Untitled Essay, Research Paper

By: Mike Dielman

Introduction

During a forenoon of blazing heat of the first July 1571 cheering of joy

everyplace in Barcelona could be heard. 47 galleys were about to weigh the

ground tackle in the port. The taking ship was the & # 8220 ; Reale & # 8221 ; and the supreme-commander

Juan vitamin D `Austria went on board. It was non his purpose to inspect the fleet

but to do himself familiar with the ship. The & # 8220 ; Reale & # 8221 ; construct in the shipyards

of Barcelona was kept in the colourss of Don Juan: Red and Gold. The ship was

to a great extent decorated with glorious ornamentation which made it an impressive

flagship. At the quays people were complimenting the immature prince of 23

old ages on taking one of the most of import naval endeavors in European

history.

A beautiful day- but it ended with a humiliation for the hero. At the clip

Don Juan returned to his legal residence in the eventide he found a missive of Philipp

II who was his royal stepbrother. He prohibited him to transport the rubric of

sublimity because this position merely should belong to one Excellency. This

was besides a ill-mannered reminder of his bastard beginning. ( Jean Descola, Meilensteine

der Geschichte, 1990, Verlag Hersching )

2.The Supreme Commander

DON JUAN DE AUSTRIA, ENGLISH LORD JOHN OF AUSTRIA,

illicit boy of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V and half brother of

King Philip II of Spain. Removed from his female parent, a businessperson girl,

at an early age, he was brought up in privacy in Spain. After the decease

of Charles V, Philip II of Spain recognized him as his half brother, provided

him with a significant family, and gave him the name Don Juan de

Austria ( 1559 ) . Though it was hoped that he would come in the church, the handsome

and spirited Don Juan expressed a desire to ship on a military calling,

and Philip acceded to his

wants. In the summer of 1568 Don Juan had his first brief experience in

warfare, contending Moresque plagiarists in the Mediterranean, and he was so appointed

in March 1569 commanding officer in head of Spanish forces trying to repress the

rebellious Moors, or Christians of Moorish lineage, in Granada. Philip so

appointed him in 1571 to head the naval forces of the Holy League of Spain,

Venice, and the Catholic Pope against the Ottoman Turks in the eastern

Mediterranean. ( Britannica Online,1999, www.eb.co.uk:180 )

Even though he left his grade in history as the victor of Lepanto, he certainly

was non the lone histrion on the scene. Many others have played its portion before,

during and after the conflict, whose prologue began in Venice.

3.Venice

The lone metropolis which still could do independent political relations remained Venice

which governed itself with altering fortune since the 9th century. The narrative

of Venice could be compared to a bargainer heroic poem. The streets of Venice were

shimmering of silk and aromas of spices beckoning through the markets. The Venetian

bargainers were the discoverers of a solid trading ship and dominated the im-

and export concern. Over centuries as a chief provider for merchandises from

the E and swayer of a sea-empire it was partly merely possible by force

of weaponries. The Venetian maritime district reached over Istria the seashore of

Dalmatia, the Ionic isles and Crete. In the fifteenth century Venice decided non

merely to spread out on sea but besides on land.

The Venetian triumph over Genoa took topographic point under the menace of Turkish progress

in the East. The Venetian had to negociate a province of neutrality with the

Turks and happen another economic base to counterbalance for the smaller output

now to be expected from trade with the East. So they turned to the Italian

mainland, foremost to free themselves of neighbouring Lordships and so to support

and work the rich lands they had acquired. Later Venice received from

the Turkish grand Turk in Istanbul the trade monopoly in the osmanic imperium and

annexed 1489 the isle of Cyprus which has been a centre of Christian, Latin

civilization and major trading topographic point since the conqueration of the reformers.

Since this twelvemonth Venice ruled over the whole east Mediterranean Sea through

and sent embassadors to all European tribunals which its political celebrity increased.

