When French king Charles VIII laid claims to the Kingdom of Naples and invaded Italy in September, 1494, an anti-French coalition called the League of Venice was formed, with the aim of kicking France out of the Italian peninsula. “Hang on a second, what does this have to do with the Netherlands?”, I hear you ask. Bear with me here. The League of Venice included a bunch of Italian city-states and regional powers, including the Pope Alexander VI, as well as our friend Emperor Maximilian and the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. To help cement this anti-French alliance between Spain and the Habsburgs, a double marriage was arranged which would see Maximilian’s children marry the children of the Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand.

With thanks to Lucca Breccia, Bryan Winter, Kelsey Murphy, Spencer Deinum and Craig S Tyle for their Patreon support.

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