Maximilian I (1459–1519)

Holy Roman Emperor who greatly expanded the realm under the control of the powerful Habsburg dynasty. He was born in Wiener Neustadt, a suburb of Vienna, the son of Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal. In 1477, he married Mary of Burgundy, who brought the Low Countries and Burgundy under Habsburg control. In 1482, on the death of Mary, Burgundy became a part of France while the Netherlands, which had always resisted Habsburg control, signed a treaty with King Louis XI of France. On the death of his father Frederick in 1493 he ascended to the Habsburg throne; in the next year he married Maria Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan. In 1493 Maximilian signed the Treaty of Senlis that surrendered Burgundy and Picardy (in northern France) in exchange for the Netherlands and the territory of Franche-Comte. He later appointed his daughter Margaret of Austria as the regent of the Netherlands.

His marriage to Maria Sforza fired Maximilian's ambitions to contest control of the wealthy cities of northern Italy. This touched off the Italian Wars with France that dragged on for a generation and embroiled nearly every major city of Italy as well as the Papacy. After the Battle of Dornach, Maximilian signed the Treaty of Basel, which granted independence to the Swiss Confederation. He arranged a marriage for his granddaughter Mary with Louis, the son of the king of Hungary and Bohemia, and his grandson Ferdinand to marry Louis' sister Anne. These betrothals eventually brought Hungary and Bohemia under Habsburg control.

See Also: Charles V; Margaret of Austria