Franco-Habsburg War, 1535-1538



A.) Causes for the War

Continued French-Habsburg animosity (after the Franco-Hansburg War of 1521-1529); the French desire to reclaim Milan. The death of the last Duke of Milan, Francesco Sforza, provided the spark.


B.) The War

France occupied Savoy, and Turin, the capital of Piemont; the Vaud, Gex and western Chablais, Savoyard regions, were occupied and annexed by Bern. The remainder of Piemont's fortresses was occupied by troops of the commander of Milan. Charles V. spent most of 1536 in Italy, estanlished friendly relations with the pope and assembled an army 50,000 - 60,000 men strong. In July 1536 the Imperial force invaded Provence; the force retreated in September. The Count of Nassau invaded northern France, coming from the Netherlands, but made little progress and retreated later in 1536.
Meanwhile, Francis I. renounced the Peace of Cambrai and reclaimed sovereignty over Flanders and Artois, and in March 1537, invaded the latter with an army. However, the French troops soon withdrew and a regional armistice was concluded. In 1538, Francis I and Charles V signed a truce which was supposed to last for ten years.


C.) The Legacy

The truce of 1538 did not resolve the conflict; war again broke out in 1542.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		Biography of Francis I., from Catholic Encyclopedia
Habsburg and Valois, by Stanley Leathes
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 6th 2003, last revised on November 17th 2004

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