“See how the Gods Favour Sacrilege”

Τhe Cretan War (1645-1669), between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, has been more than a famous chapter of war history; it was an inspiration and a challenge for Western Europe. Trapped between their own old wars and the new commercial priorities, Catholics and Protestants alike, had to decide anew how to handle Islam; as crusaders or as merchants. This book describes the incredible complication of the triangular relationship between London, Venice and Constantinople during a most critical period of English history. The Serenissima was dragged in the politics of the English Civil War in an ill-destined venture to play puritan piety against the spirit of capitalism; a fascinating story which is followed scene by scene. In the 1660s the Christian zeal of the restored English monarch and the sympathy of the public for the Venetian cause were outweighed by the need to give priority to mercantile interests that required good relations with the Ottomans. It was a bad end of a desperate, almost romantic, story; but was it an unpredictable one?