Page 169 - sfogliabile 49

«No great glory in chasing a pirate». The manipulation of news during the 1535 435

intercept him . Other sources put the number of galleys at anything
96
between twenty-five and thirty-seven or more. Many reports stressed
the inferiority of the imperial fleet. Rumour had it that Charles V
thought Doria’s galleys so useless they might as well be at the bottom
of the sea . Doria was widely accused of cowardice . By mid-August
98
97
it was known that Charles V had made virtually no territorial gain as
he had restored Tunis to Mulay Hassan and taken only the vulnerable
islet of La Goleta outside the port, which had to be fortified and
garrisoned .
99
The papal and French courts were also influenced by the reports of
the papal admiral, Anguillara, who emphasised the problems the
emperor faced during and after the campaign. On 28 July he reported
from La Goleta that Charles V had almost been captured, and that
while Barbarossa had lost 40 galleys and other ships, he still had
about 50 vessels and some 4,000 Turkish soldiers as well as other
troops at his command, and consequently he would easily recover –
«si rifarà facilmente». By contrast, Charles V had spent huge sums of
money and made little profit from the sack of Tunis, and was facing
huge problems disbanding and paying his forces. Du Bellay was
delighted at the impact on the pope of the negative reports regarding
the emperor sent by Anguillara and Baugé that September 100 .
Süleyman’s desire to exact revenge and continue the war was also
widely discussed. The pope was said to have commented that this
would be a good thing as it might force Charles V to be reasonable and
accept a mediated peace in Christendom 101 . Francis I welcomed the
prospect of another Ottoman campaign, but shared the misgivings of
Venice that they might be asked by both sides for support 102 . In other
words, the situation was in flux and so unstable it soon overshadowed
the imperial victory.

96 Ang, Carpi, pp. 61-62, Carpi to Ricalcato, 17 August 1535. The Venetian
ambassador’s letters from Tunis were dated 6 August; those from Naples, 15 August.
97 LP, ix, n. 526, Wallop’s News (English ambassador in France), 3 October 1535,
passing on news from Venice dated 7 September 1535.
98 Ang, Carpi, p. 79, Carpi to Ricalcato, 19 October 1535.
99 Ang, Carpi, pp. 60-61, Ricalcato to Carpi, 12 August 1535.
100 Charrière, I, pp. 274-275; Du Bellay, II, p. 104, Du Bellay and Denonville to
Francis I, 23 September 1535.
101 Du Bellay, II, p. 69, Du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I, 3 September 1535.
102 Csp SP 5(1), n. 192, Lope de Soria to Charles V, Venice, 9 August 1535.

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