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Mihrimah advised her father to attack Malta, offering to equip ships at her own expense. During the hectic weeks before the arrival of the Turkish armada, Romegas was kept busy escorting the ships carrying those Maltese who were evacuated. In a show of bravado, the Captain-General of the Galleys and the 35 year old Romegas sailed out of the Grand Harbour in battle order with flag flying, to reconnoiter the approaching enemy armada.
All chroniclers of the Siege refer to him as a brave and courageous knight. Infact, when the Turks made an orderly reconnaissance in force against Birgu 21 May in order to intimidate the defenders, La Valette unleashed some of his men.
According to Balbi, among the leading knights was Romegas. So great was the wish of Romegas to help the Grand Master that, had the latter allowed it, he himself would have gone out alone on this mission. Romegas offered a hefty hundred scudi out of his own pocket for a second attempt, but this similarly produced no tangible result.
Again, when La Valette made an attempt to send relief to St Elmo, Romegas was among those who volunteered. Five barges under his command were put to sea in the dark. Midway, they were subjected to a hail of shots from the enemy; this forced them to retreat.
Want to Read saving…. Return to Book Page. As Fernand Braudel points out, in the sixteenth century, the boldest western corsairs were the Knights of Malta, led, from about , by Romegas. To save Egypt, the Suez Canal, and the Middle East oil fields from Nazi control, it was essential that the island be held at all costs. Not that this will bring an end to our story. Low to High Price: Alas, Romegas turned a deaf ear to all the wise advice of his sincere friend.
During the siege there were several occasions when Romegas was wounded. He was badly hit in both legs by splinters of rock; rumors even had it that he was killed.
Infact, in the Spanish historian Pedro de Salazar, counted Romegas among the victims of the Siege and wrote him a short elogy. At the request of the Pope, in autumn , Romegas returned back to his home country France, to hammer and liquidate the Huguenot forces. Romegas had a private axe to grind for the Huguenots had sacked the Collegiate Church of La Romieu which housed the tombs of his family and the remains of his ancestors. He returned to his commanderie in Rouergue, south of France, and set himself under the command of the illustrious Blaise de Monluc who was related to him.
On 30 September, after travelling all night on horseback, Romegas together with the Vice-Seneschal de La Chapelle, joined Monluc at the city of Lectoure. They immediately informed him of a surprise attack by the Huguenots which was on its way. During the period from the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in up to , the Ottomans insisted on a policy of expansion. In sixteen sea battles fought their navy had not been defeated once.
Yet the Siege of Malta had shown the world that the Turkish might was not invincible after all. It was a sensible setback but it did not damage the fame of the Turks in the Mediterranean; although they were humiliated at Malta, the resources were still immense. Negotiations began in June and a year later, the Pope invited Romegas, to join his fleet at Messina.
Although Pope Pius had confirmed Marc Antonio Colonna in the post of high admiral, his disappointing performance during a previous expedition, required someone competent in maritime matters to be appointed to assist him. Pope Pius had no doubt about the right person for the job: He is said to have quickly set order. They sailed to Corfu, and three days later to Gomenizze where all personnel were counted and found to be: Even Venier, the grizzled old Venetian, suddenly fell quiet.
Don Juan felt compelled to hold yet one more conference on his Real to decide the best course of action. He asked Romegas for his opinion.
The fire-eating Gascon answered while gesturing at the huge Christians fleet around the Real: For this reason the Venetians often called the fight as the battle of the Curzolari Islands. Don Juan steadied himself on the poop of the Real with Marc Antonio Colonna and Romegas in the papal flagship on one side, Venier on the other.
Formation of the vessels before the Battle of Lepanto. Before the battle, Romegas vowed that the first Turkish captain he would capture would be presented to the church in Malta. This happened to be a cruel Turk who lost his right hand during the battle. Pope Pius kept Romegas for a while in Rome. Romegas holding the Pontificial banner by Tommaso Dolabella. Low to High Price: High to Low Avg. An Anthology Apr 07, Available for download now.
12 Results A Spurious Death in a Foreign Country (The Wolves of Malta Book 2). $ Kindle Edition. A Death by the Sea (The Wolves of Malta Book 1). $ A Death by the Sea (The Wolves of Malta, 1) If you don't have a Nook or Kindle ereader, you can also read the book on your smartphone, iPad or computer.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Chinese Checkers Oct 01, Sleepingfish 8 Jan 01, Keyhole Issue 8 Oct 28, Dr Jesus and Mr Dead Mar 24, Only 1 left in stock more on the way. Provide feedback about this page. Soon, you find yourself re-living the adventures of these Maltese Sea Wolves assisted by the numerous illustrations and images displayed on most of the pages thanks to Daniel Cilia.
Another important source were the entries from their logbooks, which by law had to be kept on board minuting every detail that occurred for each voyage. This, for us at least, is the icing on the cake that gives that special Maltese touch and pride on this historical journey in search for plunder and glory. Or perhaps a Corsair deciding which captain is most likely to make us rich but also bring us back alive from the perilous voyage that lies ahead.
Our vessel departs, though not all make it alive as one crew member is extremely unlucky enough to fall overboard as soon as we leave the harbour and drowns instantly. Not all will reap riches, nor will they all die a glorious death in the process, this is the real deal.
With our gun trained on it ready to open fire, the vessel wisely surrenders. As you are by now noticing, the captains are under immense pressure to ensure they capture enough booty to satisfy the investors back home, whilst avoiding heavily armed vessels out to capture them.