( Jean Descola, Meilensteine der Geschichte, 1990, Verlag Hersching )

It can be said that Venetian policy in the sixteenth century was dictated by the

demand to maintain integral its political, economic, and territorial heritage against

the progress of the Turks on the one side and the force per unit area of the great western

European powers on the other. This demand supplied the ground for Venice & # 8217 ; s

intercession in the Italian crisis of the emperor Charles V ; for its battle

against the Turks, from the licking of Pr & # 233 ; veza in 1538 to the triumph

of Lepanto and the loss of Cyprus in 1571 ; and for its retentive opposition

to force per unit area from the Catholic Pope.

( Britannica Online,1999, www.eb.co.uk:180 )

4.Philipp II

In the twelvemonth of the conflict of Lepanto PilippII came to the high point of his

power and Spain to highest celebrity. Even though he might non hold inherited

the hegemony in Europe

which his male parent Karl V has conquered but lost once more, so he didn`t acknowledge

his state as a portion of the Holy Roman Empire but as self-dependent power.

The Netherlands, Mexico and Peru belonged to him. At the same clip he ruled

over Naples and Sicily which gave him rather a large influence in Italy. ( Jean

Descola, Meilensteine der Geschichte, 1990, Verlag Hersching )

5.Political Situation in Turkey

In Turkey the topographic point of Suleiman I was taken by his boy Selim II, nickname SARI

( & # 8221 ; THE BLOND & # 8221 ; ) , Ottoman sultan from 1566, whose reign saw peace in Europe

and Asia and the rise of the Ottomans to dominance in the Mediterranean but

marked the beginning of the diminution in the power of the grand Turks. He was unable

to enforce his authorization over the Janissaries and was overruled by the adult females

of his hareem. Selim, the boy of S & # 252 ; leyman I the Magnificent, came to

the throne in the aftermath of castle machinations and acrimonious civil discord with his

brothers.

He was more inclined to a life of pleasance than to the hard undertaking of

government, and he entrusted the personal businesss of province to his able expansive vizier

( main curate ) and son-in-law, Mehmed Sokollu.

6.The Ultimatum

The fact that Cyprus was occupied by Christians bothered the swayer of Turkey

because it was an obstruction for Turkish transportation. He send an Ultimatum to

Venice and requested them to unclutter the island. If they wouldn`t do it voluntarily

he threatened them with war. In Venice this petition was considered to be

hideous, insolent and rejected the claim with mention to the peace understanding

made old ages before. In July 1570 Meleagris gallopavo lead a squadron to assail Cyprus which

commenced belligerencies.

How did Spain respond? While Venice was merely interested to maintain its territorial

belongings under control, Philip II intended to suppress the seashore lines of

North-Africa. Despite Spain and

Venice were non friendly, mistrusted each other and had followed different

rules, the juncture was plenty to organize a community of common involvements

against the Islamic universe.

To do it a military treaty a moral justification was needed which should

be announced by a impersonal and undisputed party. Pope Pius V whose original

name was ANTONIO GHISLIERI, Italian abstainer, reformist, and relentless tormentor

of misbelievers, whose pontificate ( 1566-72 ) marked one of the most severe periods

in Roman Catholic church history.

During his reign, the Inquisition was successful in extinguishing Protestantism

in Italy, and the edicts of the Council of Trent ( 1545-63 ) were put into

consequence.

Pope Pius V gave them the induce. He increased the value of a possible war

as campaign against the heathens. The Zealot Philip II and Venice founded

the Holy League.

7.The Holy League

The Holy League- the contract between Spain and Venice- approved by the Catholic Pope

contained a declaration of war to the Os manic Empire every bit good as to the

& # 8220 ; Barbary & # 8221 ; -States of North-Africa, Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli. The contract contained

the ordinances for the military interest every bit good as understandings From dividing

the costs. The run was guided by three commanding officers, one Venetian, one

Spanish and a replacement of the apostolic tribunal.

The sanctum male parent & # 8217 ; s emphasized want was to do Juan d`Austria the supreme

commanding officer

as & # 8221 ; Dux Generalis & # 8221 ; . ( Jean Descola, Meilensteine der Geschichte, 1990, Verlag

Hersching )

8.The Preparations

At the 20 of May 1571 the confederation was put into action and two month subsequently

the galleys dwelling out of two groups of 11 and 37 ships left the seaport.

