Venice, Italy, had once been a powerful maritime empire in the Mediterranean Sea. But, the Venetians were defeated at the Battle of Agnadello by the League of Cambrai. The League of Cambrai, formed in 1508, was comprised of Spain, France, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, Hungary, Savoy, Mantua and Ferrara.
These entities all felt the Venetians had become too greedy and power hungry. After the defeat, the Republic of Venice was no longer considered a Mediterranean power. New trade routes to the East and newly discovered Western lands meant that European countries no longer had to depend on Venetian merchants and their empire eventually fell apart.