00:00 The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts that lasted 65 years and involved major and minor powers across Europe, radically altered European politics and marked a transition from the Middle Ages to early modernity.

05:50 The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts that lasted 65 years and involved major and minor powers across Europe, radically altered European politics and marked a transition from the Middle Ages to early modernity.

10:50 Charles VIII of France inherited a claim to Naples and, with a large standing army and dreams of expansion, he prepared to invade Italy, despite the assumptions of Italian rulers that he wouldn't actually follow through.

15:50 In 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy with a large standing army, including Swiss mercenaries, armored lancers, and a massive artillery train, easily conquering Naples and causing other Italian powers, such as Ferdinand of Aragon, the Venetians, and Ludovico Sforza, to form an anti-French league and engage in a bloody stalemate at the Battle of Fornovo.

20:46 In 1498, Charles VIII of France dies, leaving Louis of Orléans, now crowned Louis XII, with big plans to claim the Duchy of Milan and marry Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII's widow.

26:38 In 1499, French and Venetian armies easily took over Milan, prompting Ludovico Sforza to flee, but he later returned and failed to regain control, resulting in his capture and eventual death under house arrest in France.

31:35 The Battle of Senignola in 1503 marked the first time that massed firepower, including gunpowder archibuses and field fortifications, determined the outcome of a battle, leading to a decisive victory for the Spanish and sealing the fate of the French in Naples.

36:22 The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian declared war on Venice in 1508, but his campaign went poorly and he eventually agreed to a truce, leading to negotiations between Louis XII and Maximilian and the formation of the League of Cambrai to attack Venice.

41:23 The Venetian army was defeated by Louis XII and his army, causing the Venetian hold on northern Italy to disintegrate, but Venice itself remained safe and the Venetians began working to break apart the League of Cambrai by leveraging cracks in the alliance.

46:09 The French, led by Gaston Des Fois, successfully defended against the Swiss and Spanish armies, but suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat back to Milan.

50:55 The French position in northern Italy collapsed, and with tensions between the Swiss and the Venetians, the French managed to escape back across the Alps, losing Milan and standing alone against a powerful coalition of enemies, but with the balance tipping again, Louis XII and Venice, along with the Scots, became allies against the Swiss, the Spanish, the Pope, Maximilian, and England, leading to battles in northern Italy and the priority of retaking Milan.

55:45 In the final act of the war, Maximilian invaded Milan but was unable to press the attack, resulting in the French retaining Milan, the Venetians regaining most of their territory, and the Spanish dealing with the accession of Charles V as the new king and the first Habsburg ruler of Spain.