They headed to Genoa and T

biddy further to Messina on Sicily which was the

runing pot for the squadrons.

Don John of Austria met his fleet off Messina and saw that he had 300 ships,

great and little, under his bid. The Pope himself had outfitted 12

galleys and the deepness of his war thorax had paid for many more. Don John & # 8217 ; s

oculus must hold gazed with pride on the 80 galleys and 22 other ships that

had been provided by his stepbrother Philip II of Spain. Each of these Spanish

galleys held a 100 soldiers on top of the 50-200 oarsmans who propelled

the ship through the H2O and no less than 30,000 work forces in the service of

Spain would contend at Lepanto. The following largest contingent was that of Venice.

No longer the ruling power of yesteryear the Venetian could still piece

a fleet of more than a 100 vass beneath the winged Lion of St. Mark

criterion. The Venetian ships were ill manned, nevertheless, and the necessity

of posting Spanish soldiers on Venetian ships led to clash and in some

instances blows. It was the Venetian, nevertheless, who provided the technological

cutting border that was to win the conflict. In the Venetian fleet were six

galleasses. Broader in the beam than regular galleys and with a deeper draft

they were so hard to steer that they had to be towed into conflict

by speedier vass. Despite their lassitude of motion, they were the most

powerful ships in the Mediterranean. Their wide beam and deeper draft

gave them a stableness as a gun platform hitherto unknown. On their bow was

constructed a sort of walled platform mounted with swivel guns that presaged

the armoured turrets of subsequently battlewagons by about 300 old ages. The sides and

the after part of the galleass were besides to a great extent armed and a wooden deck protected

the oarsmans. On its bow there was a long point that could efficaciously oppress

any smaller vas that was unfortunate plenty to be in the galleass & # 8217 ; manner.

A sum of 80,000 work forces manned the ships of the Holy League. Of these 50,000

toiled at the oars and the staying 30,000 were soldiers. On September 17th

1571, Don John moved his fleet due easts and at Corfu they heard that the

Turks had late landed and terrorized the Christian population. They so

moved on and as they lay anchored off the seashore of Cephalonia, bad intelligence reached

them. Famagusta, the last Christian fastness on Cyprus had fallen to the

Turks. The intelligence enraged the work forces of Don John & # 8217 ; s fleet and stiffened the resoluteness

of the commanding officers to prosecute the Muslims every bit rapidly as possible. There was

one other piece of upseting intelligence: the Turkish fleet under the bid of

Ali Pasha had been reinforced by a Calabrian fisherman turned Moslem and

Barbary pirate. His name was Uluch Ali and he was now the Bey of Algiers, that ill-famed

nest of the Moslem Barbary pirates feared by all Christian ships providing their trade

in the Mediterranean. Don John moved his force towards the anchorage of Lepanto

where he knew the Turks to be waiting and during the dark of October 6th,

with a favourable air current behind him, Ali Pasha moved his swift westward toward

the oral cavity of the Gulf of Patras and theapproaching ships of them Holy League.

( Alex`s Military History Homepage, 1999,

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/5443/lepanto3.htm )

9.The Batlle

The action that was to follow was the biggest naval battle anyplace on

the Earth since the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C. at which Octavian and Antonius

one time fought for the endurance of the Roman Empire. And the tactics had changed

small since so. Both commanding officers hoped to quickly come to clasps with their

enemy, board them and allow the soldiers fight it out to the terminal. The lone

major difference was that in 1571 the ships carried guns and those on the

galleasses in peculiar would hold a important consequence. When the Turkish fleet

was sighted Don John split his force into three subdivisions. On the right of

the Christian line he

placed the Venetian under Barbarrigo, on the left Andrea Doria taking the

Genovese and apostolic galleys. The centre he took for himself. In modesty was

Santa Cruz with a force of 35 Spanish and Venetian ships. He besides ordered

the Fe random-access memory to be removed from his ships as he knew that gunshot and shut

one-fourth contending would be of more usage than efforts to pound. Two galleasses

were towed into place in forepart of each Christian division. The Turks,

ab initio arrayed in a elephantine semilunar formation, rapidly separated

into three subdivisions besides.

