Ep. 226: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - A Grand Plan for a Great War
About this episode
The episode discusses the shifting political landscape of Europe during Maximilian I's time and his grand plan to address the balance of power.
Europe's political landscape is shifting fundamentally. No longer are wars fought between kings and their vassals, and emperors against popes - it is all about the balance of power. and this balaance is firmly out of whack. The largest, richest and most populous part of Europe, the empire that still formally included Italy, the Low Countries, the Swiss Confederation, Bohemia and Burgundy, was also its politically weakest entity, whilst the kings of France leveraged their smaller but more coherent state into European dominance. The struggle between France and its neighbours with england looking on was to become the dominant political pattern of Western European politics for 250 or arguable 350 years. Maximilian has a Grand Plan that could have nipped these centuries of death and destruction in the bud. But he did not... Karl Marx once said that history repeates itself twice, first as tragedy and then as farce. he was wrong on many (not all) things. This one repeats not twice but ten, if not dozens of times, but first as farce and then as tragedy... Enjoy the ride.. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV…
More episodes of History of the Germans
- Ep. 234: The Charisma of Emperor Maximilian (1493-1519)
- Ep. 233: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Last Days and Legacy
- Ep. 232: The Ottomans – From Mehmet the Conqueror to Selim the Grim (1444-1520)
- Ep. 231: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Marrying Bohemia and Hungary
- Ep.230: Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) - The League of Cambrai
- Ep. 229: Joanna the (not?) Mad (1504-1555) - How the Habsburgs gained Spain
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the History of the Germans podcast page.