Insurrection of 1580

The Insurrection of 1580 was an armed conflict taking place in the Kingdom of Fidenza and Milan. It was an armed revolt by nobility and peasants against the tyrannical rule of King Cosimo II, dubbed the Terrible.

Succession Crisis
Filippo II returned to the throne of Milan in 1553, but he would reign only for two years after that. In these two years, however, he'd restored stability to the Italian Peninsula since the French had practically torn the state into pieces over their eight years in power. The Valois were now gone, and the Visconti had reasserted their control over the Kingdoms of Italy. To create strength and prevent division, Filippo II intuitively made a play to unite all the Kingdoms, dubbing this new state the ''Kingdom of Fidenza and Milan. ''It'd be a Kingdom to be united for all eternity, never to divide and fracture as it did with the threat from the French Valois. Filippo II was hailed as the restorer for the retaking of Italy and the new stability he brought.

Filippo II was almost constantly ill, though. He was cursed with poor physique and ill health all his life, and as a result his marriage to Giovanna de' Medici remained unconsummated. When he died childless in 1555, the nation was once again thrown into instability and conflict. By this point, the once minor House of Visconti had grown into a colossal dynasty with many dissident branches existing on their small pensions from the crown. When the crown became vacant, however, dozens of different Visconti men, great and small, flocked to the city of Milan to claim the Fidenzan crown. The local government and King Filippo II's council, however, shut the gates to all claimants. They spent many hours coming to agreement on a suitable heir to the throne, scouring different branches and relatives of the late King. They eventually settled on Francesco Edmondo di Visconti, son of the late Prince Donato. Prince Donato was the brother of Cosimo the Fair, King from 1523 - 1540 and the cousin of Queen Isabella II.

Accession of Francesco III
Francesco Edmondo was invited to the capital, where he'd have to be snuck in under cover of darkness to prevent an ambush by the now dozens of claimants and their guards attempting to gain entrance to the city. At dawn, on the 3rd of July 1555, the ascension of King Francesco III to the throne of Fidenza was declared. The disappointed claimants to the throne soon began to disperse, though this was not the end of tensions between the massive Visconti dynasty's many branches. Most of the conflict had stemmed from the main branch of the House of Visconti dying out with Isabella II, and the supremacy essentially becoming a free-for-all between her cousins and their respective branches.

After the succession crisis subsided, Francesco III set to work on the repair of the rifts between his house and the damage to the city of Milan. The city was still devastated from the many uprisings and conflicts that had taken place there in the years of French dominance over the region. As a result of the horror the people had suffered under the Valois usurpers, there was still discontent with the Visconti monarchs over their lack of action to reclaim the throne and free the Italian people from the French grip. After all, Filippo II had simply fled to his holdings in Naples and Sicily, doing very little with his existing force there to try to retake his homeland in Lombardy. Thousands had died trying to rise up against the Valois in the city, while the King they supported sat idling in Napoli with his heels dug in.

People knew very little about the new King. He was from a relatively minor branch of the house, descended from Duke Francesco I. They only inherited due to the increasing trend of Milanese monarchs failing to produce any heirs, such as Ludovico I, Isabella II, Isabella I and Francesco II, all of whom would die without issue. From all accounts, however, Francesco III was a diligent, hard-working and godly man who sought to serve the interests of the Fidenzan people and longed for a return to Visconti wealth and power that was seen in the days before the French Conquest. Visconti power and influence was still questionable, as with the weakness of the crown many regional nobility acted as they wished and a state of feudal autonomy seemed to return.

Modernisation, Stripping of Feudal Rights
Francesco III, to many, was a revolutionary. He pushed for the modernisation of Fidenza in every possible way. He pushed for the explusion of councils in cities, and for the direct rule of the Crown over every region. He called for the stripping of the ancient feudal rights of Italian Lords, which had been around since the downfall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of Odoacer of Italy. This was an outrage to many, but Francesco III's iron will and his skill was able to keep his vassals appeased for a time and the Kingdom at a state of peace. The King's reforms also meant more tax was raised on the Lords, and more obligation for troop levies to be provided to the King's Royal Army. As was his right, the King could call for mobilised troops sent to him whenever he pleased. Francesco III was pushing the Lords to their limit, though he was unfazed by the consequences of his new laws with his almost blind bravery and his lack of thought on repercussions. Francesco III's shrewdness and thrift were able to keep him afloat, for a time.

