Ludovico Sforza of Milan invited French king Charles VIII to intervene in Italian politics. Charles took this chance to invade and occupy Naples. The Spanish were asked to intervene, followed by 15 years of war between France and Spain for dominion over Italy.
Henry Tudor defeats Richard III and establishes the Tudor dynasty with a strong monarchical government, ending private wars of nobility, and using diplomacy to end wars. He left England with a stable and successful government.
Northern Renaissance artist influenced by the Italian Renaissance. Used laws of perspective and proportion as well as attention to detail that was characteristic of the Northern Renaissance. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/
The marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon strengthened the monarchy in Spain. Instead of aristocrats, they appointed middle-class lawyers to the royal council. They developed a strong military and aimed for religious uniformity in Catholicism.
An agreement signed by all of the Italian states, ending almost half a century of war. This created an alliance system to maintain a balance of power in Italy, but did not create lasting cooperation.
Johannes Gutenberg developed the technique of printing with movable type. As more printing presses were established, new ideas were spread and more people became literate.
More than any other, Petrarch influenced humanism by characterizing the Middle Ages as a period of darkness, and reviving interest in the classics and secularism, using Virgil and Cicero as models for new literature. http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/petrarch.htm
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