The Holy League of 1717 was one of many coalitions organised by the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

to deal with the Ottoman threat. This last one comprised

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

and

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 ...

Background

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, several Holy Leagues were organized by the Papacy, the most famous of which finally managed to defeat the Ottoman fleet at the third

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

. However, the resurgent threat of the Ottoman fleet continued until the early 18th century and came again to the fore in the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War of 1714–1718. As with the previous Leagues, the

organized the expedition, the

financed it and a third party - usually a Catholic kingdom - was to provide the backbone of the fleet. Given that

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

was exhausted from the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, the Pope appealed to Portugal which ended up sending a fleet to the Mediterranean. The efforts came to fruition in late July, when a combined fleet of Portuguese, Venetian, Papal, and Maltese ships engaged the fleet of ''

Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha ( ota, قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: ), was the Grand Admiral of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the ( ota, قپودان دریا, links=no, modern: , "Captain of the Sea"). Typically, he was bas ...

'' Eğribozlu İbrahim Pasha in the

Battle of Matapan The Battle of Matapan took place on 19 July 1717 off the Cape Matapan, on the coast of the Mani Peninsula, now in southern Greece. The naval battle was between the Venetian navy, Armada Grossa of the Republic of Venice, supported by a mixed sq ...

Aftermath

The outcome of 1717 as well as of the prior battles with the same goal, was that of restricting the Ottoman naval dominance to the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. As a result of the battle, the Venetian attempt to recapture the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

was foiled and the Ottoman reconquest of the peninsula was confirmed. 1717 in Europe History of the Mediterranean Wars involving Portugal Wars involving the Papal States Ottoman–Venetian Wars 18th century in Portugal History of the Papal States 1710s in Malta Wars involving the Ottoman Empire 1717 in the Ottoman Empire 1717 in the Papal States Holy Leagues {{Europe-hist-stub