47.
ecclesiastical chivalric unit: *
Professional diplomatic staff did not exist in 16th century Spain; the most educated individuals were the priesthood. Kings relied on such individuals to serve as both state & Church functionaries. Cardinals were the princes of the Church & were most suitable royal agents, chancellors & ambassadors. The most famous & influent ecclesiastic was Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517- 1586). Another famous Spanish Cardinal from an earlier generation was Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436-1517). From humble origins he rose to high power, a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, promoter of the Crusades in N. Africa. Don Íñigo López de Mendoza y Zúñiga (1476-1535) is another example of a Cardinal serving Spain. Cardinal, archbishop of Burgos & bishop of Coria, Castilian clergyman & diplomat, he served Charles V. In 1526 he went as ambassador for to England; arrested by the French, imprisoned by the English (owning to deteriorating relations between Charles & Henry VIII); rarely allowed to send letters; requested his recall, owing to health, and English distrust. Replaced by Eustace Chapuys. Serving man & God was Spanish Cardinal Francisco Mendoza de Bobadilla (1508-1566). In 1533 elected bishop of Coria (though still only 27); Pope Paul III made him a cardinal in 1544. He participated in the Papal conclave of 1549–1550. He was a resident in Philip’s court for many years & was sent on various missions by the king.
In Spain chivalric ideals & institutions were adopted & exercised with more fervour than anywhere else in Europe. Chivalry of manners & proper military engagement arrived in the 10th century during the Reconquista when Frankish knights fought the Muslim invaders & protected pilgrims flocking to the tomb of St. James in Galicia. St. James himself was known & celebrated as ‘the slayer of the Moors’. The discovery of his body was a possible igniting factor for the Reconquista which began under Alfonso II (791–842 AD). The close proximity of Christians & Muslims meant the atmosphere for the development of Knightly Orders was ripe. Other factors also contributed to the strong chivalric ethos. Ferdinand III of Castile facilitated the rise of Spanish Orders because of his desire to crusade against the Moors & enlarge his kingdom. In the Reconquista (where Christian Kingdoms attempted to expel Muslims from the peninsula) the Muslims were not imagined enemies but one deeply entrenched in reality, not in a distant Jeruslaem as the infidels were for the knights of France or Germany. In these regions fighting involved war between Christians of different kingdoms & as such it was more debated and contested within Christian circles. In Spain the Christian knights engaged a foe universally acknowledged as an enemy to Christendom. This common enemy united Spanish Christian kingdoms in the cause of the Crusades and Reconquista.
48.
Acre (battle of): *
In 1805, Napoleon stated that if he had: been able to take Acre: “I would have put on a turban, I would have made my soldiers wear big Turkish trousers, and I would have exposed them to battle only in case of extreme necessity. I would have made them into a Sacred Battalion--my Immortals. I would have finished the war against the Turks with Arabic, Greek, and Armenian troops. Instead of a battle in Moravia, I would have won a Battle of Issus, I would have made myself emperor of the East, and I would have returned to Paris by way of Constantinople.”
49.
The Maratha powers: *
Trading rivalries led to England & France established trading posts in India in the early 17th century. In the later 18th century these 2 nations struggled for dominance, partly through direct military intervention but also via proxy using Indian rulers. One such Indian was Tipu, Sultan of Mysore, an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. As early as 1794 he was receiving support & aid from Republican France. He went so far as to establish a Jacobin Club, planted a Liberty Tree and declared himself “Citizen” Tipoo. Aided and trained by the French, Tipu fought the British in the First & Second Anglo-Mysore wars; in the Third Anglo-Mysore War he lost & was forced to cede territory. To rally opposition to the British he sent emissaries to France in the 1780s & ‘90s (at the time France was pre-occupied with the Revolution). Overtures to France in 1797 through the Governor of Mauritius (a French colony) led so some minor support when a small frigate & some volunteers were sent to Mangalore in April 1798. At the same time a small group of French officers were leading an army of 14,000 for the prince of Hyderabad. However they were neutralized following British diplomatic intervention.
In his Egyptian Campaign (1798-1801), Bonaparte told the Directory that as soon as Egypt was secured he would junction with Tipu, establish relations with the Indian princes & with them attack the English in India. He informed Talleyrand (1798) that following the fortification of Egypt he planned to send 15,000 men from Suez to India, join Tipu & drive out the English. The Directory (worried about the cost & scope of such operations) were happy to see the popular general absent himself from Paris.
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These plans however unravelled both in India and in Egypt. Defeated by the Ottomans at Acre (1799) & at Abukir (1801) the French had no presence in the Mid-East. Even before these setbacks, in the final Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799), Tipu Sultan was killed; much of his kingdom distributed by the British to their allies, the interior of the Mysore Kingdom turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. This avenue for intervention was thus closed for France.