Cambrai, League of

(1508–10) Alliance of Pope Julius II, Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII, and King Ferdinand V, formed in 1508.

Ostensibly directed against the Turks, its actual aim was to attack the Republic of Venice and divide its possessions among the allies. The allies were unable to act together because of their individual ambitions, and the league collapsed in 1510, when the pope joined with Venice, while Ferdinand became neutral.

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▪ European history

 formed Dec. 10, 1508, an alliance of Pope Julius II, the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I, Louis XII of France, and Ferdinand II of Aragon, ostensibly against the Turks but actually to attack the Republic of Venice and divide its possessions among the allies. Mantua and Ferrara, both of which had lost possessions to Venice, were included in the league and were promised that their territories would be restored. Despite pledges to the contrary, the four allies were unable to act together because of their individual ambitions. The only significant military operation was the French victory over Venice on May 14, 1509, at Agnadello, east of Milan, on territory ceded to Venice by France a few years earlier. Pope Julius, who had not joined the league until March, recovered the cities in the Romagna that Venice had seized after the death of Pope Alexander VI; Maximilian took Verona, Vicenza, and Padua in Lombardy; and Ferdinand received back territory in Apulia, in southern Italy, including the port of Brindisi. The league collapsed in 1510, when the pope switched sides and joined with Venice, while Ferdinand, satisfied with his gains, became neutral. By October 1511 Pope Julius had succeeded in bringing Ferdinand into alliance with Venice in the Holy League directed against French power in Italy. Venice subsequently fell into decline in international affairs, despite the failure of the other powers to dismember its small empire.

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