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468 Rubén González Cuerva

the crushing conquest of Tunis, facilitated the signature of a harsh
treaty that made Charles V’s support the decisive factor for keeping
order in the Kingdom of Tunis. There were constant allusions to the
perceived inferiority of the Tunisian ruler. While Mulay Hassan’s regal
condition was undisputed, he never managed to be fully accepted into
the European society of princes, nor was his daughter included among
the Empress’s ladies-in-waiting.
During the campaign against Tunis in 1535, the traditional diplo-
matic framework of Christendom had merged with a Mediterranean
shared political culture overcoming religious difference which was
hard for northern Europeans to grasp. Apparently exotic practices like
the games of canes or the act of sitting on carpets were shared by
Iberian aristocracy, and this familiarity in performative culture made
the contacts easier to manage. This does not mean that they avoided
misunderstandings and discomfort, which reappeared at key mo-
ments, such as the ceremonies of salutation and oath, because the
performance of power relations had not yet been clearly established
between them, and Hafsid diplomatic practices were deemed insuf-
ficient by imperial policy-makers. However, these and other episodes
were dissimulated and overcome. Arguably the greatest relevance of
the Tunisian campaign with regards to sixteenth century Mediter-
ranean politics, was the fact that Charles V demonstrated he could act
as a successful emperor against Ottoman expansion. The Ottoman
sultans were the real enemies. The Emperor did not need to conquer
every Muslim land to demonstrate his power: it sufficed to establish a
protectorate.

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