| Second and Third Italian Wars | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theItalian Wars | |||||||
 TheBattle of Cerignola, the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms[1] | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Second Italian War
| Second Italian War | ||||||
Third Italian War: War over Naples | Third Italian War: War over Naples | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
1499: 23,000–29,000[2] | |||||||
TheItalian Wars of 1499–1504 are divided into two connected, but distinct, phases: theSecond Italian War (1499–1501), sometimes known asLouis XII's Italian War, and theThird Italian War (1502–1504) orWar over Naples. The first phase was fought for control of theDuchy of Milan by an alliance ofLouis XII of France and theRepublic of Venice againstLudovico Sforza, the second between Louis andFerdinand II of Aragon for possession of theKingdom of Naples.
In the aftermath of theItalian War of 1494–1498, Louis was determined to pursue French claims to Milan and Naples and in October 1499 he capturedMilan, which remained in French hands for the next thirteen years. His invasion of Naples in 1501 eventually led to war with Ferdinand of Aragon, who expelled the French in 1504.
This is an overview of notable events including battles during the wars.
TheItalian War of 1494–1498 began whenLudovico Sforza, thenRegent of Milan, invitedCharles VIII of France to invade Italy, using theAngevin claim to theKingdom of Naples as a pretext. This in turn was driven by the intense rivalry between Ludovico's wife,Beatrice d'Este, and that of his nephewGian Galeazzo Sforza, son ofIsabella of Aragon. Despite being the hereditary Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo had been sidelined by his uncle in 1481 and exiled toPavia. Both women wanted to ensure their children inherited the Duchy and when Isabella's father becameAlfonso II of Naples in January 1494, she asked for his help in securing their rights.[6] In September Charles invaded the peninsula, which he justified by claiming he wanted to use Naples as a base for a crusade against theOttoman Turks.[7]
Although Charles conquered Naples with relative ease, after his return to France,Ferdinand II of Naples quickly regained his kingdom. He did so with support from his distant Trastamaran relativeFerdinand II of Aragon, who as ruler of the neighbouringKingdom of Sicily viewed French expansion insouthern Italy as a threat. In September 1496, Ferdinand of Naples was succeeded by his uncleFrederick.[8]
Charles VIII died on 7 April 1498[9] and was succeeded by his second cousinLouis XII of France, who inherited the Angevin claim to Naples while also claiming theDuchy of Milan through his grandmotherValentina Visconti.[10] His lawyers also asserted that Milan naturally belonged to the French since it had been founded by their ancestors theGauls, as stated by Roman historianLivy.[11]
Louis now approached theRepublic of Venice, then the leading military power inNorthern Italy. Venice had been financingPisa in its fight for independence fromFlorence, which was supported by Milan. Doing so had proved extremely expensive while Venice was also concerned by theOttoman threat to their maritime possessions.[12] As a result, theGreat Council was open to an alliance with France to remove Ludovico, although some members disagreed, includingAgostino Barbarigo, the currentDoge of Venice.[12]
In their initial talks, the Venetians demanded lands on both sides of theAdda river, which Louis considered excessive, while Venice rejected a French request for a subsidy of 100,000ducats. Under a deal brokered byErcole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Venice was grantedCremona along with lands on the eastern bank of the Adda, and agreed to pay part of Louis' expenses. They would also supply 1,500cavalry and 4,000 infantry for an attack on Milan from the east and allow Louis to captureGenoa. In return, France promised to provide military support if theOttomans attacked Venice while they were at war with Milan.[13]
TheTreaty of Blois was signed on 9 February 1499, whilePope Alexander VI approved the invasion of Milan in exchange for the French backingCesare Borgia's campaign inRomagna. Louis hired a strong force ofSwiss mercenaries and led byGian Giacomo Trivulzio, his troops quickly over-ran the duchy. Ludovico and his children took refuge in Germany with EmperorMaximilian, while the French entered Milan on 6 October 1499.[14] Following his victory, Louis' Franco-Visconti heraldry and name were painted over the Sforza arms at theCastello Sforzesco, while portraits of French kings replaced those of the Sforza family in the library atPavia.[15]
