Commanding the Sea: The Spanish Naval High Command in the Early Modern Mediterranean Cover Image

Denize Hükmekmek: Erken Dönem Akdeniz'inde İspanyol Donanma Komutanlığı
Commanding the Sea: The Spanish Naval High Command in the Early Modern Mediterranean

Author(s): Hüseyin Serdar Tabakoğlu
Subject(s): Diplomatic history, Military history, 16th Century
Published by: İzmir Kâtip Çelebi Üniversitesi, Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Fakültesi
Keywords: Ottoman;Spain;Mediterranean;sea-power;naval organization;García de Toledo;

Summary/Abstract: The Ottoman and Spanish empires confronted each other in the Mediterranean of the 16th century as formidable sea-powers. The Spanish Monarchy completed the political union in the Iberian Peninsula with the end of Reconquista and moved its forces to the North Africa and thus eventually faced the Ottomans in the region. We should evaluate the rise of the Spanish naval organization in the context of Ottoman-Spanish rivalry. D. García de Toledo who became the Captain-general of the Sea in 1564, realized significant reforms in the Spanish naval organization and the galley fleet, thus he played an important role in the rise of the Spanish sea-power in the way to Lepanto.

  • Issue Year: II/2016
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 1-14
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: English