The Centre, under Ali Pasha, pushed frontward and the action opened when the

cannon of

Don John & # 8217 ; s two centre galleasses began to make great executing among Ali

Pasha & # 8217 ; s progressing ships. The battle had lasted for more than four hours

and when the fume eventually cleared it became evident that this was a major

triumph for the Holy League and a acrimonious licking for the Turk. Almost 8,000

of the work forces who had sailed with Don

John were dead and another 16,000 wounded. On the brighter side 12,000 Christian

galley slaves had been released from their servitude to the Ottomans. The

Turks and Uluch Ali & # 8217 ; s

Algerines had suffered more grievously: 25,000 of them had been killed. ( Alex`s

Military History

Homepage,1999, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/5443/lepanto3.htm )

10.The Result

Even though the triumph was apparent and dramatic it should be mentioned

that non all of the Turkish fleet was destroyed. The Algerian Uludsch Ali

managed to get away with a group of 40 ships. And one of his chaps put the

triumph as following: They merely cropped the Sultan`s beard. & # 8221 ; Indeed, how

fast they would retrieve could be seen in the Turkish shipyards. Still the

7th of October was a memorable day of the month but in its effects altering and rather

different for everyone.

Venice felt the release of the Turkish menace straight. It could maintain

ist political independency but lost its ascendant place in trade. In

the twelvemonth after the conflict the driven out ships from Levante stopped running

into the ports of the North. In a medium-term it supported the enlargement

of England`s trade with the osmanic imperium. Ten old ages after the conflict, British

trade fleets crossed on a regular basis the Mediterranean Sea under its flag of the

Levante Company, to merchandise with the Turks.

With respect to Spain it could be said they were freed from the Turkish menace

for a long term and the feared battle of the Gallic and Turkish fleet

was made impossible due to the conflict.

Despite all premises Philipp II was non upset with the break-up of the

Holy League. He may hold wanted to salvage Venice from the Turkish menace but

the triumph was non supposed to be so lay waste toing for the Turks. This manner

some balance could be reached and prevented to do Venice politically excessively

strong for Philipp & # 8217 ; s programs. He hoped to integrate his Italian belongingss

into his imperium at a ulterior clip. Furthermore, his concern was non be involved

into the Holy League excessively much but at the terminal the Spanish fundss were exhausted

and loans from Genuese Banks were a load on its exchequer. In his ardor to

battle the heathens and being convenient for its fundss he confiscated the

belongings of Jews and Moors driven out of Spain at these times. ( Jean Descola,

Meilensteine der Geschichte, 1990, Verlag Hersching )

The strategic effects of this great triumph were negligible, but its moral

effects were

immense. It confirmed the Spaniards in their chosen function as title-holders of

Christendom and explains much of their continued willingness to back up their

king & # 8217 ; s spiritual and imperial policies, even in the face of catastrophic costs

and mounting catastrophes. After Lepanto, nevertheless, it

became clear that the deadlock in the Mediterranean could non be broken.

Although the Ottoman naval forces was destroyed by the fleet of the Holy League at

the Battle of Lepanto ( 1571 ) , it was able to reconstruct and recover naval command

in the eastern Mediterranean through the remainder of the 16th and most of the

seventeenth century, taking Tunis from the Spanish Habsburgs ( 1574 ) , Fez from the

Portuguese ( 1578 ) , and Crete from Venice ( 1669 ) . In

effect, every bit long as Europe continued to fear the Ottomans, no one tried

to upset the unstable peace pacts concluded in S & # 252 ; leyman & # 8217 ; s subsequently

old ages, and the Ottomans were shielded from their ain failing for rather some

clip. ( Britannica Online,1999, www.eb.co.uk:180 )

Table of Contentss

1. Introduction

2. The Supreme Commander

3. Venezia

4. The Political Situation in Turkey

5. Philipp II

6. The Ultimatum

7. The Holy League

8. The Preparations

9. The Battle

10. The Result