The Historical Review/La Revue Historique

Vol. 10, 2013

Basil C. Gounaris, “See how the Gods Favour Sacrilege”: English Views and Politics on Candia under Siege (1645-1669)

Spyropoulos Yannis https://doi.org/10.12681/hr.315

To cite this article:

Spyropoulos, Y. (2013). Basil C. Gounaris, “See how the Gods Favour Sacrilege”: English Views and Politics on Candia under Siege (1645-1669). The Historical Review/La Revue Historique, 10, 297-299. doi:https://doi.org/10.12681/hr.315

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Basil C. Gounaris, “SEE HOW THE GODS FAVOUR SACRILEGE”: ENGLISH VIEWS AND POLITICS ON CANDIA UNDER SIEGE (1645-1669), Athens: Department of Neohellenic Research, Institute of Historical Research / NHRF, 2012, 136 pages.

Based principally on English archival Venetian commercial relations until the and published sources, this work is a 1640s and the image of Venice and the study of British politics in the Eastern Ottoman Empire in the English popular Mediterranean during the Cretan War imagination. The third chapter is devoted (1645-1669). Its main thesis is that Venice, to the diplomatic implications of the in the hope that England, one of the major commercial rivalry between the Levant naval powers of the time, could engage in Company and Venice right before and military action against the Ottomans, set after the outbreak of the Cretan War, out on a race against time and conflicting the alliances and antagonisms created commercial and political interests in due to the English Civil War (1642-1651) order to gain the British State’s support. and the impact these events had on Yet, despite the widespread anti-Islamic England’s political stance on the Eastern feelings running through the English Mediterranean. The fourth chapter deals government and society, financial with the turbulent decade that preceded pragmatism and diplomatic interests the Restoration (1660). It explores the would eventually prevail over religious repercussions that the first Anglo-Dutch enthusiasm, preventing England from War (1652-1654), the Anglo-Spanish War actively intervening in the conflict. (1654-1660), the Ionian currant trade, The author masterfully explores the problem of Barbary corsairs and the a series of events that influenced the Interregnum’s ideological and religious above-mentioned developments in six standpoint had on the Anglo-Venetian main chapters. In the second chapter, negotiations over the involvement of following the book’s preface (chapter 1), England in the Cretan War. The fifth and he deals mainly with the issue of Anglo- sixth chapters are concerned with the

The Historical Review / La Revue Historique Section of Neohellenic Research / Institute of Historical Research Volume X (2013)

http://epublishing.ekt.gr | e-Publisher: EKT | Downloaded at 02/10/2021 09:11:18 | 298 Yannis Spyropoulos complicated relations of England with one of the biggest merits of this book the Ottoman Empire and Venice after the is the introduction of an approach that Restoration: to Venice’s disappointment, focuses on the impact that a “secondary” the new British royal regime increasingly front of Ottoman diplomacy – England distanced itself from the prospect of – had on an issue of grave importance active participation in the war. Yet, for the Ottoman State, specifically the this attitude of neutrality was put to the conquest of Crete. Gounaris deals with test several times, in part because of the the information provided by his sources continuous assaults of Algerian corsairs in a balanced way through the parallel on English ships, and in part because of examination of their political, diplomatic the diplomatic zeal displayed by the new and ideological aspects and manages to English ambassador to the Porte, which produce a clear-cut image of the way often resulted in tensions between him and in which England responded to the de both the Ottoman government and the facto challenges caused by its maritime Venetian bailo in Istanbul. Occasionally involvement in the affairs of the Eastern the Venetians would manage to get vague Mediterranean states. promises of intervention from the English On the downside, one can argue that side, but with the outbreak of the second even though, as the subtitle of the book Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667) and the suggests, Gounaris’ goal is to study the Levant Company’s supporters opposing “English Views and Politics on Candia any interference that could harm its trade under Siege”, these views and politics with the Ottomans, they were in the end were to a great extent still products of the left without help and Candia fell into “incredible complication of the triangular Ottoman hands. The final chapter is an relationship between London, Venice and assessment of the role that religion and Constantinople” (p. 12), a relationship trade played in the shaping of English that cannot be examined thoroughly political decisions regarding the Cretan without the juxtaposition of the English War, the conclusion being that religion- and Venetian sources used by the author based sympathy, even if sincere, could not to the multitude of Ottoman sources have been a decisive factor for the British available on the subject. Yet, even if this to engage in war in order to support the lack of cross-reference can be understood Venetian interests in the Levant. as a result of the difficulties that the Until now little has been written task of reading Ottoman palaeography about the way Western European states entails, the same cannot be said about the responded to the Cretan War, with the evident lack of use in the bibliography of historians’ emphasis being placed mainly some of the latest and most important on the important role of France, in which publications that contain valuable “the sultans found the friend that Venice information on the Ottomans’ attitude had so sorely lacked”.1 In this respect, towards the Cretan War (such as Molly Greene, A Shared World: Christians 1 Molly Greene, A Shared World: Chris- and Muslims in the Early Modern Medi- tians and Muslims in the Early Modern Medi- terranean, Princeton 2000; Antonis terranean, Princeton 2000, pp. 74-77. Anastasopoulos [ed.], Halcyon Days in

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Crete VI. The Eastern Mediterranean whole Basil C. Gounaris’ book is without under Ottoman Rule: Crete, 1645-1840. doubt a well-written monograph from A Symposium Held in Rethymnon, 13- which researchers of British, Venetian 15 January 2006, Rethymnon 2008; and and Ottoman history could benefit, Ersin Gülsoy, Girit’in Fethi ve Osmanlı and it definitely constitutes a valuable İdaresinin Kurulması [1645-1670], Istan- contribution to our understanding of the bul 2004, to name a few). Still, on the international aspects of the Cretan War.

Yannis Spyropoulos University of Crete

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