Italian Wars (Wars in European History)

The Italian Wars refers to a period of prolonged conflict between 1494 and 1559 when the major European powers of the time fought for control over Italy. While it began with a French attempt to gain control over the territory of Naples, it soon expanded to a general struggle between the royal houses of Valois and Habsburg—specifically, Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. By the time the dust settled, the French were expelled from the Italian Peninsula, and the Spanish ...