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As a Dutchman thinking of Spain in the 16th century always has been thinking of the American conquests and the empire's struggle with the rise of Protestantism, and the subsequent Dutch revolt. Little did I know that the Habsburgs were fighting another important war at the Mediterranean against another superpower, the Ottoman empire. More than the rage against reformation this was also a holy war - a clash between Christianity and Islam, a clash of cultures that started with the crusades and more or less has re-emerged this very day.
Crowley, however, focuses on a specific period in which in essence this battle was one between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires, culminating in the great siege of Malta in 1565. He tells a little about what happened before, but soon plunges immediately into the Mediterranean battlefield when Suleiman the great declares war to the little Christian isle of Rhodos...
What follows is a remarkably vivid telling of raids, sea battles, sieges, pillages, piracy and slavery. The Mediterranean was indeed a far less sunny spot in those days than now! Unfortunately it remains a little unclear why and if the Mediterranean battle really ended with the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. After that it became less a battle between Spain and Turkey, but otherwise the Ottoman marine threat was far from gone after the 1580 peace treaty between the two superpowers. Moreover, we're left in the dark on what happened to the Muslim pirates after the siege of Malta. In his conclusion the author dwells too shortly on these matters. But his tale of the years of 1521 to 1571 are an enlightening and entertaining read on a surprisingly little known world war indeed!
Crowley, however, focuses on a specific period in which in essence this battle was one between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires, culminating in the great siege of Malta in 1565. He tells a little about what happened before, but soon plunges immediately into the Mediterranean battlefield when Suleiman the great declares war to the little Christian isle of Rhodos...
What follows is a remarkably vivid telling of raids, sea battles, sieges, pillages, piracy and slavery. The Mediterranean was indeed a far less sunny spot in those days than now! Unfortunately it remains a little unclear why and if the Mediterranean battle really ended with the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. After that it became less a battle between Spain and Turkey, but otherwise the Ottoman marine threat was far from gone after the 1580 peace treaty between the two superpowers. Moreover, we're left in the dark on what happened to the Muslim pirates after the siege of Malta. In his conclusion the author dwells too shortly on these matters. But his tale of the years of 1521 to 1571 are an enlightening and entertaining read on a surprisingly little known world war indeed!