Death of Francesco III, Accession of Ludovico II
Francesco III died in 1576. He left a somewhat weak line which could not be compared to his own skill and prowess for rulership. His eldest son and heir was sickly, infertile, and weak-minded. This man would become Ludovico II, almost immediately mocked as weak and useless. Now that they had a lamb instead of a wolf on the throne, the Lords began to influence the King. Ludovico II was bedridden and weak for most of his reign, leaving a regency council having almost complete control. This council was made up of such faces as the Duke of Urbino, the Duke of Ferrara, the Duke of Modena, the Prince of Piombino and others. These powerful men had been disgruntled under Francesco III and began to move to reverse the late King's reforms and even those of Filippo II to put the Visconti Monarchy back into a weakened position and subservient to the will of the Lords who were supposed to owe their fealty to them.

This regency council, however, knew it wouldn't last long. The King was almost certain to die very soon after his accession, as not once during his short reign was he able to leave his bed. The few achievements of Ludovico II's reign, such as economic prosperity, new fashions and extending trade wealth were not accomplished by him. They were accomplished by the acts of Lords, who believed they were owed something in return for their service to the Kingdom. The regency council, made up of Lords itself, could not agree more that the rights of Lords were an imperative issue which needed to be resolved. With Francesco III dead, there was nobody to stop a reverse in the King's policy. Except, however, the King's second son, Prince Cosimo. Cosimo was a wrath, stubborn, brutal and ruthless man. He did everything in his power to stop the council's actions, and for a time he succeeded. He even managed to persuade his brother to order the council dismantled, and had himself installed as regent. Lords disdained Cosimo, which was to set the stage for the conflict to come.

Death of Ludovico II, Accession of Cosimo II
Cosimo had already made his mark on the Lord's opinion of him with his actions against the regency council. This left him in a weakened position as King, with the support of very few Lords. He did, however, hold the support of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Dukes of Apulia, Sicily and Sardinia. These, however, were much weaker than the combined force of his opponents. Most of the Dukes in the realm, vassal Princes, Marquis' and Counts were against his reign. It was a delicate balance of a situation at the very beginning of his reign, in 1577. He was, however, still incredibly wealthy and powerful. This was not to last, though. Sabotage both internally and externally was imminent. His own Ministerial Council came to be against him, which led to dozens of appointments and reappointments onto the council. Discontent continued to grow among the feudal lords, as well as the people themselves. It became a matter of time before the matter would explode.

Tyranny, Opposition and the Spark
Cosimo II was by no means a pleasant King. People called him Cosimo the Terrible, and feared to jeer behind his back for bane of execution. The final straw came when new measures were introduced, such as the conscription of young children as well as the extraction of all money made by farms and other industries away from feudal lords. The tyranny of the Visconti monarchy, in the eyes of their vassals, could no longer be tolerated. Becoming increasingly paranoid of plots, Cosimo had everyone but his family kicked out of the Palace in Milan. The city had become increasingly tense and hostile over recent months, with small-scale attacks made on wealthy people in the city by poorer citizens. Riots were also staged outside the palace, which were violently quashed by the guards. Often, Cosimo would collect bodies from the streets and hang them upside down and naked from the walls of his palace to send a message to the people. This would, however, only make things worse.

