII, King of France, had married Marie of Anjou of the Angevin dynasty, the ruling family of Naples until 1442. Innocent later settled his quarrel with Fer…
Conflict
Charles was preceded in Italy by his cousin Louis d'Orleans, who in July 1494 arrived in the territories of the Duchy of Milan with the vanguards of the French army, benevolently welcomed in Vigevano by the Dukes of Bari Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este, then settled in his fief of Asti. Only on 3 September 1494 King Charles moved to Italy through Montgenèvre, with an army of about 30,000 troops, of which 5,000 were Swiss mercenaries, equipped with modern artillery. Arr…
Liability for conflict
Over the centuries, historians did not agree in attributing the blame for a conflict that would then start a series of wars spanning over half a century, as a result of which the Italian peninsula lost its independence.
Historians of the importance of Bernardino Corio commonly attribute to Beatrice d'Este and Isabella of Aragon the cause of the extinction of the Sforza as of th…
Over the centuries, historians did not agree in attributing the blame for a conflict that would then start a series of wars spanning over half a century, as a result of which the Italian peninsula lost its independence.
Historians of the importance of Bernardino Corio commonly attribute to Beatrice d'Este and Isabella of Aragon the cause of the extinction of the Sforza as of th…
Syphilis outbreak
During this war an outbreak of syphilis occurred among the French troops. This outbreak was the first widely documented outbreak of the disease in human history, and eventually led to the Columbian theory of the origin of syphilis.
Gallery
• Battle of Fornovo, 6 July 1495.
• Francesco II Gonzaga at the Battle of Taro, Jacopo Tintoretto, 1578-1579.
• The Battle of Fornovo, Galleria delle carte geografiche, Vatican museums.
Bibliography
• Anonimo ferrarese (1928). Giuseppe Pardi (ed.). Diario ferrarese. Rerum italicarum scriptores, raccolta degli storici italiani dal Cinquecento al Millecinquecento, fasc. 1, vol. 24. Giuseppe Pardi. Zanichelli.
• Corio, Bernardino (1565). L'Historia di Milano. Giorgio de' Cavalli.
• Dina, Achille (1921). Isabella d'Aragona Duchessa di Milano e di Bari, 1471–1524. Milan: Tipografia San Guiseppe. p. 366.