568 Outlines of European History Charles It seemed as if the boy would have his hands full in assert- peror, 1519" ii^g his authority as the first king of Spain"; nevertheless, a still more imposing title and still more perplexing responsibilities were to fall upon his shoulders before he was twenty years old. It had long been Maximilian's ambition that his grandson should succeed him upon the imperial throne. After his death in 15 19 the electors finally chose Charles as Emperor — the fifth of that name — instead of the rival candidate, Francis I of France. By this election the king of Spain, who had not yet been in Germany and who never learned its language, became its ruler at a critical juncture, when the teachings of Luther (see next chapter) were adding a new kind of trouble to the old disorders. Section 99. How Italy became the Battleground OF the European Powers In order to understand the Europe of Charles V and the constant wars which occupied him all his life, we must turn back and review the questions which had been engaging the attention of his fellow kings before he came to the throne. It is particularly necessary to see clearly how Italy had suddenly become the center of commotion — the battlefield for Spain, France, and Germany. Charles VIII Charles VIII of France (1483-1498) possessed little of the invades Italy practical sagacity of his father, Louis XI (pp. 435-436). He dreamed of a mighty expedition against the Turks and of the conquest of Constantinople. As the first step he determined to lead an army into Italy and assert his claim, inherited from his father, to the kingdom of Naples, which was in the hands of the House of Aragon.^ While Italy had everything to lose by lit will be remembered that the popes, in their long struggle with Frederick 1 1 and the Hohenstaufens, finally called in Charles of Anjou, the brother of St. Louis, and gave to him both Naples and Sicily (see above, pp. 456 ff.). Sicily revolted in 1282 and was united with the kingdom of Aragon, which still held it when
