The Italian War that began in 1494 was originally caused by the internal struggle of Milan. At that time, one side relied on the Kingdom of Naples and the other side relied on France.

But northern Italy has always been a battleground for France, Austria and Spain, so as soon as France intervened, Austria and Spain also intervened.

They united some small countries and organized two anti-French Holy Alliances to drive France out of Italy.

After Charles V, the huge body of his empire and his plan to unify Europe made Britain, France, Denmark and other emerging countries and even the whole of Europe feel threatened. France was especially sensitive because the east, north and south of France were surrounded by

It surrounds.

Therefore, King Francis I of France opposed Charles V. He actively attacked the power of the Habsburg dynasty through diplomacy. This was also the cornerstone of France's foreign policy for the next two hundred years.

The Italian War in the 16th century gradually evolved into Europe's first war for hegemony. The protagonists of the war were France and the Habsburg dynasty led by Charles V.

In 1515, France sent troops to capture Milan, but was repulsed the next year.

In 1523, Francis sent troops into Italy again, but they were still defeated.

In October 1524, after Francis defeated the Holy Roman Empire army that entered France, he invaded Italy and went straight to Milan. However, he was defeated and captured in the Battle of Bavia in 1525.

As a prisoner, Francis was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid, handing over the Duchy of Burgundy and giving up his claims to Naples and Milan in Italy.

After he returned home, he immediately overturned the treaty and prepared to fight again.

The great success of Charles V frightened the pope, and Pope Clement VII, an ally of both anti-French alliances, also rose up against him.

The Pope organized the League of Cognac, led by France, against Charles V.

Charles sent an army under the Duke of Bourbon to attack Rome.

The Duke of Bourbon died in battle before Rome, and the approximately 20,000 German and Spanish mercenaries he led lost control.

In May 1527, they rushed into the city of Rome, burned, killed, and looted, using the monstrance box as a chamber pot, the cross as a target, and the monastery into a brothel. The Pope was also arrested.

This event is considered to mark the end of the Renaissance.

Two years later, Charles met the Pope in Bologna, the first meeting between a Catholic emperor and a pope. He fell to his knees and apologized for the incident in Rome, and the Pope forgave him.

Three months later, after Charles accepted the golden crown of the Holy Roman Empire, he insisted on holding stirrups for the Pope, showing that he was spiritually obedient to the Pope.

At this time, France chose to unite with Türkiye.

At sea, the French, Turkish and Genoese fleets took joint action against the Spanish fleet and Naples and Sicily in 1528, forcing Charles V to focus his full attention on the Mediterranean.

After the Franco-Turkish Treaty was signed in 1536, the French and Turkish navies often operated together, and Turkish warships were moored in the French port of Marseille.

In 1538, the French-Turkish fleet attacked Venice. After the Battle of Previsa in the same year, the Ottoman Empire began to enjoy maritime superiority in the Mediterranean, and Charles V was restrained.

In 1542, France and Turkey once again took joint naval operations to attack Naples, Sicily and Nice.

During the operation, the Turkish fleet docked at the port of Toulon and set up a naval frontline command post, so that the port was called "Constantinople II" at the time.

After Henry II succeeded to the throne, he continued to implement the policies of his father Francis I, maintaining an alliance with Turkey, and at the same time attacking the Habsburg dynasty on the European continent and the Mediterranean.

Therefore, the significance of the Franco-Turkish Alliance is that France introduced the power of the Ottoman Empire into European international relations, introduced enemies from across the European continent into the power politics of the European continent, and forced the Habsburg dynasty into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.

Thus, a balance of power was finally restored and maintained in Europe, and the independence and freedom of France and other emerging countries that resisted Charles V's hegemonic attempts were maintained.

In 1544, Charles V invaded France, and France sued for peace.

Three years later, after Francis died, his son Henry II resumed the war.

After Charles V abdicated in 1556, the war continued between Henry II and Philip II. After the French army suffered successive defeats in 1557 and 1558, the two countries signed the Treaty of Cato-Cambresi in 1559.

Peace Treaty", peace was achieved and France's security was guaranteed.

The Treaty of Cato-Cambresi also marked the failure of Charles V's European hegemony and the initial formation of a European system based on the balance of power.

Opposition to the Reformation In addition to the Italian war, Charles V also had another worry, and that was the religious reform taking place in Germany.

The primary goal of Charles' plan was to unify Germany and increase the power of the empire.

Therefore, Charles, who regarded himself as Catholic orthodoxy, would not tolerate religious reforms that opposed the Roman Catholic Church.

However, the unstoppable torrent still swept his plan to pieces.

Starting from the second half of the 15th century, Europe's capitalist economy began to develop, which required a unified domestic market and a strong government as the backing for its own economic development. However, the large and small independent forces distributed in Germany seriously hindered its development.

economic development.

The church at that time was also becoming increasingly corrupt. When European countries established centralized governments to resist the corrupt church, the church still took advantage of the divisions in Germany to plunder.