The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras. The Ottoman forces were sailing westward from their naval station in Lepanto when they met the fleet of the Holy League, sailing east from Messina, Sicily; the Spanish Empire and the Venetian Republic were the main powers of the coalition, as the league was financed by Philip II of Spain and Venice was the main contributor of ships. In the history of naval warfare, Lepanto marks the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought entirely between rowing vessels, namely the galleys and galeasses which were the direct descendants of ancient trireme warships; the battle was in essence an "infantry battle on floating platforms". It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, involving more than 400 warships.

Over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the "Age of Sail". The victory of the Holy League is of great importance in the history of Europe and of the Ottoman Empire, marking the turning-point of Ottoman military expansion into the Mediterranean, although the Ottoman wars in Europe would continue for another century, it has long been compared to the Battle of Salamis, both for tactical parallels and for its crucial importance in the defense of Europe against imperial expansion. It was of great symbolic importance in a period when Europe was torn by its own wars of religion following the Protestant Reformation. Pope Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory, Philip II of Spain used the victory to strengthen his position as the "Most Catholic King" and defender of Christendom against Muslim incursion. Historian Paul K. Davis writes that, "More than a military victory, Lepanto was a moral one.

For decades, the Ottoman Turks had terrified Europe, the victories of Suleiman the Magnificent caused Christian Europe serious concern. The defeat at Lepanto further exemplified the rapid deterioration of Ottoman might under Selim II, Christians rejoiced at this setback for the Ottomans; the mystique of Ottoman power was tarnished by this battle, Christian Europe was heartened." The Christian coalition had been promoted by Pope Pius V to rescue the Venetian colony of Famagusta on the island of Cyprus, being besieged by the Turks in early 1571 subsequent to the fall of Nicosia and other Venetian possessions in Cyprus in the course of 1570. On 1 August the Venetians had surrendered after being reassured. However, the Ottoman commander, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, who had lost some 50,000 men in the siege, broke his word, imprisoning the Venetians. On 17 August Marco Antonio Bragadin was flayed alive and his corpse hung on Mustafa's galley together with the heads of the Venetian commanders, Astorre Baglioni, Alvise Martinengo and Gianantonio Querini.

The members of the Holy League were the Republic of Venice, the Spanish Empire, the Papal States, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchies of Savoy and Tuscany, the Knights Hospitaller and others. The banner for the fleet, blessed by the Pope, reached the Kingdom of Naples on 14 August 1571. There, in the Basilica of Santa Chiara, it was solemnly consigned to John of Austria, named the leader of the coalition after long discussions among the allies; the fleet moved to Sicily and, leaving Messina, reached the port of Viscardo in Cephalonia, where news arrived of the fall of Famagusta and of the torture inflicted by the Turks on the Venetian commander of the fortress, Marco Antonio Bragadin. All members of the alliance viewed the Ottoman navy as a significant threat, both to the security of maritime trade in the Mediterranean Sea and to the security of continental Europe itself. Spain was the largest financial contributor, though the Spaniards preferred to preserve most of their galleys for Spain's own wars against the nearby sultanates of the Barbary Coast rather than expend its naval strength for the benefit of Venice.

The combined Christian fleet was placed under the command of John of Austria with Marcantonio Colonna as his principal deputy. The various Christian contingents met the main force, that of Venice, in July and August 1571 at Messina, Sicily; the Christian fleet consisted of 206 galleys and six galleasses and was commanded by Spanish Admiral John of Austria, the illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V and half-brother of King Philip II of Spain, supported by the Spanish commanders Don Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga and Don Álvaro de Bazán, Genoan commander Gianandrea Doria. The Republic of Venice contributed 109 galleys and six galleasses, 49 galleys came from the Spanish Empire, 27 galleys of the Genoese fleet, seven galleys from the Papal States, five galleys from the Order of Saint Stephen and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, three galleys each from the Duchy of Savoy and the Knights of Malta and some owned galleys in Spanish service; this fleet of the Christian alliance was manned by oarsmen. In addition, it carried 20,000 fighting troops: 7,000 Spani

Peason is a small populated community and sawmill ghost town located on Louisiana highway 118 8.7 miles east of Hornbeck, the sawmill ghost town of Sandel, in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. The Peavy Wilson mill ran from 1918 to 1929 before being transported to Florida; as the northern lumber began to cut out additional locations were sought. After the railroad came through Louisiana it allowed a way for lumber to be shipped to market. Anderson J. "Jasper" Peavy worked his way up in the lumber industry in Texas becoming president of Peavy-Byrnes Lumber Company, Peavy-Moore Lumber Company, Peavy-Welsh Lumber Company. In 1916 Peavy received backing, purchased 40,000 acres in Ward 1, Sabine Parish, went into partnership with Riley J. Wilson, forming the Peavy Wilson Lumber Company. A site was selected in 1917 and construction was completed in 1918; the name chosen for the town was Peason, an acronym of the last names. Twelve miles of "tap line" track was laid from Peason to just north of Hornbeck at Sandel connecting to the Kansas City Southern Railroad and named the Christie and Eastern Railroad.

The line went through the turpentine mill of Shutts. The tracks were extended east to connect to the Red River and Gulf Line at Kurthwood, Louisiana. Peavy made Shreveport his headquarters and home until his death

Bankot Fort / Himmatgad Fort/ Fort Victoria बाणकोट चा किल्ला / हिम्मतगड is a fort located 47 km from Dapoli, in Ratnagiri district, of Maharashtra. This fort is an important fort in Ratnagiri district; the Fort is located on a prominent and commanding point for guarding the trade route along the Savitri River, which runs till, Mahad, a busy route in medieval times. It is a fort located on a hill near the sea. First record evidence about this fort is found in the records of Greek Traveller Ptolemy in first century AD, it was called as Mandargiri or Mandgor or Nanaguna. The Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang is supposed to have embarked in Bankot in 640 AD; this fort was captured by the Portuguese from Mohammed Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1548. It was named as Himmatgad. Due to rivalry between Tulaji Angre and Peshwas. Peshwas waged a war with Tulaji. In 1755 this fort surrendered to Commodore James of British fleet after the fall of Suvarnadurg. British forces named it as Fort Victoria, it was revealed by the British that it was not an economically viable deal to maintain the fort and it was handed over to Peshwas.

In 1837 the Mamlatdars office was moved from Bankot to Mandangad. The nearest town is Dapoli, 225 km from Mumbai and 194 km from Pune by road; the base village of the fort is Bankot, 47 km from Dapoli and 21 km from Shrivardhan. There are good hotels at Shrivardhan. Now tea and snacks are available in small hotels along the coastal road; the trekking path starts from the hillock west of the Bankot village. Now there is safe and wide road up to the fort, it takes about half an hour to reach the entrance gate of the fort. The fort is built by Lateritic rocks. Surrounding the fort is a moat dug up in the lateritic rock. There are two gates to the fort; the northern Entrance gate facing the Bankot creek is the main gate. The western gate opens up on a plateau; the main entrance has vestibules for the gate keepers. Climbing ahead is Nagarkhana. From the western doorway, the bastion over the ramparts can be reached. There is a secret entrance near the Bastion; this Bastion was built by the Siddis to strengthen Bankot Fort.

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