In this post, dear readers, I will speak about the Battle of Lepanto, which was undoubtedly a very important event that took place in the 17th century, given the consequences it eventually had.
The idea of presenting naval battle against the Ottomans started in the year 1571, when it became known that the island of Cyprus, then controlled by the Venetians, had been taken by the Turks, and its main city, Famagusta, was being besieged. The Christians soon formed the Holy League, formed by Venetia, Spain, Genoa, Tuscany, Savoy, Urbino, the Papal States and the Knights of Mala, sending a fleet of 212 ships under the control of the Spanish Don Juan of Austria, while the Ottoman fleet was led by Müezzinzade Ali Paşa and had 251 ships.
The battle took place on October 7th 1571 in the Gulf of Corinth, in front of the ancient city of Lepanto (nowadays known as Naupacto) and ended with the loss of 7500 men and 17 ships on the Holy League's side, and 20000 men (between dead, injured and captured), more than 200 ships and 10000 Christian slaves on the Ottoman side that were freed by the winning Christians. The battle marked the end of Turkish power in the Mediterranean Sea, because, although they were able to easily rebuild their fleet, the human losses (particularly that of veteran sailors and the composite bowmen that formed the Ottoman's main sea combat force) were almost impossible to counter, and the recently built ships remained unused for years in the Golden Horn's waters, while the Christians became the dominant force in the sea.
Before speaking about what might have been, I would like to speak about a few interesting anecdotes that I consider quite interesting.
To begin with, the Battle of Lepanto was the end of the galley era: although they were still useful to face enemies within the Mediterranean Sea, out of it things changed, as galleys were not good at the very tough task of sailing through the Atlantic Ocean, where the greatest European naval powers of the time (Spain, Portugal, France, England) were pointing their gazes towards, as America was at the other side. From that moment on, the main navies of the world would be propelled by wind and sail.
Another thing, this one of great cultural value, is that Miguel de Cervantes, the famous author of Don Quixote, fought in the Battle of Lepanto as a Marine Infantry in the ship Marquesa. Although affected by a strong fever, Cervantes insisted on fighting, as "he would rather die fighting for God and his king, than to remain under deck". He received three arquebus' injuries, two on the chest and a third that damaged his left arm in such a way that would leave that hand useless for the rest of his life, so one of the nicknames by which he would be known is El manco de Lepanto (the title is a reference to him). Cervantes, proud of participating in the battle, would make many references in his works to this event: in Journey to Parnassus, he wrote "you lost the movement of the left hand, for greater glory of the right one"; The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha contains the Tale of the Captive Captain, in which Ruy Pérez de Viedma tells how, during the battle of Lepanto, he was captured by the Turks and sent to Argel, before being able to return to Spain; and, in the Second Part of The Quixote, he wrote, as an answer to the taunts written by Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda (nickname used by the author that wrote the false continuation of Don Quixote in 1614) about his injuries, the following words:
What I cannot help taking amiss is that he charges me with being old and one-handed, as if it had been in my power to keep time from passing over me, or as if the loss of my hand had been brought about in some tavern, and not on the grandest occasion the past or present has seen, or the future can hope to see. If my wounds have no beauty to the beholder's eye, they are, at least, honourable in the estimation of those who know where they were received; for the soldier shows to greater advantage dead in battle than alive in flight; and so strongly is this my feeling, that if now it were proposed to perform an impossibility for me, I would rather have had my share in that mighty action, than be free from my wounds this minute without having been present at it.There are two anecdotes about the actions of Don Juan of Austria (illegitimate son of Charles I of Spain with German Barbara Blomberg) during the battle: one of them is that Don Juan decided to dance on his ship's deck at the beginning of the battle, showing his scorn for the danger he was in; and the other is that, in the middle of the battle, he boarded one of the Turkish ships wearing his whole armor, traversed it killing all of the Turks in the ship, and he returned back to his own ship without suffering an injury.
In regards to urban legends, it is said that Pope Pio V, at 5 PM of October 7th 1571, ordered all the writers he was meeting with to stop all of their activities, because they had to celebrate the Christian victory. Nowadays, it would have been easy to understand, considering the great spread of mobile phones and instant message methods, but back then the fastest thing they had were messengers and pigeons, so the official news of the victory did not arrive to Rome until two weeks later.