By this point, revolt was inevitable. The spark came on the 1st of March 1580, where the King would have dozens of nobles arrested and executed for ''"crimes against the crown". ''To add insult to injury, he'd ride out and set fire to the castle of the Duke of Urbino, before rushing off back to Milan. It was a shocking act, with no clear motive or justification behind it. When he returned to Milan, the people spat at him on his way through the city. For this, he repaid them with the blades of swords and had his own city essentially sacked. He had children needlessly slaughtered, he had women raped, he had homes burnt to the ground. There was utter devastation all around the city, causing massive riots and a peasant revolt to break out. The Duke of Urbino's response would come two days later. He held the two youngest sons of King Cosimo, whom he'd captured after riding out to Ancona. The children had been kept in Ancona for safety, but the Duke had captured the castle and taken them prisoner. The letter included their cut out eyes to do down the King, with the added threat that more mutilation would follow if recompense was not paid for the King's actions against Urbino. No response would come from the King. War would break out shortly after.

Urbino's Campaign
Alfonso d'Urbino was Duke of Urbino at the time of the war. He was a sixty-three year old man, extremely ambitious, battle-hardened, ruthless and determined. Urbino had been waiting for cause for war for some time now, and with this provocation he had his wish. He had a favourable position, and it was clear to see. He held the children of the King as his prisoners, though now blinded they would still prove useful, and he also had the support of other Lords who wished to revolt against the King. Therefore, calling all Lords who wished to see the King gone, Urbino raised his flag in revolt. Dozens of Dukes, Princes, Marquis' and other small Lords answered his call, and they united to create a massive force. Urbino, further, had the support of the peasants who wished to see the tyrannical King gone from the throne. Eventually, the realm was split in two. The King still had supporters, including; the wealthy Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Dukes of Apulia, Sardinia and Corsica. He also had the support of his eldest son, Francesco, who was Duke of Savoy.

Urbino's large following of troops ravaged villages and towns under the King's direct control. Cosimo, meanwhile, boded his time in the capital. He sealed off the gates, allowing nobody in and nobody out of the city, aside from supply trains. However, he'd almost hoard the supplies brought into the city and would hide them in the cellars of the Palace. Everyone except the Palace slowly began to starve, only very small amounts of grain and bread would make their way to the peasants of the city. Urbino marched his large army far across the country, intending to liberate Milan from the horrendous conditions they were undergoing. He was, however, no better than Cosimo the Terrible. He pillaged villages as he marched, he took spoils of war, and he'd keep the young princes chained up as prisoners of war as his army marched. He further intended to gain retribution for the loss of his Castle in Urbino, wanting to burn the King's Palace to the ground.

Peasant's Revolt
Peasants across the nation rose up in revolt against the King, but most prevalently in the capital itself. The spark for the peasants came when Cosimo II introduced conscription of children, further taxation and higher bread prices. They were also forced to act when the King began to hoard the food in the city, leaving them to slowly and painfully starve. The situation was even more dire in Naples and Sicily. Poor harvests and ravaging warfare had left the situation unmanageable in the south. What little there was was being taken by passing through armies or being forcibly taken to the capital. Even the great city of Rome began to starve. The instability in Fidenza had now bubbled into economic crisis for the nation, helped along by the King's poor decision and lack of skill in administration. Even worse, the Ministerial Council and the King's advisors were practically useless themselves. For much of 1580, the Council was caught in gridlock over how to handle the increasing unrest, to the point where Cosimo II had the head of his council, the Count of Pavia, stripped of his ranks and titles, then executed shortly after. This was an outrageous action, afterwards much of the council led a boycott of the King. They would, however, end up the same way as Pavia did.

The peasants first rose up in the City of Milan, where they marched on the palace to demand food and monetary aid. There were almost 25,000 peasants marching on the palace, and even the King's Guard could do nothing against them. There were 200 men in the King's retinue, but despite being well trained and equipped there was no way they could fight the peasants. With this new stress, Cosimo II's sanity was clearly declining and becoming more questionable by the day. His wife, Queen Antoinette, tried many times to convince her husband to simply help the peasants and have them disperse peacefully. Her efforts, however, were simply met with violence from the King. While the King was prisoner in his own palace by the Milanese peasants, more was occurring in Naples. The peasants had risen against the local lords to seize goods by force for their own survival. The lords of Naples were eventually driven out of their castles entirely, being forced to flee into refuge with other lords. Peasants ruled in Naples for a time, declaring themselves a separate state. This was, however, unimaginable to ever last.

