Battle of Ponza (1435)

Coordinates: 40°54′00″N 12°58′00″E / 40.9000°N 12.9667°E / 40.9000; 12.9667
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Battle of Ponza
Part of Aragon's Conquest of Naples

The surrender of Alfonso
Date5 August 1435[7][6]
Location
Island of Ponza, Tyrrhenian Sea
Result Decisive Genoese victory[1][2][3][4]
Belligerents
Duchy of Milan
Republic of Genoa
[1][2][3][4][5]		 Crown of Aragon
[6][2][3][5]
Commanders and leaders
Filippo Visconti
Biagio Assereto
Jacopo Giustiniani
[1][2][5][8][9]		 Alfonso V of Aragon
King of Aragon (POW)
John II of Aragon
King of Navarre (POW)
Henry of Aragon
Prince Infante (POW)
[6][1][3][9][10]
Strength
Genoese fleet:
3 galleys
13 vessels
2,400 soldiers
[10][11][12]		 Aragonese fleet:
11 galleys
14 vessels
6,000 soldiers
[10][11][12]
Casualties and losses
90 killed[8] 600 killed[8]
~100 Aragonese nobles captured [7][10]
13 vessels lost[1][2]

The naval battle of Ponza was fought in early August 1435, when the Duke of Milan dispatched the Genoese navy to relieve the besieged town of Gaeta,[13] which was currently under threat from the King of Aragon.[14]

Conflict[edit]

Joan II, Queen of Naples, died on 2 February 1435,[7] and by her will bestowed Rene d'Anjou with the crown of Naples.[14] However, Alfonso, king of Aragon and Sicily, whom Queen Joan II had primarily adopted, claimed the succession, on the ground of this first adoption.[7] Thus the successionist war between the House of Anjou and the House of Barcelona over the Kingdom of Naples ensued.[12][13]

At this critical moment Rene d'Anjou was currently imprisoned in the Duchy of Burgundy[15] and Alfonso of Aragon lost no time in stirring up his partisans in the Kingdom of Naples, whilst he himself sailed from Sicily with a large fleet to besiege Gaeta.[14]

Gaeta itself was garrisoned by the Genoese[2] who shortly after Queen Joan's death dispatched Francesco Spinola with 800 infantry.[3][16] The Duke of Milan (to whom the Republic of Genoa had lately submitted)[7] sided with the House of Anjou[16] and dispatched a Genoese fleet[13] in July under Biagio Assereto in order to relieve Gaeta.[16] Alfonso immediately sailed against the Genoese fleet[12] with superior numbers.[15] The two fleets met near the island of Ponza and after a long and gallant conflict,[15] which lasted for ten hours,[13] the Genoese were completely victorious.[4] The royal galley of Aragon was compelled to strike,[15] and Alfonso V, King of Aragon was captured.[6]

Aftermath[edit]

The siege of Gaeta was lifted,[12] and the return of the Genoese fleet was met with a triumphant reception at Genoa.[10] The King and all the noble Aragonese prisoners were then brought to Milan before the Duke,[16] and with this one strike the war seemed already over.[9]
However the King of Aragon managed to persuade the Duke of Milan to his side and against Rene d'Anjou, and was set at liberty with all other prisoners.[7] The Genoese were so utterly exasperated by the Duke's decision[2] that they started to rebel against him, drove out the Milanese garrison and overthrew his rule on 27 December 1435.[7]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Zurita, Jerónimo (1579). Segunda parte de los Anales de la Corona de Aragon: Book 14. Zaragoza.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Burchett, Josiah (1720). A Complete History of the Most Remarkable Transactions at Sea. London.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ersch, Johann Samuel (1847). Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste: 3. Section. Leipzig.
  4. ^ a b c de Cherrier, Claude Joseph (1858). Histoire de la Lutte des Papes et des Empereurs: Vol.III. Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ a b c Schlosser, Friedrich Christoph (1849). F. C. Schlosser's Weltgeschichte für das Deutsche Volk: Vol.IX. Frankfurt a.M.
  6. ^ a b c d de Madrazo, Pedro (1839). Recuerdos y bellezas de España: Cataluña. Barcelona.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simonde de Sismondi, Jean-Charles-Léonard (1832). A History of the Italian Republics. Philadelphia.
  8. ^ a b c Canale, Michele Giuseppe (1864). Nuova Istoria della Repubblica di Genova: Vol.IV. Florence.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ a b c Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1988). Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter: Book 1-6. Munich.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e von Stramberg, Christian (1858). Denkwürdiger und nützlicher Rheinischer Antiquarius: Vol.VII. Koblenz.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ a b Troyli, Placido (1753). Istoria generale del Reame di Napoli. Naples.
  12. ^ a b c d e Leo, Heinrich (1829). Geschichte von Italien: Vol.III. Hamburg.
  13. ^ a b c d von Meerheimb, Richard (1865). Von Palermo bis Gaëta. Dresden.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ a b c Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1843). The Biographical Dictionary: Vol.II. London.
  15. ^ a b c d Col. Proctor, George (1844). The History of Italy. London.
  16. ^ a b c d Ersch, Johann Samuel (1854). Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste: 1. Section. Leipzig.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

40°54′00″N 12°58′00″E / 40.9000°N 12.9667°E / 40.9000; 12.9667

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