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Europe is engulfed in war and religious upheaval...
To the East, the bloody Italian Wars (1494 - 1559) engulfs much of Europe; Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, has dismantled much of the League of Cognac and after the signing of the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529 by Francis I of the Kingdom of France, there is some measure of peace.
To the West, King Henry VIII rules England and pursues the hand of Anne Boleyn, the future mother of Queen Elizabeth of England, in marriage. The only problem is that King Henry is married to Catherine of Aragon. Denied an annulment by Pope Clement VII, Henry seeks to separate from the Roman Catholic Church (and form the Church of England) so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Back in France, Francis I deals with the Protestant Reformation. As tensions reach a bloody boiling point with the burning of Protestants by Francis I at Place Maubert, beginning in 1523, the Kingdom of France is becoming ripe for the future French Wars of Religion (1562 - 1598)... |
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