Finals Exam Dates Flashcards
1442
Alfonso I of Aragon becomes king of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia driving out the French house of Anjou.
1450
Francesco Sforza, condottiere and son-in-law of the last of the Visconti, supported by Cosimo de’ Medici’s money, is acclaimed lord of Milan.
1453
fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.
1454-1455*
Peace of Lodi between Milan and Venice and their allies; Italian League, or alliance between all major Italian states, to last for twenty-five years (renewed).
1469-1492*
Florence dominated by Lorenzo de’ Medici “il Magnifico”, grandson of Cosimo. Continues Cosimo’s policy of alliance with Milan against Venice.
1492*
death of Lorenzo il Magnifico, succeeded by his son Piero II. Rodrigo Borgia, Calixtus III’s nephew, elected Pope Alexander VI. In Spain, the Arab kingdom of Granada falls to Catholic forces of King Ferdinand.
1494
Ludovico Sforza, aka “il Moro”, usurps the throne of his nephew Giangaleazzo and becomes duke of Milan. Ferrante of Aragon, king of Naples, dies, opening the way to French and Spanish claims to his throne.
1494-5*
King Charles VIII of France’s expedition to Italy. He conquers the Kingdom of Naples but loses it immediately and is forced to withdraw by a Italian-Spanish alliance against him (battle of Fornovo).
1495-1512*
The Florentines restore the Republic, driving out the Medici after Piero de’ Medici’s disastrous agreement with Charles VIII. Influence of the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (executed in 1498 on charges of heresy).
1499*
King Louis XII of France conquers Milan arresting Ludovico “il Moro”. With French help, Cesare Borgia (Pope Alexander’s son) starts to create his own state between Romagna and Marche (formally papal territories).
1500-4
King Ferdinand of Spain defeats Louis XII and unites the kingdom of Naples and Sicily to Spain, while Milan remains under France.
1503
Alexander VI dies. Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Sixtus IV’s nephew) elected Pope Julius II. Venice occupies Cesare Borgia’s state and other portions of papal lands, while conquering Friuli (north-eastern Italy) from the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg.
1508-10
Julius II, to get back lost territories, promotes the League of Cambrai among all major powers against Venice. Venice is defeated (battle of Agnadello, 1509) and files for peace.
1510-12*
Julius II, worried of French supremacy, calls for the Holy League: Venice, Spain and the Swiss Confederation join against France and Florence. Milan is conquered by the Swiss that restore a puppet Sforza rule; the Florentine Republic falls and the Medici are back with cardinal Giovanni, Lorenzo’s son (1512).
1513*
Julius II dies. Giovanni de’ Medici elected Pope Leo X. Machiavelli writes The Prince.
1515*
King Louis XII dies, succeeded by Francis I. The new king of France joins forces with Venice against the Swiss and Pope Leo X, defeats the Swiss at Marignano, and retakes Milan. Peace with pope Leo and Florence gives France upper hand in northern Italy.
1516-19
Charles, son of Philip “the Fair” of Habsburg and Joanna “the Mad” of Spain, in 1516 becomes king of Spain and of Naples (his mother’s inheritance), and lord of the Habsburg dominions (Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands). In 1519, at the death of his grandfather Maximilian, Charles is elected H.R.E. as Charles V, therefore ruling over most of western Europe.
1517
Martin Luther makes his 95 Theses on indulgences public. Outbreak of the Protestant Reformation.
1521
Luther, excommunicated by Leo X, confirms his opinions to the imperial Diet in Worms.
1521-26
Called by Pope Leo (to die 1521), the imperial army conquers Milan. Series of battles between French and Spanish armies in Italy. Francis I attempts to recover Milan but is defeated at Pavia (1525) and forced to accept a humiliating peace at Madrid that sanctions the loss of duchy (1526).
1526-30
League of Cognac, sponsored by Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici, Leo’s cousin, elected in 1523): France, Florence, and Venice join forces to expel Charles V from the Peninsula.
1527*
Failure of the League to dislodge Charles’ army from Lombardy. Mercenary troops of the emperor (the Landzknecht, in Italian aka lanzichenecchi) sack Rome. In Florence, the Medicean regime is overthrown and the Republic restored. Death of Machiavelli.
1529-30*
Congress of Bologna. General settlement of Italy agreed between Clement VII and Charles: Milan to pass to the Empire at the death of last Sforza; Florence to return to the Medici (Alessandro de’ Medici made duke by emperor). Clement crowns Charles king of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. Imperial troops siege Florence, that surrenders (August 1530) and is definitely transformed in a duchy under the Medici (1532).
Alfonso I of Aragon
1442 became king of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, driving out Anjou
