THE FOREIGN POLICY OF KING FRANCIS1 (1515-1547)
The study of historical figures has remained the focus of interest for researchers, especially European figures who had a prominent role in shaping the events of Europe and then the trend towards the new world and took it upon themselves to draw the map of Europe through its internal and foreign policies. These figures remained the center of controversy among researchers, through extrapolation and analysis of historical documents and writings, over the extent of what they achieved for their countries and peoples and what they established on the European map. Among those figures was the French King Francis I, who sat on the throne of France from 1515 to 1547, and whose reign was full of events. International relations changed according to what he saw as appropriate for French interests, whether by concluding agreements at times, as happened with the development of his relationship with the Ottoman Empire, which was a key to the growth of French-Ottoman relations and an outlet for interference in Ottoman affairs and between waging wars at other times because of his expansionist ambitions in Europe, the most important of which was waging a war against Spain for control. On the Italian kingdoms and what coincided with those events and those that followed them, including his interest in geographical discoveries, which he considered one of the most important foundations of his expansionist policy outside Europe towards the New World and reaching the East. The study dealt with the circumstances of François I’s accession to the throne of France and the most important kings who lived with him in that period. Then we touched on his wars with Spain because of his expansionist claims in Italy, the French-Ottoman relations that developed very significantly, and the success of his expansionist policy through his encouragement of the movement of geographical discoveries after he saw the treasures. The money and types of trade that Spanish and Portuguese ships brought from overseas achieved great success in that direction despite the superiority of the British fleet and its sovereignty over the seas.
Keywords: Francis I, the Ottoman Empire, Spain, geographical discoveries, the Italian War, Charles V.