FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63  
64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   >>   >|  
I agreed:-- To defend the personal authority of Ludowico Sforza over the duchy of Milan against anyone who might attempt to turn him out; To keep two hundred French lances always in readiness to help the house of Sforza, at Asti, a town belonging to the Duke of Orleans by the inheritance of his mother, Valentina Visconti; Lastly, to hand over to his ally the principality of Tarentum immediately after the conquest of Naples was effected. This treaty was scarcely concluded when Charles VIII, who exaggerated its advantages, began to dream of freeing himself from every let or hindrance to the expedition. Precautions were necessary; for his relations with the great Powers were far from being what he could have wished. Indeed, Henry VII had disembarked at Calais with a formidable army, and was threatening France with another invasion. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, if they had not assisted at the fall of the house of Anjou, had at any rate helped the Aragon party with men and money. Lastly, the war with the emperor acquired a fresh impetus when Charles VIII sent back Margaret of Burgundy to her father Maximilian, and contracted a marriage with Anne of Brittany. By the treaty of Etaples, on the 3rd of November, 1492, Henry VII cancelled the alliance with the King of the Romans, and pledged himself not to follow his conquests. This cost Charles VIII 745,000 gold crowns and the expenses of the war with England. By the treaty of Barcelona, dated the 19th of January, 1493, Ferdinand the Catholic and Isabella agreed never to grant aid to their cousin, Ferdinand of Naples, and never to put obstacles in the way of the French king in Italy. This cost Charles VIII Perpignan, Roussillon, and the Cerdagne, which had all been given to Louis XI as a hostage for the sum of 300,000 ducats by John of Aragon; but at the time agreed upon, Louis XI would not give them up for the money, for the old fox knew very well how important were these doors to the Pyrenees, and proposed in case of war to keep them shut. Lastly, by the treaty of Senlis, dated the 23rd of May, 1493, Maximilian granted a gracious pardon to France for the insult her king had offered him. It cost Charles VIII the counties of Burgundy, Artois, Charalais, and the seigniory of Noyers, which had come to him as Margaret's dowry, and also the towns of Aire, Hesdin, and Bethune, which he promised to deliver up to Philip of Austria on the day he came of
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63  
64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Charles
 

treaty

 
Ferdinand
 

agreed

 
Lastly
 
Margaret
 
Naples
 

Isabella

 

Burgundy

 

Maximilian


France

 

Aragon

 

Sforza

 

French

 

Ludowico

 

Cerdagne

 

Roussillon

 

Perpignan

 

hostage

 

ducats


defend

 

personal

 

authority

 

crowns

 
expenses
 
England
 

follow

 

conquests

 

Barcelona

 

cousin


Catholic

 
January
 
obstacles
 

Noyers

 

seigniory

 

Charalais

 

offered

 

counties

 

Artois

 
Philip

Austria
 
deliver
 

promised

 

Hesdin

 
Bethune
 

insult

 

pardon

 

important

 

pledged

 
granted