However, tensions soon emerged within the Franco-Venetian alliance over Pisa; while the Venetians preferred an independent Pisa as a way to weaken Florence, Louis needed Florentine support for his attack on Naples. With help from Emperor Maximilian, Ludovico recruited an army of 20,000 mercenaries and retook Milan on 5 February 1500; his army then moved north and capturedNovara from the French on 21 March. However, his inability to pay his troops meant this success proved short-lived and on April 10 Ludovico's army was annihilated at theBattle of Novara. Despite disguising himself as a Swiss pikeman to evade imprisonment by the French, Sforza was betrayed by his own men and turned over to the French on April 15 and sent into captivity atLys-Saint-Georges, remaining in French dungeons until his death in 1508.[16] For the next thirteen years, French possession of Milan gave them a base form which to intervene directly in Italy.[17] Despite defeating Ludovico, Louis XII viewed his brief but violent restoration as inspired byPope Alexander VI and led him to deeply distrust the Holy See end up with France openly hostile and attempting to depose the next pope,Julius II.[18]
As the summer campaign season of the year 1500 neared, Louis XII became worried about the intentions of newly unified Spain as he moved further into Italy, drawing his forces eastward. The Spanish monarchsFerdinand andIsabella were known to be fearful of a newrapprochement between Louis XII and the Italian powers. They might invade France from the west, while Louis XII had his armies in Italy, and thus involve Louis in a war on two fronts. In theTreaty of Granada, signed by Louis and Ferdinand on 11 November 1500, the two agreed Louis would become King of Naples and gain control ofNaples,Terra di Lavoro, andAbruzzi while Ferdinand was made Duke ofCalabria andApulia; the territories between were to be shared along with their revenue.[19]
On 25 June 1500, these terms were approved byPope Alexander VI, nominal overlord of the Kingdom of Naples.[20] On 25 July 1501,Frederick IV of Naples abdicated in favour of Louis and died in French captivity in 1504;Francesco Guicciardini points out in theDiscorso di Logrogno (1512) that the partition of the Mezzogiorno between the houses of Aragon and Orléans neglected to take into account the economic system of a region dominated by sheep-rearing and its concomitanttranshumance.[20] Within two years, differences over the allocation of the disputed areas led to war between the two powers.[21]
When the conflict broke out again in the second half of 1502, Spanish GeneralGonzalo de Cordoba lacked numeric superiority,[22] but was able to apply the lessons learned in 1495 against the Swiss infantry that France employed; moreover, the Spanishtercios, accustomed to close combat after theReconquista, redressed some of the imbalance in arms the Spanish had with the French.[23] Cordoba avoided encounter with the enemy at first, hoping to lure the French into complacency.
Later, the conflict became characterized by short skirmishes. During this campaign, a French knight, Charles de la Motte, was captured by Spanish forces and later used as a hostage after declaring his famousChallenge of Barletta on 13 February 1503.[23][24] Chronic in-fighting between the Italian and French knights, as well as a better supply-line guaranteed by the Spanish navy, gave Cordoba and his Spanish army the upper hand against the French, who were defeated atCerignola on 28 April 1503.[24] At the first battle of Garigliano on November 8, a superior French force beat back the Spanish but in asecond battle on 29 December, the Spanish prevailed.[25] Attacking the French army that was still resting and relaxing after their Christmas festivities from the north at the village of Sujo, the Spanish scored a decisive and war-ending victory.[26] The French army under Italian ally,Francesco de Gonzaga was destroyed, with about 4,000 of just over 15,000 soldiers killed at Garigliano,[27] leaving Louis XII forced to abandon his current ambitions inNaples and, on 2 January 1504, the king withdrew toLombardy.[25]
The Treaty of Lyon was signed on 31 January 1504 between Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Based on the terms of the treaty, France ceded Naples to the Hispanic monarchy. Moreover, France and Spain defined their respective control of Italian territories. France controlled northern Italy from Milan and Spain controlled Sicily and southern Italy.[28]
TheTreaty of Blois of 22 September 1504 concerned the proposed marriage between Charles of theHouse of Habsburg, the futureCharles V, andClaude of France, daughter of KingLouis XII andAnne of Brittany. If Louis XII were to die without producing a male heir, Charles of theHouse of Habsburg would receive as dowry the Duchy of Milan, Genoa and its dependencies, the Duchy ofBrittany, the counties ofAsti andBlois, theDuchy of Burgundy, theViceroyalty ofAuxonne,Auxerrois, Mâconnais and Bar-sur-Seine.[28]
Conflict would not leave Italy for long; the next phase of the Italian Wars, theWar of the League of Cambrai would erupt in 1508 over grievances between Venice and the many other regional powers.[29]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)