In 1476 the young Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza was assassinated leaving behind his minor son Gian Galeazzo Sforza. He ascended to the throne and his uncle Ludovico Sforza became his regent. He was married to Isabella of Aragon. She requested her father Alfonso II of Naples to help her gain control of Milan from Ludovico. Ludovico responded by requesting Charles VIII's assistance and encouraged him to stake his claim on Naples. He swiftly marched on Italy and conquered Naples. He supported the claim of his second cousin Louis Duke of Orleans on Milan. This alarmed others rulers of Italy. Papal States,Venice, Naples, Milan, Holy Roman Empire, Florence, Mantua, Genoa and their allies Spain, England formed the League of Venice to opposed him. Charles VIII feared being surrounded by the League and started his returned to France. But the League blocked him at Fornovo. He was almost captured in the resulting battle only to be saved by the Count of Vendome. He then won the battle and successfully returned to France. But What if he was captured instead ?
Charles VIII captured at Fornovo in Italian War
- Thread starter Ohfshkssgb
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Well, if the French lost in 1495, then the Italian wars might end before they really begin, Louis XII might not go gunning for Milan or maybe be a little more cautious about.
Closer to the battle, maybe the HRE and England decide to try their luck for more turf, Max wanting the rest of Burgundy, and Henry VII going for Boulogne, or to expand the Calais pale more.
The Pope might have a little more influence, seeing as his league defeated the French, maybe gives the Borgias more leeway in their marriages.
Closer to the battle, maybe the HRE and England decide to try their luck for more turf, Max wanting the rest of Burgundy, and Henry VII going for Boulogne, or to expand the Calais pale more.
The Pope might have a little more influence, seeing as his league defeated the French, maybe gives the Borgias more leeway in their marriages.
Doubtful…unless you just kill the line off, or prevent them from inheriting Spain, but even then Maximilian I is still holy Roman emperor so they’re likely to stay involved in Italian affairs
Somehow I’m not sure that this would be enough to fully prevent the Italian wars as a whole. The French were goddamn determined. They kept coming back for more even with pretty big defeats like pavia. This might prevent Charles viii’s portion of the Italian wars but if Louis xii still comes to the throne, I doubt he’s gonna be like ‘eh I don’t really wanna press my claim on milan’.
You need to keep the FRENCH out of Italy NOT the Habsburg. If Ferdinand II of Naples lived and had children by his half-aunt Joanna, Ferdinand II of Aragon will not try again to take Naples and if Ludovico il Moro and his male line survive and continue to rule Milan, the Emperor will have no reason for taking Milan
Sounds amazing, plus Naples wouldn't be utterly wrecked with constant french invasions.
Without forgetting that Max had originally convened the Diet of Worms in 1495, to convince the princes of the necessity of war against France in Italy, therefore he wanted to quickly collect the funds and men to carry out this undertaking, the same thing being said in 1498 and 1508 ( which in his original plans, was to be coordinated with a campaign prepared by Philip at the head of the Castilian troops ), and in 1517 ( where he was organizing a coronation ceremony with the presence of the pontiff Leo X , in Trento, so as to once again strengthen his position within the HRE ( also being able to organize better resistance to the French armies ) and above all to have his nephew Charles recognized as Rex Romanorum , so as to make his succession to the imperial title less difficult ) finally I recently discovered that technically he intended to make another attempt at his Romzung in 1503/4, but the outbreak of the Landshut War of Succession, I ruin his preparations, with also a decent sum raised to finance his expedition, around 200 thousand Rhenish guilders, therefore it would be quite complicated to make Maximilian give up his intention, in particular if it would represent a significant strengthening of his authority towards the imperial princes and therefore the possibility of introducing new administrative reforms in the Reich, finally, it should not be forgotten that the government and direct imperial influence in the region would be significantly less suffocating and threatening unlike the French one, therefore potentially more tolerable by the Italians, at most Maximilian would have wanted to receive some feudal oath ceremony from the Italian governed, possibly organize a diet at a local level and obviously receive the imperial and iron crowns, with the remote possibility of obtaining tiny fiefdoms for himself, previously taken from the allies of the French, nothing remotely comparable to the aspirations of the Valois, to possess Milan, Naples and any additional territory they managed to maintain ( such as Savoy )
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