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462 Rubén González Cuerva

with Muslim powers. The direct imposition of conditions by Charles V
55
is fully appreciated if we study its language: a feudal terminology alien to
Maghreb political culture is employed, including the option of dethroning
again Mulay Hassan if this imperial “protégé” failed to pay the parias,
that is the agreed contributions, for three consecutive years. The annual
payment of money and a symbolic gift in exchange for military protection
were deeply rooted Medieval traditions. In this case, the King of Tunis
had to deliver an annual tribute of 12.000 ducats, six good horses and
twelve falcons. Additionally, he ceded the strategic stronghold of La
Goleta, which secured the entrance to the Tunisian port, accepting the
creation of a Spanish presidio – a fortified settlement – there. In the
56
aforementioned tapestries by Vermeyen, the scene of the treaty’s
signature is represented with Charles V in a dominant position and
Orozco acting as translator. The event seems discreet and secluded: for
Vermeyen, neither the signing of the treaty nor the journeys of the
Emperor and the King were central to the narrative of the campaign he
depicted in this series.
It would have been unprecedented if Orozco had been the only
translator and participant in such an important performative and
illocutionary act as the signing of the treaty . In fact, two Spanish
57
Franciscan friars, fray Diego Valentín and Bartolomé de los Ángeles,
complemented this work, which was under the strict control of
imperial officials . The texts, with Spanish and Arabic versions, had
58
imperial and royal seals affixed, following the usage of the imperial
chancellery. Since it was impossible to have a single ceremony for
the oath under the name of the same god, the performance was
flexibly interpreted. Charles V put his hand over a cross woven in the
vest of a commander of the Order of Saint James, thus adding an
element of crusade into to the act. Meanwhile, Mulay Hassan
performed the ceremony of obedience (bay’a) usual in Muslim
political practice: he drew his sword one span and swore in the name
of Allah and the Coran. The scene continued with Mulay’s reverent

55 P. Marino (ed.), Tratados internacionales de España. Periodo de preponderancia
española, Carlos V, II, España-Norte de África, CSIC, Madrid, 1980, pp. xvi, xci; H.
Duchhardt, Das Tunisunternehmen cit., pp. 68-70.
56 S. Boubaker, L'empereur Charles Quint cit., pp. 29-36.
57 B. Stollberg-Rillinger, The Impact of Communication Theory on the Analysis of the
Early Modern Statebuilding Processes, in W. Blockmans, A. Holenstein, J. Mathieu
(eds.), Empowering Interactions. Political Culture and the Emergence of the State in
Europe 1300-1900, Ashgate, Farnham 2009, p. 315.
58 P. Marino (ed.), Tratados internacionales de España cit., p. 52; A. de Santa Cruz,
Crónica del Emperador cit., p. 246.

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