(Don John of Austria led the Holy League in this great nav...)
Don John of Austria led the Holy League in this great naval battle and claimed victory over the Turks
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Lepanto
1571
John of Austria was born in Regensburg as the illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V and commoner and singer Barbara Blomberg. The Emperor was a very powerful man at the time but refused to acknowledge the infant. He made sure that John was taken from his mother and arranged for Luis Quijada, his old friend, to take care of him. The child was adopted by the family of the imperial court musician Francisco Massi.
At the time when he was adopted by Massi and his wife Ana, he was known simply as Jeronimo. Unfortunately, Massi died in 1555 and Quijada once more had to take care of the boy. He took the eight-year-old Jeronimo to his estate at Villagarcia, close to Valladolid. Luckily for the boy, Quijada and his wife didn’t have any children so Jeronimo had a good childhood.
Quijada taught him how to hunt, and pursued his interest in swordplay and horsemanship, while Dona Magdalena de Ulloa (his wife) taught him French and Latin and read to him often. The Emperor secured a career in the Church for his natural son but with time it became obvious that Jeronimo would make a great soldier.
Charles abdicated in 1556, leaving Philip II, his legitimate son, Spain with its American possessions, Milan, Naples, the Netherlands and the Franche-Comte, along with the specific instructions to provide Jeronimo with an annual income and acknowledge him as his brother. This is exactly what Philipp had done the next year, giving Jeronimo the name of Juan de Austria.
Don John was ranked above the upper nobilities but was denied the rank of a prince. In 1561, he was sent to the University of Alcala, along with Philip’s heir Don Carlos and Alessandro Farnese, son of Charles V’s illegitimate daughter. They were forced to return after Don Carlos had an accident in which he seriously injured his head. Don Carlos changed his behavior after the accident and started plotting against the king. When he asked Don John to help him assassinate Philip, John went and warned the king. Philip took a surprising action ordering his heir to be arrested in 1568. Don Carlos died six months later in captivity.
When he informed the king about the plot for his assassination, John of Austria got his trust. Considering that he was already a good material for a soldier, he was appointed as the General of the Sea in 1567. His task was to eliminate North African pirates around Gibraltar, for which he got 33 galleys. Luis de Requeséns y Zúñiga, an experienced officer and a confidante of Philip was sent to accompany Don John on the mission. Upon returning, Zuniga reported to Philip that Don John is loyal and competent, which led Philip to trust him with other assignments.
Don Jon’s next task was suppressing a rebellion of Moriscos in the region of Alpujarras. Moriscos were former Muslims who had to convert to Christianity to continue living in Spain. Philip made sure to send a mentor to his half-brother once again. This time, it was Luis Quijada, John’s foster parent, who John was expected to listen when it comes to military matters. However, John often defied the orders and exercised the command himself. When Quijada died in combat, John took over the command and showed incredible courage and considerable tactical skill. He returned as a confident soldier, eager for his next mission to begin. John’s greatest moments were yet to come.
The Turkish Empire was a great threat to the entire Europe during the 16th century. Despite that, Christian countries failed to unite and take action against the Ottomans. However, Pope Pius V realized that the threat was very real and managed to create a Holy League by 1571. The new alliance was comprised of Spain, Tuscany, Venice, the Knights of Malta, Savoy and the papacy. Pius V proposed Don John of Austria to take command of the joined fleet and King Philip II agreed in order to protect his ships. Philip also made sure to send his confidante Luis de Requesens, proving yet again that he doesn’t trust John completely. However, despite the fact that men in high places didn’t want to place the fate of Christianity in the hands of a royal bastard, warriors loved Don John and trusted him completely.
After getting his fleet together, Don John headed to Lepanto, where Ali Pasha, the Turkish admiral, held his fleet. On October 7, 1571, a huge naval battle occurred between the Holy League and the Ottomans. Don John knew that he had far superior gunnery at his disposal and used this to his advantage. His fleet sunk 80 opponent galleys and captured another 130, defeating the myth of the invincibility of the Turks in the Mediterranean. The battle lasted only for a couple of hours when Don John claimed victory.
He was the man of the hour. The Pope himself praised John, many celebrations were organized in the honor of the beautiful, young knight that saved Christianity. Although it was a great moment, the Holy League failed to capitalize on John’s success. Philip refused to put his galleys at more risk than he believed it was necessary, which allowed the Ottomans to rebuild their fleet quickly. In 1573, Don John managed to seize their position at Tunis but Spain didn’t manage to hold it for more than a year.
