War over Siena, 1552-1559



A.) Prehistory

Sience 1530, the city of Siena, capital of the Republic of Siena, had a Spanish garrison. Since 1551, the Habsburg Dynasty again was at war with France (Franco-Spanish War 1551-1559); in 1552 Emperor Charles V. ordered a fortress to be constructed in Siena. This caused the Sienese to rebel; the Spaniards were expelled.


B.) The War

The Spaniards laid siege to the city, which surrendered in 1555. Fighting continued in the countryside, until 1559. In 1556, Emperor Charles V. abdicated; son Philip II. inherited Spain, the Habsburg Italian possessions and the Siena problem.

C.) The Legacy

Spain was in dire need of money; in 1557, Spain sold most of the territory of (occupied) Siena to Duke Cosimo of Florence, only holding on to a few ports, from then onward refered to as the Stato dei Presidii. The Republic of Siena had ceased to exist.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of Siena, from Web Gallery of Art
Siena, from The Virtual Jewish History Tour
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



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

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