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«No great glory in chasing a pirate». The manipulation of news during the 1535 423

begin negotiations with «le seigneur Haradin-Begii-Baschia, roy
d’Arget», both as a sovereign in his own right and as Süleyman’s
representative. Francis I requested financial, military and diplomatic
aid to regain what he considered his rightful possessions, including
Genoa, Milan, Asti and sovereignty over Flanders and Artois. He also
wanted Ottoman aid to place Janus Zapolya on the throne of Hungary
and prevent Charles V’s brother Ferdinand I from taking the kingdom.
A coordinated campaign was proposed, beginning with the conquest
of Genoa, on the grounds that this would enable Francis I to assist the
Ottoman-corsair forces to defend Tunis and Algiers, and would protect
the subjects, commerce and mutually beneficial enterprises of all three
signatories. Francis I offered to help his Muslim allies to take Corsica,

Sardinia and Sicily. He requested the right to choose the new king of
Sicily, although it was to be an Ottoman possession that would pay
tribute to the sultan, and suggested the island’s revenues should be
used to recoup the costs of the allied campaign. The three sovereigns
agreed to abide by the three-year treaty of commerce while they
negotiated a full offensive-defensive treaty .
26
Christian-Muslim alliances were frequent by this period, but there was
still opprobrium attached to them. Francis I expected criticism, and to
deflect this he claimed that his aim was to seek a universal peace. He also
publicised a list of the multiple Christian embassies to the Ottoman court
in recent years, many of them from the Habsburgs. The emperor
countered this with claims that his embassies were different and licit,
because he always informed the pope first, and acted for the defence of
Christendom . It seems to have made little difference, although French
27
claims that they were making a commercial alliance were met with
cynicism or derision. Henry VIII smiled when referring to the dispatch of
a French ambassador to the Ottoman court «to make a trere
marchande» . His chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, commented that to
28
recover Milan Francis I would call not just on the Turk but also on the
Devil . The emperor’s leading minister, Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle,
29
denounced it as a mere cloak for military and political negotiations .
30
The papal nuncio at the French court, Pio di Carpi, was convinced
that the French were acting out of fear rather than ambition, however.

26 Instructions of Francis I to M. de la Forêt, 11 February 1534/5, Charrière, I, pp.
255-263, esp. 256-8 and 260-2.
27 Ang, Carpi, pp. 3-4, Carpi to Ricalcato, Lyon, 11 February 1535, Charrière, I,
Instructions to La Forêt, pp. 259-260. PEG, II, p. 265, Charles V to Hannart, 5 January
1535.
28 LP, viii, n. 189, Chapuys to Charles V, 9 February 1535.
29 Csp Sp, 5(1), n. 157, Chapuys to Charles V, 5-8 May 1535.
30 PEG, II, p. 283, Granvelle to Hannart, s.d. [January 1535].

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Agosto 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)