From holy war to technocracy, 1571–1924: The Spanish and Ottoman Empires in the Mediterranean

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the trajectories of the Spanish and Ottoman Empires, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when parallel circumstances led to coinciding policies of economic modernization and religious toleration, internal and mutual. Through commercial accords, diplomatic exchanges, and even military collaboration, the Ottoman and Spanish Empires in the Mediterranean attempted to develop an alliance in place of what had been holy war and territorial conflicts. This cooperative struggle to emerge from the shadow of more powerful European powers, while ending in failure, nonetheless reveals much about the history of these two empires and the evolution of their relationship. Confronted with the rising industrial and military power of Great Britain, France, and Russia, the Spanish and Ottoman parallel and collaborating efforts did not enable these empires to reclaim their previous status as great powers.