__ History. 
. , 
- yed immediately to. crush the insurgen 
he assembled 
FRANCE. 
4 
still: eive Louis, he publicly offered to restore Na- 
ples to its rightful sovereign, while at the same time he 
sent orders to. use every endeavour tovexpel the French. 
These orders were obeyed, and were successful. Louis 
at first took this treacherous conduct of Ferdinand very 
coolly ; but soon afterwards he changed his feelings and 
his determination. He assembled three large armies, 
for the purpose of invading Arragon on every side, while, 
at the same time, a considerable fleet was fitted out, to 
insult the coasts of Catalonia and Valencia, and to inter- 
cept the communication between Spain and Naples. But 
a variety of unforeseen and untoward circumstances dis- 
appointed the hopes and the projects of Louis, while he 
himself was attacked by a fever that threatened his life. 
As soon as he recovered, A. D. 1505, he diligently ap- 
plied himself to terminate a war, which had proved so 
unfortunate; and a treaty was at length concluded, ac- 
cording to which, the Neapolitan nobility, who had been 
the ad of Louis, and on that account had been 
ienreped:Py the Spanish commander, were to be re- 
Soon after this treaty, the states-general were assem- 
bled at Tours. One of their first acts was to bestow on 
Louis the title of Father of his people. Their next was 
to repair a fault that their sovereign had committed. He 
had promised his eldest da in marriage to Charles 
of Austria, afterwards so well known under the name of 
Charles V. and along. with her part of the French terri- 
tories. To this promise, the assembly objected most 
strongly, urging that the king had no right to give aw: 
any portion of the French territory. _ Influenced by their 
his ae poused ie rp pawn hy rh 
i ter es rancis, Count 
heir apparent of the throne. : ; 
_In 1507, the city of Genoa, which was then. depen- 
dent on Milan, revolted from the French. Louis resol- 
ts; and for this 
purpose, a numerous and formidable army, 
forced the passes which the Genoese had occupied, and 
stormed their entrenchments. He then entered Genoa 
in triumph. But in the midst of his success, his natural 
mildness of temper was conspicuous, for he put to death 
only two of the insurgents, and levied a fine upon the 
At this period, no monarchy in Europe was more 
proud than the republic of Venice 3 while their wealth, 
acquired by commerce, excited the envy and jealousy of 
their neighbours. Pope Julius Il, in particular, re- 
ed this state with peculiar enmity ; and influenced 
this motive, he laid the foundation of the famous 
of Cambray. This league was composed of the 
the Emperor, the King of France, and the King of 
was induced to join in it, from the belief 
Venetians had contributed to his loss of the king- 
Naples ; but true policy should have kept under 
motive for going to war with the Venetians, as 
ere the, ont setae ages Alpe, on whose al- 
i he could depend. Pope contented himself 
ith issuing his anathemas against Venice; and after- 
repenting of the alliance which he 
to na peace with the V, if they would 
E 
eee 
F 
SEFELTE 
220 
He 
Louis seemed most in earnest the con : 
he assembled a large army, and imself at the head 
of it. crossed the Alps ; those barriers which 
v 
554 
had seldom been passed without calamity, by the sove- 
reigns of France. The valour of his troops, animated by 
the example of their monarch, triumphed over every ob- 
stacle. In the battle of Ghiarrada, the Venetians were 
defeated with the loss of 80600 men, 
active for his own benefit ; immediately seizing all the 
towns which the republic possessed in the ecclesias- 
tical territories. _ Ferdinand, on his part, reannexed Ca- 
labria to his Neapolitan dominions. At the same time, 
the city of Venice itself was threatened by the armies of 
Maximilian and Louis ; and the absolute ruin of the re« 
public seemed near at hand, when the confederates began 
to quarrel with each other. The senate of Venice lost 
‘no time in profiting by this circumstance, and by well- 
termed concessions to Ferdinand and the Pope, dissolved 
the confederacy. 
Julius II, now projected a more arduous and extensive 
undertaking than the humiliation or conquest of the re- 
public of Venice,—he hoped, by his efforts, to expel every 
foreign power from Italy; and his first efforts were direc- 
ted against the French, against whom he declared war, 
invading the duchy of Ferrara, and laying siege to Mi- 
randola. At first the King of France was disposed to be- 
History, 
—_—— 
The Pope now was ° 
hold with contempt these efforts of the Pope. Perhaps The French 
he was retrained by religious feelings towards the head ?¥ 
ade the 
man 
of the church ; but at length, A. D. 1511, he ordered his Cenc. 
troops to repel the invasion of Julius, and even to pene- 
netrate into the Roman territories, Julius was soon un- 
der the necessity of retracing his steps, when the French 
A.D, 1511, 
general was suddenly seized with a mortal distemper, . 
which gave Julius a temporary respite and advantage; but: 
another commander haying been appointed, he was again 
pressed so closely, that he was under well-grounded ap- 
ensions, that it was the intention of Louis to depose 
im from his holy dignity. To this extremity the French 
monareh might probably have pushed him, had not his 
queen Nonencedon and saved his Holiness. 
Julius, in return for this clemency, displayed only in- 
creased bitterness and enmity against France, which he 
hoped to render efficient, by forming a new confederacy, 
called the Holy League. The principal parties of this con- 
federacy against France, were Ferdinand, the Swiss, end 
the Venetians. At first their armies were successful ; but 
the valour and skill of Gaston de Foix, a name celebra- 
ong heroes, retrieved the affairs of France. This 
1, after relieving Bologna, and Brescia, and de- 
eating the Venetians with a very inferior force, laid 
Holy 
League, 
siege to Ravenna with the professed object of compelling Battle of 
or inducing the army of the confederates to give him Ravenna. 
battle. The two armies were nearly equal in numbers, 
being about 20,000 each. The battle was long and ob- 
stinate. The French were victorious, but their victory 
cost them the life of Gaston, The day was already 
gained, when he received information that a body of 
4000 Spaniards still maintained their ground : anxious 
to render his victory complete, he rushed forward to the 
charge, with about 20 gentlemen ; his horse was killed 
under him, and he himself, after having fought with the 
greatest. courage, fell, pierced with wounds. The death Death of 
of this hero was a fatal blow to the French, for they Gaston de 
soon. afterwards lost all the places, which they possessed 
in Italy ; their generals did not with each other ; 
the king was without money; the confederates were 
much superior ; and there was no alternative left, but to 
evacuate the country. f 
Louis now, A, D, 1513, was threatened with a confe- 
OLX, 
