AD 1500-1650 Renaissance

In AD 1494, Charles VIII had invaded Italy in pursuit of a dynastic claim to Naples. The Italian Wars continued in the reign of Francis I (reigned 1515-47), a strong ruler and patron of the arts. He was defeated by the Habsburg emperor Charles V.

In the 1560s, civil war broke out in France between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants). During the St Bartholomew’s Eve massacre (1572), 5000 Protestants were killed in Paris. Eight wars in 30 years culminated in the assassination of Henry III (1589). The Protestant Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) inherited the crown and converted to Catholicism. Religious conflict continued. Henry IV’s assassination (1610) was followed by confusion during the minority of his son Louis XIII. However, from 1617, aided by powerful ministers, Cardinal Richlieu (1625-42) and Cardinal Mazarin (1642-61), Louis worked to restore royal authority. From 1618 France was involved in the Thirty Years’ War in northern Europe against the Habsburgs. At home, political tensions and massive taxation for war provoked revolts of Parliaments and nobles called the Fronde (literally ‘catapult’), 1648-52, leaving a legacy of instability for Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1714).

In the 1560s, the Netherlands revolted against oppressive Spanish government. Thirteen southern Catholic provinces accepted Spanish terms in 1578. The seven Protestant ‘United Provinces’ in the north fought until they achieved independence in 1648.