The Catalan Dominance in the Western Sea

Mariano Barbasán Laguerue 

King Pedro of Aragon at the Pass of Pass of Panissars

I have nearly completed the draft of a new chapter telling the story of the Crusade against Aragon undertaken by Philip, king of France, with the papal endorsement in 1285. As personal matters played a significant role in the train of events, I put the ousting of Charles of Anjou from the Sicilian throne as one of the main reasons for this enterprise. 

Admiral Roger of Lauria cast a long shadow on Catalan maritime activities, and my account devotes some time to his tactics, especially in the Battle of Las Formigues. The ill-fated Crusade ended with the French recognition (de facto) of the Catalan dominance in the Western Mediterranean Sea. I follow the plot issued by Ramon Muntaner's Chronicle. 

My next topic is the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. I've just started collecting the data. I will speak briefly of the zigzags of the Crusade and focus on the amphibious activities of the Venetian fleet. 

I re-edited a piece titled "The Byzantine Contribution to Maritime Warfare." I will upload it on the Academia site. Still, I have to decide first what to do with another piece devoted to the technological transition in shipbuilding during the VI-XI centuries. 

I prepared a third and final Zoom lecture of the cycle, "A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands." I will deliver it on January 15th under the auspices of the Institute of Integration.