Margaret's joy at the success of this negotiation, so disastrous to the political interests of France and Italy, breaks forth in the letter she wrote to the King of Aragon's ambassadors in England immediately after the treaty was signed. She informs them that 'she has concluded all the affairs she had to transact with the Cardinal of Amboise at Cambray to her satisfaction, and thanks the King of England, whose ambassadors have assisted her. She has communicated the secret matter to the English ambassadors, in order that they may inform their master of it.' Cambray, December 10th, 1508.[38]

MARGARET OF AUSTRIA IN WIDOW'S DRESS
FROM THE PAINTING BY BERNHARD VAN ORLEY
IN THE POSSESSION OF DR. CARVALLO, PARIS
[View larger image]

The proceedings between the allies were kept so secret that the Venetian ambassador, Antonio Condelmerio, who had followed the Cardinal of Amboise to Cambray, had no idea of the real facts, and even wrote to the republic that they could rely more than ever on Louis XII.'s friendship and support. At last the allies announced their intention of uniting to make war upon the Infidels, and tried to pick a quarrel with the Venetians by reproaching them with placing obstacles in the way of their carrying out this holy object, which, they said, obliged them to force the Venetians to restore what they had usurped, for the glory and good of Christianity. On April 16th, 1509, the French herald formally declared war to the Venetians, in terms which, as the Doge Leonardo Loredan remarked, were 'fitting rather to be used against Saracens and Turks, than made to a most Christian republic.' The French vanguard had already begun hostilities on the previous day. Pope Julius followed on the 22nd, and Louis XII. crossed the Alps with a large army and arrived at Milan.

On the 14th of May 1509 the battle of Agnadel was fought, which broke the power of Venice and decided the fate of the war, victory being with the French. In writing to inform Margaret of the battle of Agnadel, Maximilian says: 'Our ambassador, Adrian de Burgo, who was present at this victory, writes that he has seen quite four thousand dead. Through other letters from France we hear that there are from ten to twelve thousand men either dead or taken prisoners, and that our said brother and cousin (Louis XII.) has taken forty pieces of artillery. We also hear that the Venetians were twenty thousand strong, and the French force rather stronger.' So far the emperor had not taken an active part in the great struggle. The low state of his finances and the war with Gueldres had kept him in the Netherlands.

On March 31st the States met at Antwerp and had voted a subsidy of 500,000 crowns as a gift to Maximilian and the Archduke Charles in acknowledgment of the services rendered by the former in defence of the country and in concluding the Peace of Cambray. At the same time a sum of sixty thousand pounds was voted for the Archduchess Margaret in recognition of the trouble she had taken in arranging the peace.

Meanwhile Louis XII. had seized Brescia and Bergamo almost without a struggle. The Venetian army retreated as far as Mestre, whilst the French advanced to Fusino. Maximilian at the head of a powerful force approached Venice from the other side. The Venetians, surrounded by enemies and left without a single ally, shut themselves up in their capital as their last refuge. This rapid success, however, proved fatal to the Confederacy. The memorable decree followed, by which Venice released her Continental provinces from their allegiance, authorising them to provide for their own safety. The allies, who had remained united during the struggle, now quarrelled over the division of the spoil. Old jealousies revived, and the Venetians, taking advantage of their opportunity, recovered part of the territory which they had lost, and appeased the Pope and Ferdinand by concessions in their favour, and at length dissolved the Confederacy which had brought their commonwealth to the brink of ruin.

Prescott says: 'The various negotiations carried on during this busy period, and the different combinations formed among powers hitherto little connected with each other, greatly increased the intercourse amongst the European nations; while the greatness of the objects at which different nations aimed, the distant expeditions which they undertook, as well as the length and obstinacy of the contest in which they engaged, obliged them to exert themselves with a vigour and perseverance unknown in the preceding ages.'

CHAPTER VII