The vast empire of Charles V expanded. From the very beginning of his rule (1519), he claimed the rights to Milan and Burgundy. To stop the expansion of the empire of Charles the king of France Francis I took action. In 1521, a new, fourth, Italian War unfolded. The French were defeated at Bicocca, the decisive battle of Pavia ended with the defeat of the French and the capture of Francis I. In Madrid, peace was signed between France and Spain, according to which Charles received rights to Burgundy, Artois and Flanders, and Francis refused all claims to Italy.
The tension was increasing. Pope Clement stopped supporting Charles as he also feared the possible consequences of the expansion of the Hapsburg Empire in the Apennines. Returning from Spanish captivity, King Francis in 1526 founded the Cognac League (from the city of Cognac). This league included the Pope Clement, who had passed over to the French, as well as the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, England, and Florence. Initially, the Genoese fleet, led by Andrea Doria, took the side of France.
Lombardy
League forces managed to quickly capture the city of Lodi in the Italian possessions of Spain, but their advance into Lombardy was halted. The Spanish-imperial army of Charles occupied Lombardy and took Milan, forcing the duke Francesco Sforza to give up his possession.
The Italian genus Colonna, meanwhile, organized an attack on Rome, defeating the Papal States there and establishing control over the city. However, soon the troops of the Column were defeated, and they were forced to leave Rome.
Rome
Charles V, meanwhile, assembled a new army of landsknechts, led by Georg von Frundsberg. The Spanish army was headed by the excontable of France Charles III de Bourbon, expelled by Francis from France. The two armies united at Piacenza and moved in the direction of Rome. Fabrizio Maramaldo, Ferrante Gonzaga and Filibert de Chalon, Prince of Orange, also stood at the head of their troops in this army.
In Florence, a rebellion broke out against the Medici family. Pope Clement was busy with this uprising and did not manage to prepare the defense of his capital. May 6, 1527 began the siege of Rome. Spain’s treasury was devastated, so the soldiers who did not receive payment sought to get loot at any cost. Against the Spanish-imperial troops came the Swiss Guard and about 5,000 militiamen led by Renzo da Cheri. The key point was the murder of Charles de Bourbon, committed, according to legend, by Benvenuto Cellini. After him, the Spanish-imperial troops and the landsknechts broke into the city and betrayed it to unprecedented looting.
Pope Clement was captured and imprisoned in the castle of the Holy Angel. He was released only after payment of an unprecedented amount in those days – 400 thousand ducats. Pope refused to claim Parma, Piacenza and Modena. The plundering of Rome plunged Europeans into shock; even the Lutherans were against this action. The political prestige of Rome was strongly and permanently undermined.
Naples
The devastation of Rome and the actual exit from the war of Pope Clement led the French to take decisive action. On April 30, 1527, Francis I and Henry VIII of England signed the Treaty of Westminster, which provided for the unification of their efforts against Charles. Finally convincing England to enter the Cognac League, Francis sent troops under the command of Ode de Foix and Pedro Navarro through Genoa to Naples. In Genoa, the French were joined by Andrea Doria, who went along with them and the Genoese fleet. The siege of Naples began.
But again, everything was against the French. First, a plague broke out in their camp, which took the lives of many soldiers and commanders. In 1528, Spanish troops won a landslide victory in the Battle of Landriano. Soon the anti-French insurgency rose in Genoa. The most interesting thing is that this rebellion was headed by Andrea Doria himself, dissatisfied with the way Francis I. assessed him. Doria went over to the side of the Spanish emperor and forced the French garrison in Savona to surrender.
The French defeat forced Francis I to sign a treaty with Charles V. Negotiations began in July 1529 in the city of Cambrai. Initially, they were held between Louise of Savoy, the mother of Francis and Margaret of Austria, Aunt Carl, since Carl had shortly before this left Barcelona for Italy.
The terms of the treaty repeated the conditions of the 1526 Madrid Peace. Artois, Flanders, and Tournai were entrenched in Spain, the hegemony of Charles in Italy was asserted (although Carl abandoned claims to Burgundy). France pledged to pay two million ECU for the liberation of the sons of Francis, the dauphin Francis and Prince Henry. The final agreement was signed on August 5th. France emerged from the war, leaving the Papal States, Venice and Florence alone against powerful Spain.
After signing the contract, Carl arrived in Genoa, and then approached Bologna to meet with the pope. Clement was supposed to free the captives during the capture of Rome and crown Charles V with the crown of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In response, Karl returned the pope Ravenna and Cervia. Venetian cities, along with possessions in Puglia, were forced to surrender to Carl, so that he would allow them to preserve what they had gained in the battle of Marignano 15 years ago. In addition, Francesco Sforza was allowed to return and re-head the Duchy of Milan for the amount of 900 thousand escudos.
Florence
In 1529, Spanish-imperial troops under the command of the Prince of Orange laid siege to Florence. The Florentine army was commanded by Francesco Ferruccio. On August 3, 1530, the Spanish-imperial forces won the last battle of this war, the Battle of Gavinana. In this battle Francesco Feruccio died. After 10 days, Florence surrendered.
The outcome of the war for the Florentines was sad. Many notable citizens were executed, republican rule was abolished, and the constitution was abolished. Residents had to recognize the power of Alessandro Medici, who was proclaimed Duke. This put an end to long-standing republican traditions.
