WI: The Ottomans take Malta

[Night Gaul]

What if the Great Siege of Malta had ended in an Ottoman victory? What repercussions might their triumph have had?

 

[Nivek]

What if the Great Siege of Malta had ended in an Ottoman victory? What repercussions might their triumph have had?

More emphasis in the navy? a later push for trade? there a lot of possibilities with a seat in the heart of the meditteranean

 

[Mort the Reaper]

It's not too hard to imagine the Ottomans taking Malta, but would they be able to hold it?

 

[Marc]

One possible butterfly would be no battle of Lepanto in 1571 with interesting consequences in the Mediterranean, mostly to the detriment of Venice.

 

[Koprulu Mustafa Pasha]

What if the Great Siege of Malta had ended in an Ottoman victory? What repercussions might their triumph have had?

Ended in an Ottoman Victory:
1. Perfect base for the Ottoman Navy and the Pirates to raid Sicily
2. Harass Christian Shipping in Central- and Eastern Mediterranean
3. Avoid help from Spain to Venice as much as possible

The odds are that the Spanish will want the Island back to secure Sicily. They may not know Ottoman intentions on Malta (Thinking as it will be a base to invade Sicily). The Ottoman intention for Malta is also not certain to me. It will likely be base for raids on Italy. A Spanish Counter attack from Italy is likely. It may or may not fall. Assumptions again. Lepanto is butterflied away. It may regardless happen as Selim II still puts two rivals on command of the Navy, but instead of near Greece, it might be near Malta or Tunisia. If it is not directly ruled by Istanbul but by North Africa, it is likely going to fall to either the Spanish, Venetians or later to the French. The Knights will relocate, either to Elba, Menorca or maybe even the New World. The latter is if the Knights have no use by the Spanish in the fight against the Ottomans.

 

[M79]

K.M. Setton described Ottoman intentions as (a) take Malta, (b) invade/take Sicily, (c) invade/take Kingdom of Naples. His book was published in the mid-80s if memory serves.

 

[Koprulu Mustafa Pasha]

K.M. Setton described Ottoman intentions as (a) take Malta, (b) invade/take Sicily, (c) invade/take Kingdom of Naples. His book was published in the mid-80s if memory serves.

Intention A makes sense. You don't send 45k men to raid an Island. Intention B is possible. Especially if you have a strong Navy then keeping it may work out (keeping as in more than half a century). Intention B is hard if not looking impossible. The Spanish are strong, the Ottomans are extend with Persia and in Hungary. They failed to beat the Safavids when they had a chance. If they succeed in conquering Naples it may be lost in at most 40-50 years. That is my view. I think Suleiman knew this as well after the conquest of Hungary. But then again, he was ambitious. We will never know.