OK, now that we have explained history, we can begin with alternative history. What things would have changed if the result had been different?
The clearest change is that the battle could have been an Ottoman victory, instead of Christian. How could this have happened? Perhaps the intervention of Alvaro de Bazán and Juan de Cardona, who commanded the Holy League's naval reserve, could have arrived too late to stop the Ottoman offensive into the Christian's center and right wing. Maybe the elements play against the Christians. Either way, a defeat would have opened the way into the Western Mediterranean Sea to the Ottomans, who would have surely used this advantage to begin much daring attacks, perhaps even launching a maritime invasion of either Italy or Spain. It would have probably failed, but either way such an attack would have left a deep footprint into the local people's psique.
Another possibility: a greater victory of the Holy League against the Ottomans. Imagine that the Ottomans lose all of their ships. And all of their admirals. This pretty much leaves the way open for the Christians to continue the battle against the Turk in much better conditions, in spite of the continuous presence of Berber corsairs, all of which would suddenly find themselves without the support the Sublime Porte gave them in older times. This victory, combined with the introduction of sail-powered ships it would have allowed Spaniards and Italians to destroy these pirates by taking the different cities that supported them best, and maybe retake the island of Cyprus. In order to go further, though, they would have needed the collaboration of other nations, which would have been more complicated (particularly France, who had decided to betray the rest of the Christian nations by negotiating with the Ottomans).
Third chance: the battle ends up in technical tie, so to speak. None of the two navies earns victory in battle, and they both have to retreat when the night falls. The ending result of this combat would have depended on how many ships each side would have lost. If they had been few, the situation would have similar to the one that existed before the battle, but if it had been otherwise, both sides could have easily proclaimed a pyrrhic victory... and the ending would still depend on the actual losses. Problems would have been lesser for the Holy League, as the losses would have been shared between all of its members and because of the development of sailing, but this situation could have easily led later to a breakdown of the League because of leadership problems.
Other things that would have changed due to the battle were those that affected the people that participated in the battle. Let's say, Miguel de Cervantes. Had he died in the battle, it would have left us without one of the greatest jewels of Spanish literature: El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, recognized world-wide as the first modern novel, and which has had so much influence both in writers and Spanish Literature students. And, had he not been injured, his life would have certainly changed, so much that he might have even decided to remain enlisted in the Spanish Navy as a Marine Infantry.
In regards to Don Juan of Austria, his death in the battle would have forced someone else to take charge of pacifying the Low Countries, which, at the time, were in rebellion (mostly the northern half) due to many reasons, the main of them being the religious question. Whoever Philip II had sent to the region instead of his half-brother in order to stop the rebellion would have certainly had a different impact. He (or she) might have been more able in the ability to hold diplomatic conversations (perhaps that person could have pacified the region by accepting, at least temporally, tolerant policies towards the Protestants that lived in what is nowadays Netherlands), or it could have been a more military capable person, who might have led the Spanish soldiers into a bloodier, and perhaps successful, end of the war.
Another person that could have died and changed everything was Álvaro de Bazán, Marquiss of Santa Cruz and one of the best sailors in Spain at the time, would have later affected the Spanish attempts to defeat the Portuguese rebels that were resisting, from the Açores Islands, the unification of the Spanish and Portuguese Crowns under Philip II. Had the Portuguese been able to resist, they could have become a source of inspiration for the people in the mainland to continue resisting the unification. If he lives, as in real life, it could still change, as his experiences in the battle might have given him new ideas on how to command a fleet. A more decisive entrance of the Marquiss in the battle could have also given him the clout to convince King Philip II to accelerate the recruitment and construction of the Armada Invencible, which he would have been in charge of had it not been for his sudden deceasement while he awaited in Lisbon.
And there are so many other things I could mention, but which I have no more time (nor space) to speak of... because any of the things that happened there could have happened differently. A lost arquebus shot, a cannon shot that hits a ship somewhere else, the wind blows in another direction, a group of galley slaves rows just a little stronger... infinite variables we will never know which could have been the consequences of.
I close up with this, and I hope you have liked the story. See you next friday!
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