WHAT IF...THE OTTOMANS HAD WON AT LEPANTO?

Professor Marc David Baer talks to Jonny Wilkes about the infamous 1571 naval battle, and whether or not an Ottoman victory against the Catholic Holy League would have made a substantial a difference to the empire's ambitions anyway

- Marc David and Jonny Wilkes

When news that the Holy League had been victorious in the battle of Lepanto spread around Europe, it was followed by jubilant celebrations. The loose alliance of Catholic forces from Spain, the Venetian Republic, and other Italian states had confronted and defeated a larger fleet from the Ottoman empire in the Gulf of Patras on 7 October 1571, not long after the latter had invaded Cyprus.

King Philip II of Spain's chief minister hailed it as "the greatest naval victory since Pharaoh's army drowned in the Red Sea". The pope, Pius V, instituted a new feast day to Our Lady of Victory and numerous paintings and poems were created to honor the battle. European nations had long lived under the looming shadow of Ottoman militarism, but Lepanto demonstrated that the empire was not invincible.

The symbolism of the victory was writ large: in this clash of civilizations, Christian (specifically, Catholic) Europe had come out on top.

EUROPE UNDER THREAT

The Ottomans, led by Sultan Selim II since 1566, had invaded Cyprus in 1570 as part of their ongoing attempts at expansion. If the growth of the empire continued to go unchecked, some people believed that it could pose a threat to the security of Europe, which faced deep religious divisions at a time that saw both Reformation and Counter-Reformation.