The Holy League of 1535 was as ad hoc coalition of catholic states arranged by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

at the urging of Charles V. In 1533, Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summoned from

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, to build a large war fleet in the arsenal of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Altogether 70

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s were built during the winter of 1533–1534, manned by slave oarsmen, including 2,000 Jewish ones. With this fleet, Barbarossa conducted aggressive raids along the coast of Italy, until he conquered Tunis on 16 August 1534, ousting the local ruler, theretofore subservient to the Spanish, Muley Hasan.Crowley, p.58Also known as Muleassen in Italy, and Abu-Abd-Allah-Mohammed-el-Hasan in Tunis
Il Palazzo di Fabrizio Colonna a Mezzocannone
article by Bartolommeo Capasso in Napoli nobilissima: rivista di topografia ed arte napoletana, Volumes 1–3, page 100-104. Barbarossa thus established a strong naval base in Tunis, which could be used for raids in the region, and on nearby

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The implications were dramatic for Madrid. Tunis would have also provided a springboard for raids and invasions of Habsburg controlled Sicily and Naples, providing a permanent presence in the western Mediterranean, which could have threatened Rome itself. It was also feared in Madrid that Tunis might be exploited by a Franco-Ottoman coalition thus tilting the balance of power in Italy in favour of Paris Charles V, one of the most powerful men in Europe at the time, assembled a large army of some 30,000 soldiers, 74 galleys shipped in from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

),Crowley, p.59 and 300 sailing ships, including the carrack '' Santa Anna'' and the Portuguese galleon '' São João Baptista'', also known as ''Botafogo'' (the most powerful ship in the world at the time, with 366 bronze cannons) to drive the Ottomans from the region.Crowley, p.60 The expense involved for Charles V was considerable, and at 1,000,000

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s was on par with the cost of Charles' campaign against Suleiman on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

.Crowley, p.62 Unexpectedly, the funding of the conquest of Tunis came from the galleons sailing in from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, in the form of a 2 million gold

ducats The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

treasure extracted by Francisco Pizarro in exchange for his releasing of the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

king

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...

(whom he nevertheless executed on 29 August 1533).

See also

References

Further reading