Politics and War Chronology 1434-1464 Cosimo de' Medici rules Republic of Florence as "first citizen". 1448-53 Series of victories wins back for France almost all the previous English gains. End of Hundred Years' War. 1449 Birth of Lorenzo de' Medici. 1450 Mercenary leader, Francesco Sforza, seizes power in Milan. 1453 Byzantine Empire conquered by the Turks. The capture of Constantinople by Turks leads to large numbers of teachers, scholars, and books coming to Italy. 1455-85 Long civil wars …showed first 75 words of 514 total…

…showed last 75 words of 514 total…warn of the Spanish Armada invasion fleet. In about 18 minutes, the message had traveled across the country. 1598 Henry VI, first Bourbon king of France, grants toleration to Protestants. 1609 Twelve Year Truce. Spain acknowledges Holland's independence. 1618-1648 Thirty Years' War begins in Germany. War spreads throughout Europe as part of Franco-Spanish rivalry. 1648 Peace of Wetphalia ends war in Germany. (In 1659, Peace of the Pyrenees ends Franco-Spanish war. Confirms Spanish decline and the beginning of France's rise.)