Chaos in Milan
The leader of the Milanese peasants, Giuseppe di Rua, was invited to negotiate with the King over terms that would end the war. Rua obliged, being granted entry into the palace and being brought to the King for, what he thought, would be an acceptance of the peasant demands. Instead, Giuseppe found himself in the King's throne room. Cosimo sat upon his high throne, and Rua was thrown to his knees before the King, held down by guards. What followed became one of the most infamous events of the insurrection. The King spoke authoritatively. The exchange went as followed, as recorded by onlookers present in the throne room. The King began, "Do you, sir, deny that you have incited revolt against our great crown and your great sovereign?"

Rua rebuked, "No, Maesta, I have not incited revolt. I have come to save your own people from starvation and misery. Please, open your heart to your people as they will do for you if you merely help them survive."

The King went on, "You peasants are worthless scum. Why should I surrender myself to you? I am the Great Sovereign of Fidenza and some day the world! And great sovereigns, do not surrender to mere peasants!"

Rua pleaded, "Maesta, your people will not survive any longer without your help! We don't want surrender, we don't want to humiliate you. We need -"

The King interrupted, ''"Silence! I serve the good in our realm, not the scum. The good are those who do not revolt against their King! Revolutionaries such as yourself cannot be helped, for I do not bow to anyone who demands me to! I am the King of Fidenza, not your vassal!" He sat in contemplation for a moment, "Guard! Drag him to the balcony!"''

Five minutes later, the King appeared alongside his guards on the great balcony. Rua was held in chains by the guards, and the cries for mercy appeared immediately. Rua was a kindly old man who helped the poorer than he in any way he could. He ran a small bakery, which was going out of business with the bread shortage. He had exhausted the last stores he had giving it out to the starving. The King stood indignantly, holding his long-sword. He shouted to the peasants just outside the gates, ''"This man has committed treason! You all have committed treason! You are lucky it is he that kneels here, and not you! Don't fret, though! The rest of you will be dealt with soon..." ''One old woman offered herself for execution instead of Rua, though the King had her arrested too rather than the trade she proposed. As the wind grew stronger, the cries of the people echoed through the city and the palace courtyard. The King had Rua positioned, then quartered him with his own sword in plain view of the people. Rua's screams were heard throughout the entire city, some said throughout the entire country. The cries stopped, replaced with mere shock and disgust. As the final blow was struck, Rua's head being cut from his shoulders and held up by the King himself, a storm began. The superstitious peasantry would go on to say, "Our Lord favoured Giuseppe. Now the King is out of his grace. He does not have long for this world."

The day after Rua's execution, the dispersed peasantry left to grieve for their fallen leader were ambushed in their own homes by the King's men. Chaos ensued. Homes were burned, children were thrown from windows, women were raped, people were cut in two. The situation in Milan became unbelievably brutal, with peasants all across the city being ruthlessly and needlessly butchered by the army which was supposed to protect the Kingdom's cities. A great fire was lit at the old Cathedral of Milan, reportedly the King in his madness intended to use it as a staging ground to burn the entire city. The Pope, appalled at the actions, immediately protested and began a war to liberate the people of Fidenza. However, Fidenzan forces quickly pushed him back to the walls of the Vatican, decimated his force, and pushed in to the great St. Peter's Basilica. From that point on, the Pope was almost officially a vassal of the King of Fidenza.

Urbino's Advance
The army of the Duke of Urbino made steady gains in the peninsula over the course of the civil war. His divisions pushed both south and north, where they received conflict from peasant militias who controlled the areas around Naples. Urbino's own army was forced to put down the revolt of his common ally against the King, as they received constant harassment and threat from the peasants. The great walls at Napoli, built up by Cosimo I (1523 - 1540), were completely torn down during a great siege to take the city from peasants, who earlier had taken it from the Royal forces. With the fall of Napoli, the only strategically important fortress in the south, Urbino consolidated his force and began to march on the capital. They encountered a small force of cavalry sent to quell the Pope's uprising in Rome, and a battle ensued. The cavalrymen, though well-trained and full of valour, were no match for Urbino's large army. The men were decimated, and the army continued onwards. They were set to reach the capital within weeks.

