What happened at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571?
The Battle of Lepanto
La batalla de Lepanto
7 October 1571. On 7 October 1571, in the Gulf of Patras off western Greece, the fleet of the Holy League (Spain, Venice, the Papal States and smaller allies) under Don Juan…
Where: Spain, Italy
What happened
On 7 October 1571, in the Gulf of Patras off western Greece, the fleet of the Holy League (Spain, Venice, the Papal States and smaller allies) under Don Juan of Austria, half-brother of Philip II, destroyed most of the Ottoman fleet. It was one of the largest galley battles ever fought. Historians still argue about what it changed: the Ottomans rebuilt their fleet quickly, but the victory was an enormous boost to Christian Europe. Among the Spanish soldiers was the young Miguel de Cervantes, who lost the use of his left hand there.
Say it
Cervantes luchó en Lepanto y perdió el uso de la mano izquierda.
Cervantes fought at Lepanto and lost the use of his left hand.
Why it matters
Cervantes called it 'la más alta ocasión que vieron los siglos', and his wound gave him his nickname, 'el manco de Lepanto'; the battle is a fixed point of Spanish memory.
Read about it
Connected
- Philip II builds El Escorial (1563–1584)
- Don Quixote is published (January 1605)
- Don Quixote is published (January 1605)
Sources
- Imagen de la Virgen del Rosario (pieza destacada) — Museo Naval de San Fernando, Armada Española
- Cervantes en la BNE: La batalla de Lepanto — Biblioteca Nacional de España
- Cronología de la vida y obra de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra — Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes