Cateau-Cambrésis, Treaty of, 1559, concluded at Le Cateau, France, by representatives of
Henry II of France,
Philip II of Spain, and
Elizabeth I of England. It put an end to the 60-year conflict between France and Spain, begun with the
Italian Wars, in which
Henry VIII and later
Mary I of England had intermittently sided against France. The terms were a triumph for Spain. France restored Savoy, except Saluzzo, to Duke
Emmanuel Philibert, acknowledged Spanish hegemony over Italy, and consented to a rectification of its border with the Spanish Netherlands.
Calais, however, was confirmed in French possession by England. Henry II's sister, Margaret, was given in marriage to Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy; Henry's daughter, Elizabeth of Valois, was given to Philip II of Spain.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press