The naval Battle of Cape Orlando took place on 4 July 1299 at St Marco di Val Demone, north-western

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, when an Aragonese and

Angevin Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: *County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France **Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou **Counts and Dukes of Anjou * House of Ingelger, a Frank ...

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 u ...

fleet commanded by

Roger of Lauria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and tal ...

defeated a Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Conrad d'Oria. King

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

and

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick II (or III) (13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in th ...

were present with their fleets at the battle. The larger Aragonese–Angevin fleet was trapped on a

lee shore A lee shore, sometimes also called a leeward ( shore, or more commonly ), is a nautical term to describe a stretch of shoreline that is to the lee side of a vessel—meaning the wind is blowing towards land. Its opposite, the shore on the windward ...

but was able to win the battle with the intervention of its six-galley reserve that attacked the rear of the Sicilian fleet. The Sicilians fled when the flagship, with Frederick aboard, pulled back after the king collapsed from heat and exhaustion. Eighteen Sicilian vessels were captured and their crews massacred. The battle allowed for the invasion of Sicily but James, breaking with his Angevin allies, withdrew his force to Aragon and Frederick was able to defeat the Angevin army on land and secure the independence of Sicily in the

Peace of Caltabellotta The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Tarascon and Anagni, designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the Mediterranean and esp ...

Background

As part of his attempt to conquer Sicily, James II of Aragon amassed a fleet of 46 Aragon (or Catalan) and 10 Angevin galleys at Naples, together with several cargo ships. James intended to use his fleet to carry an army to Patti, around 30 miles west of the Sicilian capital of Messina. However, he learned his enemy, Frederick III of Sicily, had put 40 galleys to sea in an attempt to intercept the invading force. To try to avoid the Sicilian fleet, James altered his plans and instead landed further to the west at Cape Orlando. Aware that the Sicilian fleet was not far off, James disembarked his stores, horses, and sick at Cape Orlando and transferred infantrymen from his transport ships to his fighting galleys. Frederick delayed his fleet at sea, awaiting the arrival of an additional 8 vessels from Cefalu, some 40 miles away, and in doing so, lost the element of surprise. James gave command of his fleet to his admiral

Battle

Lauria, caught in a

and unable to put to sea, positioned his fleet close to the shore, with his centre slightly further forward and all ships closely chained together to strengthen his formation. It is considered probable that Lauria also ordered flying bridges constructed to allow the reinforcement of his crews by soldiers from the shore. Frederick approached with his flagship in the centre of his line, 20 vessels to his left and 19 to the right, in a closely chained formation. Initially, the battle was conducted at a distance with both lines of ships exchanging crossbow fire. However, one of Frederick's captains, eager to close with the enemy, cut his chains and pushed forward. Other Sicilian vessels followed his lead, resulting in both battle lines broken, with all vessels engaging in close-quarters fighting. James' fleet had just captured the first Sicilian ship when a force of six of his vessels, held back in reserve by Lauria, attacked the Sicilian rear. At about this time, King Frederick is said to have collapsed from heat exhaustion, causing his flagship to withdraw to ensure his safety. This caused the flight of the Sicilian fleet. Lauria, who had fought for Frederick when Aragon was allied to Sicily, captured 18 Sicilian galleys and ordered the massacre of their crews in revenge for the recent death of his nephew at the hands of Frederick. Some sources state that James ordered that Frederick be allowed to escape unharmed.

Aftermath

Despite the battle wiping out the Sicilian defense fleet and leaving the island open to invasion, James did not make use of his good fortune. He fell out with his Angevin allies and returned to Spain. The Angevin force was defeated in land battles and by the signing of the

in 1302, Frederick had guaranteed the independence of Sicily. The battle secured Lauria's position as commander of the Angevin navy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Cape Orlando Cape Orlando Cape Orlando Cape Orlando 1299 in Europe 13th century in Aragon 13th century in the Kingdom of Naples 13th century in the Kingdom of Sicily Conflicts in 1299 13th-century massacres