Algiers expedition (1541)
The 1541 Algiers expedition occurred when Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Spain attempted to lead an amphibious attack against the Regency of Algiers, in modern Algeria. Inadequate planning, particularly against unfavourable weather, led to the failure of the expedition.
A Maltese knight thrusts his dagger into the gate of Bab Azzoun, by Léon Galibert (1844)
Shipwreck of Christian ships in the bay of Algiers, 1541
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy from 1506 to 1555. He was heir to and then head of the rising House of Habsburg. His dominions in Europe included the Holy Roman Empire, extending from Germany to northern Italy with rule over the Austrian hereditary lands and Burgundian Low Countries, and Spain with its possessions of the southern Italian kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia. In the Americas, he oversaw the continuation of Spanish colonization and a short-lived German colonization. The personal union of the European and American territories he ruled was the first collection of realms labelled "the empire on which the sun never sets".
Portrait of Charles V, 1548
The entrance gate to the Prinsenhof, Dutch for "Princes' Court", in Ghent, where Charles V was born
A painting by Bernhard Strigel representing the extended Habsburg family with a young Charles in the middle
A 1519 portrait of Charles V by Bernard van Orley with the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece prominently displayed