Military Defection
Cosimo II's generals were becoming increasingly unhappy with the lack of payment for the soldiers as the war drained the royal treasure. When taxes were raised for the last time to the whopping rate of 95%, it was the last straw. The soldiers defected to rebel cause, and initiated a great siege of the King's city. On August 10th 1580, seven days before the fall of Milan, the King ordered a great purge of the city. His last loyal general was willing to abide, but as he strode through the doors to the palace to initiate the order, he was slew by a guardsman to prevent the order ever coming to be. More of the lords who'd supported the King began to throw down their arms and surrender to the rebels. Leniency was given for most in exchange for their support to topple the King. The rebels made clear, however, they weren't going to topple the House of Visconti. They intended to place the King's son, Prince Francesco, onto the throne. With little army behind him, the King's situation became worse.

Capture of Milan and Aftermath
The combined armies of the Duke of Urbino, many minor lords and some combined peasants made it to the walls of Milan on August 16th. By this point, the city was starved and many of the garrison inside saw no need to continue the war. On the night of the 16th, under cover of darkness, the commander of the city garrison was bribed to throw open the gates for the armies. When the early morning of the 17th came, the gates were opened. The great armies marched through the gates, to the cheers and applauds of the starving populace. They formed outside the palace, to the King's horror. He entered a fit of rage and psychiatric delusion, where he himself ended up destroying most of the palace with his fits of rage. When his wife, the Queen Antoinette, attempted to calm him and approached him, he drew his sword and slew her with it. She died immediately.

The King's eldest son arrived at the capital, and saw the dire situation. He approached the palace, and saw it encircled. The Duke of Urbino himself was there, and he said to the Prince, ''"Don't worry. We have no grudge against you. We'll make you King, but sometimes for an ushering in of the new there has to be a removal of the old.". ''The Prince was given entrance to the palace, where he attempted to reason with his father. On seeing his mother's murdered body, he was entirely horrified. He marched toward his father and demanded an explanation, to which the King apparently said, ''"Don't make me force you to join her,". ''He drew his sword and approached the King, and in a fit of desperation and a refusal to be stopped, he threw open the doors and threw himself from the highest balcony.

Death of the King
The King wasn't dead after the fall. He was alive and very much conscious, but in terrible pain. Some said this was a punishment that he would have to suffer before his descent to hell, but the Prince Francesco said that this was merely, ''"cruel irony". ''It began to rain as the Prince approached his father, bleeding and with numerous injuries. According to witnesses, the Prince drew his own sword and drove it into the King's heart, some say as an act of mercy or an act of rage. Cosimo II died there, at which point the now King Francesco IV spoke to his people. He said, ''"My lords, my subjects, the old King is dead. I will fight with you, for a better nation. I will fight with you, for reparation of the misdeeds my father did you. I will fight with you, for the rebuilding of our great Kingdom. If you will accept me as your suzerain monarch, I will be with you.". ''The Duke of Urbino himself led the procession toward the new King, and knelt. Offering up his sword, he proclaimed a new King. He proclaimed the end of the Civil War, and the declaration of peace. Terms were agreed upon later, with the establishment of the eternal rights of the lords and of the citizens.

Ascension of Francesco IV
The new King received his crown on August 18th. Peace returned to the nation, but the scars of the war remained for many years to come. Napoli, in the south, was almost entirely in ruins. The capital of Milan was reeling over the war, with almost half of its population killed during the reign of Cosimo II. Francesco IV made the wise choice to move his official capital to Rome. His court was moved there, and Cosimo II's palace was demolished to help remove the stings of his reign. The ravaged countryside took years to return to its original production, and many of the provinces remained affected for decades. Under the shrewd and just administration of Francesco IV, however, many of the problems the nation suffered began to disappear. Francesco IV's entre 12 year reign was spent helping the people overcome the hardships caused by the Insurrection. This earned him the loving epithet, the Benevolent, from his people. The Insurrection became a lasting message for Kings of Fidenza: tyranny only leads to one end.