An Overview of Naval Strategy during the 1714–1718 War between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic

Abstract

This article aims to bring forward a number of elements related to Ottoman and Venetian naval strategies during the War of 1714–1718. Commanding sturdy ships, and competent men, the Sultan’s admirals set in motion a plan to expel Venice from its last possessions in the Greek world. Initially successful, their strategy failed at Corfu in 1716. It was tried anew, but inconclusively, in 1717, and in 1718. On the Venetian side, after a disastrous early stage, a new fighting spirit emerged among naval crews. Fighting throughout the Aegean, the Venetian navy strongly opposed the enemy naval strategy, thus preventing its implementation and preserving for Venice the Ionian Islands. However, the war was decided in the north by the Habsburg Imperial troops, under the command of Eugene of Savoy. In the new treaty, the one signed at Passarowitz on July 21, 1718, Venice, though sitting with the victors, was a defeated party.