Editing Charles VIII of France (section)

==Italian War==
{{further|Italian War of 1494–1498}}

To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with [[Maximilian I of Austria]] (the [[Treaty of Senlis]] with Maximilian of Austria on 23 May 1493),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lesaffer |first=Randall |date=2006 |title=The three peace treaties of 1492-1493 |url=https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/the-three-peace-treaties-of-1492-1493 |journal=Kalkül-Transfer-Symbol: Europaische Friedensvertrage der Vormoderne}}</ref>{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=32}} [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] (The [[Treaty of Barcelona (1493)|Treaty of Barcelona]] on 19 January, 1493),<ref name=":0" /> and England (the [[Treaty of Étaples]] with England on 3 November 1492),<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=13}} buying their neutrality with large concessions. The English monarch [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] had forced Charles to abandon his support for the pretender [[Perkin Warbeck]] by despatching an expedition which [[Siege of Boulogne (1492)|laid siege to Boulogne]]. He devoted France's resources to building up a large army, including one of Europe's first [[siege train]]s with [[artillery]].

In 1489, [[Pope Innocent VIII]] (1484–1492), then being at odds with [[Ferdinand I of Naples]], offered Naples to Charles, who had a vague claim to the [[Kingdom of Naples]] through his paternal grandmother, [[Marie of Anjou]]. Innocent's policy of meddling in the affairs of other Italian states<ref>Robert S. Hoyt and Stanley Chodorow, ''Europe in the Middle Ages'' (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., 1976) pp. 618–619.</ref> was continued by his successor, [[Pope Alexander VI]] (1492–1503), when the latter supported a plan for a carving out a new state in central Italy. The new state would have impacted on Milan more than any of the other states involved.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Consequently, in 1493, [[Ludovico Sforza]], the [[Duke of Milan]], appealed for help to Charles VIII.<ref>Robert S. Hoyt and Stanley Chodorow, ''Europe in the Middle Ages'', p. 619.</ref> Charles then returned [[Perpignan]] to Ferdinand II of Aragon to free up forces for the invasion of Italy.{{sfn|Pigaillem|2008|p=109}} The next year in 1494, Milan faced an additional threat. On 25 January 1494, [[Ferdinand I of Naples|Ferdinand I, King of Naples]], died unexpectedly.{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=14}} His death made [[Alfonso II of Naples|Alfonso II]], king of Naples. Alfonso II laid claim to the Milanese duchy.<ref>Robert S. Hoyt and Stanely Chodorow, ''Europe in the Middle Ages'', p. 619.</ref> Alfonso II now urged Charles to take Milan militarily. Charles was also urged on in this adventure by his favorite courtier, [[Étienne de Vesc]]. Thus, Charles came to imagine himself capable of actually taking Naples, and invaded Italy.
[[File:French troops under Charles VIII entering Florence 17 November 1494 by Francesco Granacci.jpg|thumb|French troops under Charles VIII entering [[Florence]], 17 November 1494, by [[Francesco Granacci]]]]
In an event that was to prove a watershed in Italian history,<ref>Robert S. Hoyt, ''Europe in the Middle Ages'', p. 619.</ref> Charles invaded Italy with 25,000 men (including 8,000 [[Swiss mercenaries]]) in September 1494 and marched across the peninsula virtually unopposed, using gunpowder artillery powerful enough to rapidly reduce Italian fortifications not designed to endure it. He arrived in [[Pavia]] on 21 October 1494 and entered [[Pisa]] on 8 November 1494.{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=20-21}} The French army subdued [[Florence]] in passing on their way south. Reaching Naples on 22 February 1495,<ref name="Ritchie64">R. Ritchie, ''Historical Atlas of the Renaissance'', 64.</ref> the French Army took Naples without a pitched battle or siege; Alfonso was expelled, and Charles was crowned King of Naples.

There were those in the Republic of Florence who appreciated the presence of the French king and his Army. The famous friar [[Savonarola]] believed that King Charles VIII was God's tool to purify the corruption of Florence. He believed that once Charles had ousted the evil sinners of Florence, the city would become a center of morality. Thus, Florence was the appropriate place to restructure the Church. This situation would eventually spill over into another conflict between [[Pope Alexander VI]], who despised the idea of having the king in northern Italy where the Pope feared the King of France would interfere with the Papal States,{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=11}} and Savonarola, who called for the king's intervention. This conflict would eventually lead Savonarola to be suspected of heresy and to be executed by the State.

The speed and power of the French advance frightened the other Italian rulers, including the Pope and even Ludovico of Milan. They formed an anti-French coalition, the [[Italian War of 1494–1498#League of Venice|League of Venice]] on 31 March 1495.  The formation of the League of Venice, which included the northern Italian states of Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Mantua, and the Republic of Florence in addition to the [[Kingdom of Spain]], the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Naples, appeared to have trapped Charles in southern Italy and blocked his return to France.  Charles would have to cross the territory of at least some of the League members to return home to France.  At [[Battle of Fornovo|Fornovo]] in July 1495, the League was unable to stop Charles from marching his army out of Italy.{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=31}} The League lost 2,000 men to Charles' 1,000 and, although Charles lost nearly all the booty of the campaign, the League was unable to stop him from crossing their territory on his way back to France. Meanwhile, Charles' remaining garrisons in Naples were quickly subdued by Aragonese forces sent by [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]], ally of Alfonso on 6–7 July 1495.{{sfn|Mallet|Shaw|2012|p=32-33}} Thus in the end, Charles VIII lost all the gains that he had made in Italy.

Over the next few years, Charles VIII tried to rebuild his army and resume the campaign, but he was hampered by the large debts incurred in 1494–95. He never succeeded in gaining anything substantive.