naval warfare

On 29 May 1416, a Venetian fleet under Pietro Loredan crushed a larger Ottoman armada off Gallipoli. The battle secured Venetian dominance in the Aegean, but it served as a wake-up call that forced the Ottoman Empire to modernize its navy, starting a 300-year struggle for the Mediterranean.

On 28 May 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, bound for the English Channel. King Philip II sent 130 ships and 30,000 men on a holy crusade, convinced that divine favour would override the brutal realities of naval technology, geography, and weather.