The Power of the Quill: Espionage under Charles V during the Tunisian Campaign

2021/12/03 by Gennaro Varriale · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Historical Influence and Diplomacy #Historical Studies on Spain #Medieval History and Crusades #Espionage #Rivalry #Emperor #Collusion #Power (physics) #Politics #Ancient history #Art #Law #History #Political science #Business #Economics

paper · pdf · doi:10.18589/oa.1041507

openalex publication_date 2021/12/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

The Ottoman expansion into the Western Mediterranean in the sixteenth century created an intense rivalry with the Habsburg. This article examines this conflict from a different perspective, i.e. that of espionage. While on the one hand analysing the political changes in the Mare Nostrum in the 1530s, on the other, it scrutinizes the Neapolitan intelligence, the most important information-gathering service of Emperor Charles V. Furthermore, the article specifically concentrates on the contribution of espionage to the Emperor’s campaign in Tunis against Khayr al-din Barbarossa.

Cited by

• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor [wikipedia]

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