I had heard about Lepanto many times and when I saw a book in a Coronado book store entitled Confrontation at Lepanto by T.C.F Hopkins, I decided to purchase the book and obtain more information about this little understood event. This event is all the more germane to today’s conflict with militant Islam. RobertNovak in his Treatise on Lepanto stated that Osama bin Laden and others often cite these battles, for which he is still seeking revenge. It is not unwise for the people of the West to bear them in mind. Besides the battle of Lepanto, October 7, 1571 - the great victory by Jan Sobieski’s Polish calvary over the Turks outside the gates of Vienna on September 11-12, 1683—deserves to be remembered.

      There had been friction between Christian West and Islamic East for some time, and after the fall of Rome, the movement of wealth had been from West to East. After Lepanto, the wealth began to flow from East to West. The Ottoman economy was slave-based or labor-based while Europe was increasing mercantile. The 16th century also gave rise to the Reformation. Spain was the affluent country in Europe and was the most repressive which brought on The Spanish Inquisition. It must also be said that Spain had been occupied for almost 6 centuries by the Moors. Lepanto was perhaps an act of desperation for the Europeans, only agreed to at the instigation of the Pope.

      By September 23, 1570, the Europeans learned that Nicosia on Cyprus had fallen to Lala Mustapha and Ali Pasha. The Holy League would now make preparations to begin battle. After a lull, the ships, food, and arms the assembly started. After The capture of Nicosia, following a 46 day siege, a Orthodox Monk sent by the Turks called for surrender and this meant that the defenders would not be killed. The Venetians manning the fortress, 500 of them, agreed to surrender. As soon as the treaty was signed, the Ottoman soldiers went on a rampage and killed the Christian soldiers. They then massacred between 16,000 and 20,000 inhabitants. The last remaining resistance was the Crusader fort of Famagusta. This siege had the effect of suspending the internal hostilities that were rife in Europe and directed attention to the Ottoman advances and the need to counter attack. The Venetian defenders of Famagusta with 4,000 men faced between 100,000 and 225,000 Ottoman soldiers on the ground. The surrender took place on August 1, 1571,The treaty signed had guaranteed life and freedom to those living within the walls of the fort. For three days , the treaty held. On the fourth day, Bragadin who signed for the surrender, watched as his escort was killed by swordsmen, his deputy hanged and Mustapha had Bradadin’s nose and ears cut off. He was flayed alive, his skin stuffed and was hanged from the yardarm of Lala Mustapha’s ship. When the word got out, the Holy League were not cowed nor terrified but was furious. By the time that the fleet was ready to depart, the Holy League had 213 fighting ships. The battle was to be the largest ever sea battle in the Mediterranean. The Ottoman Turks had about 275 ships And the Holy League of Venice, the Habsburg dominions, Malta, Genoa, and other Italian states were under the command of Don Juan, the bastard son of Charles V. The Turks favored ramming,the Christian galleys had large guns pointing forward above the ram, and were well protected from Turkish arrows. This was the Turks first major defeat in two centuries and the largest number of sinkings in any sea battle. Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was there and lost the use of his left arm. The battle resulted in about 200 Ottoman ships being sunk or captured and thirty thousand Ottoman sailors and soldiers killed or captured with only minimal casualties on the Christian side. The Turks cut down a forest and rebuilt the the fleet within a year and held on to Cyprus when the war ended in 1573. However, the battle had a great impact on European morale. For over a year the Pope had tried to alert the great powers of Europe but England, France and the region that would later become Germany were preoccupied with the Reformation. Don Juan became the leader and his appeals resulted in the fleet that the Pope blessed. With the new fire power, the Christian fleet with their rows of devastating cannons sank galley after galley and within minutes sank dozens of Turkish ships. In summary, the battle was decisive in the sense that an Ottoman Victory would have made the Ottoman Empire supreme in the Mediterranean

Gary E. Marsella

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