During Philip II’s reign, Spain had a lot of problem in the Netherlands, where the Dutch were full of resentment towards the Spanish rule. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, Philip decided to send Don John of Austria and place him as the governor-general in 1576. Despite he was advised to do this way earlier, the king only succumbed after realizing that the situation looks very bad for Spain, and even then he made sure to send a spy to accompany Don John.
John made a stopover in Paris on his travel to the new post and there met Marguerite of Valois, wife of King Henry of Navarre. Great looks that John was gifted with by God enabled him to have a lot of mistresses but Marguerite was the most powerful one. She was also pretty smart and knew how to take advantage of him for her own affairs.
When he arrived in the Netherlands, John founded a tough situation, since the resentment of Spanish rule was taken to a new level after the Spanish Fury that led to 8,000 lives being lost. When Protestants and Catholics joined together, Don John didn’t have much choice but to agree to withdraw Spanish forces.
Without soldiers and a material support from the king, Don John had no way of regaining control over the Netherlands. He tried to act on his own by seizing the castle of Namur in 1577, which was a crucial strategic position but was also a great place to arrange rendezvous with Marguerite. He then called his friend and nephew Alessandro Farnese to his help and started getting Spanish troops back in the Netherlands. They managed to get a great victory at Gembloux in 1578 but it failed to resolve anything.
Philip seemed content not to help his half-brother and Don John’s health began to deteriorate. He was experiencing fever a couple of times already and was becoming noticeably thin. He passed away on October 1, 1578, delirious from typhus and his body was smuggled to Spain, where he was buried in the royal tombs at the Escorial next to his father Charles V.
Victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571
This was surely the greatest moment of rather short Don John's life. He was at the head of the Holy League fleet that enjoyed a great victory over the Ottomans and was widely praised for his success. Winning in this battle brought him great popularity and celebration were organized all over Europe in his honor.
(Don John of Austria led the Holy League in this great nav...)
1571Pope Pius V himself proposed Don John of Austria as the leader of the Holy League squandron in their campaign to protect Christianity from the Turks in 1571. This confirms that John had strong religious beliefs, aside the fact that he was also eager for military success.
Being the son of an Emperor and in service of his half-brother, king Philip II, Don John remained faithful to the Spanish Crown throughout his life.
John of Austria believed that he is a great soldier and that he can be of good use to the king of Spain, his half-brother Philip II. Don John respected his half-brother, which can't be said to have been otherwise. Even when he was offered to participate in a plot to assassinate Philip, which was led by the king's son Don Carlos, he refused and warned the king about what's coming.
Don John was trying to prove himself by successfully completing the assignments the king sent him on. It is believed that John had a great wish to get his own kingdom or a territory where he would rule by himself. This can also be noticed in his final words, where he expressed his regret in never having a foot of land he could call his own.
After the great victory at Lepanto, Don John started dreaming big. His idea was to invade England, kill Queen Elizabeth and free Mary, Queen of the Scots, who was held captive at the time. He then hoped to use his good looks to marry her and rule England, Ireland, and Scotland. However, John's dreams were crushed when he was unable to suppress the rebellion in the Netherlands, where he finally succumbed to typhus in 1578.
Quotations: "During all my life I have not had a foot of land I could call my own. Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return."
John of Austria is described to have been a very brave man. He always exhibited courage during his missions and led his troops bravely, which is why he deserved huge respect from his soldiers.
Victory at the battle of Lepanto and other successful military campaigns brought him great popularity. This, in combination with his dashing looks and the fact that he lived by the code of chivalry, brought him a lot of mistresses. Don John had a soft spot for women, which might have even cost him his life in the end.
Physical Characteristics: Among other things, John of Austria was known for his amazing physical appearance. Many described the young knight to had looked dashing, which enabled him a lot of mistress in his time.
Don John never married but he fathered two illegitimate daughters, according to some sources. He had a lot of mistresses during his life, with the most reputable one being Queen Marguerite of the Navarre.
The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was the biological father of Don John, although he never acknowledged him as his son
The King of Spain was Don John's half-brother who employed him as a military commander but never compeltely trusted him
He was appointed as Don John's secretary and was killed in 1578, not long before the death of John himself. His death is a mystery and the possibility of the involvement of the King was never excluded
