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An old term for an alliance, as in the anti-Venetian League of Cambrai which saw the forces of Pope Julius II, Louis of France, Ferdinand of Spain and the Emperor Maximilian rout the republic at Aguadello in 1509.
An old term for a confederation, as in the cases of Switzerland and the Swabian League (created in 1488 and boasting regular meetings, tribunals and a common force of infantry and horse). This is the meaning employed by Machiavelli in the section of his Discourses where he considers the various methods which a republic might employ in order to expand.
An international organization, either universal in aspiration, as in the League of Nations, or regional in scope, as in the League of Arab States. |
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