Battle of Lepanto

For John, BLUF:  The future hangs on today's outcomes.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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If you are tired of this fight between certain Salafist Muslim groups and the West, remember that today is the 443rd Anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, which took place off the cost of Greece and is named for the Greek Port from which the Ottoman fleet sallied, Naupaktos, which in Italian is Lapanto.

If the European nations had lost, Islam may well have surged back into Europe.  Remember, Lepanto was 1571, within the lifetime of some of the Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock.  When we think of 1492 we should not only be thinking of Christopher Columbus, but also of the expulsion of the Moors from Spain.♠ 

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  With the surrender of Granada on 2 January 1492.  Sadly, the 31 March Alhambra Decree expels all Jews from Spain unless they convert to Roman Catholicism.  Interestingly, the Ottoman Government sends ships to move them to what is now Greece (Thessaloniki) and Turkey (Izmir [the beautiful]).