. When Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna, was appointed Viceroy of Sicily in 1610, his main goal after the elimination of the widespread
banditry on the island became the reconstruction of its naval forces. Upon his arrival, the Spanish squadron of Sicily had no seaworthy galleys, and the population feared an Ottoman attack. Osuna trusted the command of aforce to the
Palermitan Ottavio d'Aragona, his favourite naval commander. D'Aragona carried out some raids in Ottoman territory, attacking by surprise
La Goulette again and
raiding Cherchell with 200
musketeers, 50
arquebusiers, and 100
pikemen. Upon d'Aragona's return, Osuna ordered him to prepare a campaign to face the Ottoman fleet in its own waters. The Viceroy had been warned of the departure of a large fleet from
Constantinople, and although his informers did not notice the preparation of any attack against the island, he preferred to make sure of it. D'Aragona's galleys were reinforced, each one with 100
muskets, 50
spontoons, 20
bucklers, and 150
chuzos in case it was necessary to arm the rowers to help the galley's soldiers fight the Ottomans. Osuna's flagship, meanwhile, was reinforced with 160 musketeers and seven
cannons. According to the Viceroy's spies, the Ottoman fleet was composed of 12 galleys under Mahomet Pasha, a lieutenant of Nasauf Pasha, who remained in Constantinople to consult with
Sultan Ahmed I about issues concerning the
war with Persia. ==Battle==