Italian Wars

The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 involving all the major states of western Europe: France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, Scotland, the Republic of Venice, the Papal States, and most of the city-states of Italy. Originally arising from a dynastic dispute over Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counteralliances, and regular betrayals.

Related Topics:
War - 1494 - 1559 - France - Spain - Holy Roman Empire - England - Scotland - Republic of Venice - Papal States - City-state - Italy - Naples

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By the end of the wars in 1559, Habsburg Spain had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France. The states of Italy, which had wielded power disproportionate to their size during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, were reduced to second-rate powers or destroyed entirely.

Related Topics:
Habsburg Spain - France - Middle Ages - Renaissance

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