Battle of Lepanto
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:28 pm
Lepanto, battle of (1571).
This was the largest ever sea battle in the Mediterranean, fought between the Ottoman Turks with about 275 ships and the Holy League of Venice, the Habsburg dominions, Malta, Genoa, and other Italian states led by the papacy, with about 210.
Sultan Selim ‘the Sot’ had a passion for Cyprus wine, and in 1570 the Turks captured the island. The west's reaction was unprecedented. A massive and well-appointed fleet was formed under the command of Don Juan of Austria, a bastard son of Charles V. He sighted the Ottoman fleet off Lepanto (Navpaktos) on the Gulf of Patras, in western Greece.
Almost all the ships were galleys but the League also had six galleasses, big hybrid ships between a galley and a galleon, with oars and guns along the broadside. The Turkish galleys were rowed by slaves: some of the Christian ships were rowed by volunteers. Whereas the Turks still favoured ramming, the Christian galleys had large guns pointing forward above the ram, and were well protected against the Turkish arrows.
In the ensuing carnage, up to 200 of the Turkish ships were sunk or captured, as against just 15 of the League's galleys, the Turks' first major defeat in two centuries and the largest number of sinkings in any sea battle. The near-complete destruction of the Ottoman fleet resounded round Europe.
Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was there and said it was the end of the myth of Turkish invincibility. But the western states reckoned without the efficiency of Ottoman administration. The Turks cut down a forest and rebuilt their fleet within a year, and held on to Cyprus when the war ended in 1573.
Lepanto was also an evolutionary dead end for naval warfare. The Turks had been slow to move with the naval innovations introduced by Atlantic states, the massive and heavily gunned Spanish, English, and Dutch sailing ships designed to ride the Spanish Main.
The naval museum in Madrid has a splendid gallery devoted to the victory of Lepanto. There is only a small display devoted to the ‘unsuccessful expedition against England’ in 1588.
Britannia Concise Encyclopedia
Monaco SG1028
This was the largest ever sea battle in the Mediterranean, fought between the Ottoman Turks with about 275 ships and the Holy League of Venice, the Habsburg dominions, Malta, Genoa, and other Italian states led by the papacy, with about 210.
Sultan Selim ‘the Sot’ had a passion for Cyprus wine, and in 1570 the Turks captured the island. The west's reaction was unprecedented. A massive and well-appointed fleet was formed under the command of Don Juan of Austria, a bastard son of Charles V. He sighted the Ottoman fleet off Lepanto (Navpaktos) on the Gulf of Patras, in western Greece.
Almost all the ships were galleys but the League also had six galleasses, big hybrid ships between a galley and a galleon, with oars and guns along the broadside. The Turkish galleys were rowed by slaves: some of the Christian ships were rowed by volunteers. Whereas the Turks still favoured ramming, the Christian galleys had large guns pointing forward above the ram, and were well protected against the Turkish arrows.
In the ensuing carnage, up to 200 of the Turkish ships were sunk or captured, as against just 15 of the League's galleys, the Turks' first major defeat in two centuries and the largest number of sinkings in any sea battle. The near-complete destruction of the Ottoman fleet resounded round Europe.
Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was there and said it was the end of the myth of Turkish invincibility. But the western states reckoned without the efficiency of Ottoman administration. The Turks cut down a forest and rebuilt their fleet within a year, and held on to Cyprus when the war ended in 1573.
Lepanto was also an evolutionary dead end for naval warfare. The Turks had been slow to move with the naval innovations introduced by Atlantic states, the massive and heavily gunned Spanish, English, and Dutch sailing ships designed to ride the Spanish Main.
The naval museum in Madrid has a splendid gallery devoted to the victory of Lepanto. There is only a small display devoted to the ‘unsuccessful expedition against England’ in 1588.
Britannia Concise Encyclopedia
Monaco SG1028