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| Conquest of Tunis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSpanish–Ottoman wars, theOttoman–Habsburg wars and theOttoman–Portuguese conflicts | |||||||||
 Attack onLa Goletta, with Tunis in the background  Entry ofCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor, intoTunis in 1535 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Kingdom of Portugal Papal States Republic of Genoa Knights of Malta | Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Charles V Andrea Doria Alfonso d'Avalos Álvaro de Bazán García de Toledo Duke of Alba Duke of Beja | Hayreddin Barbarossa | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Total men: 30,000–60,000 10,000 Spaniards 8,000 Germans 8,000 Italians 1,500 Portuguese[3] 700 Maltese Unknown number of Flemings Total ships: 398 207 ships[4] 10 galleys 6 galleys 19 galleys Kingdom of Portugal 1 galleon, 2 carracks, 20round caravels, 8 galleys 8 galleys 1 carrack, 4 galleys 60 hulks | 82 warships[1] 2 galleys[5] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown: Many fell to dysentery[citation needed] | 30,000Muslim civilians massacred[6] 10,000 Muslims enslaved[7] 20,000Christians freed[7] | ||||||||
TheConquest of Tunis in 1535, occurred when theHabsburgEmperor Charles V and his allies captured the city ofTunis from the control of theOttoman Empire.[8]
In 1533,Suleiman the Magnificent orderedHayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summoned fromAlgiers, to build a large war fleet forConstantinople.[9] Altogether 70galleys were built in the winter of 1533–1534, manned by slave oarsmen, including 2,000 Jews.[10] With this fleet, Barbarossa conducted aggressive raids along the coast of Italy, thenconquered Tunis on 16 August 1534, ousting the theretofore local ruler,Muley Hasan,[a] who had been subservient to the Spanish[12] Barbarossa established a strong naval base in Tunis, which could be used for raids in the region, and on nearbyMalta.[12]
Charles V assembled a large army of some 30,000 soldiers, 74 galleys rowed by chainedProtestants[dubious –discuss] shipped in fromAntwerp,[13] and 300 sailing ships, including thecarrackSanta Anna and the PortuguesegalleonSão João Baptista (the most powerful ship in the world at the time) to drive the Ottomans from the region.[14] The expense involved for Charles V was considerable, and at 1,000,000ducats on par with the cost of Charles' campaign against Suleiman on theDanube.[15] Unexpectedly, the funding of the conquest of Tunis came from the galleons sailing in from theNew World, in the form of two million gold ducats extracted byFrancisco Pizarro for releasing theInca kingAtahualpa, whom he nevertheless executed on 29 August 1533.[15]
Despite a request by Charles V,Francis I denied French support to the expedition, explaining that he was under a three-year truce with Barbarossa following the1533 Ottoman embassy to France.[16] Francis I was also in negotiations with Suleiman for a combined attack on Charles V following the1534 Ottoman embassy. Francis I only agreed toPope Paul III's request that no fight between Christians occur during the time of the expedition.[16]
Having sailed fromSardinia at the head of a Catholic coalition protected by aGenoese fleet, Charles V destroyed Barbarossa's fleet on 1 June 1535 and after a costly yet successful siege atLa Goletta, captured Tunis. In the action, the Portuguese galleonSão João Baptista distinguished itself by breaking the chains protecting the harbour's entrance, thereafter opening fire on La Goletta. In the ruins, the Spanish found cannonballs with the Frenchfleur-de-lis mark, evidence of the contacts stemming from theFranco-Ottoman alliance.[14]
The resulting massacre of the city left an estimated 30,000 dead[17] and 10,000 enslaved.[7] Barbarossa managed to flee toAlgiers with a troop of several thousand Ottomans.[1] Muley Hasan was restored to his throne. The stench of the corpses was such that Charles V soon left Tunis and moved his camp toRadès.
The siege demonstrated the power of the Habsburg dynasties at the time; Charles V had under his control much of southern Italy, Sicily, Spain, the Americas, Austria, the Netherlands, and lands in Germany. Furthermore, he was Holy Roman Emperor and hadde jure control over much of Germany as well.
Ottoman defeat in Tunis motivated them to enter into a formal alliance with France against the Habsburg Empire. AmbassadorJean de La Forêt was sent to Constantinople, and for the first time was able to become permanent ambassador at the Ottoman court and to negotiate treaties.[18]
Charles V celebrated a neo-classicaltriumph "over the infidel" first in Sicily and then at Rome on 5 April 1536 in commemoration of his victory at Tunis.[19][20][21] The Spanish governor of La Goulette, Luis Pérez de Vargas, fortified the island of Chikly in the lake of Tunis to strengthen the city's defences between 1546 and 1550.
Barbarossa managed to escape to the harbour ofBône, where a fleet was waiting for him. From there, he sailed to accomplish theSack of Mahón, where he took 600 slaves and brought them to Algiers.[22]
The Ottomansrecaptured the city in 1569. Spaincaptured it again in 1573 underJohn of Austria, only tolose it again in 1574. Thereafterprivateers from Tunis caused discord against Christian shipping. Raiding in the Mediterranean Sea continued until the suppression of theBarbary pirates in the early 19th century.[citation needed]
AFrench invasion led to the establishment ofFrench Algeria in 1830, consequently France would create aprotectorate over Tunisia in 1881.
