Antonio Rincon
Encyclopedia
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, he made various missions to Istanbul between 1530 and 1541. . While an effective diplomat, Rincon's enemies considered him a renegade
Renegade
- Games :*Command & Conquer: Renegade, a 2002 first-person shooter video game*Renegade , a 1986 video game*Renegade Legion, a 1990 board game series including the video game Renegade: the Battle for Jacob's Star...
and he some later observers would criticize him for promoting Machiavellian policies.
Antonio Rincon was employed by France on several missions to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
between 1522 and 1525. At that time, following the 1522 Battle of Bicoque, Francis I was attempting to ally with king Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548...
of Poland. As Sigismond was not forthcoming, Francis I instead chose to support Janos Zapolya in Hungary. A Franco-Hungarian alliance
Franco-Hungarian alliance
A Franco-Hungarian alliance was formed in October 1528 between Francis I of France and John Zápolya, king of Hungary.-Background:France had already been looking for allies in Central Europe. His ambassador, Antonio Rincon, was employed on several missions to Poland and Hungary between 1522 and 1525...
would be concluded in 1528 through a treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
.
Antonio Rincon was sent by King Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
to the Ottoman court in July 1530 seemingly to negotiate a military agreement against Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. He also attempted to negotiate an Ottoman loan to the French crown, but was denied it on the ground that a Muslim could not lend money to Christians.
Rincon was again sent to the Ottoman court in March 1532. He told one of his friends (count Guido Rangone, a Modenese soldier whose expertise as a military engineer had been demonstrated in the remodelling of the defenses at Pinerolo) that the king of France had given him various secret commissions, none of which he could reveal, as he had been expressly commanded by the king not to say a word about them "either to the Grand Master or to the Admiral of France, both of whom were opposed to his warlike plans... " In fact, he was to try to obtain an Ottoman offensive against Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, rather than the offensive against Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
that the Ottomans were planning. After an illness, he arrived too late to change their plans.
Jean de La Forêt
Jean de La Forêt
Jean de La Forêt, also Jean de La Forest or Jehan de la Forest was the first official French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, serving from 1534 to 1537. Antonio Rincon had preceded him as an envoy to the Ottoman Empire from 1530 to 1533...
became the first official French ambassador to the Ottoman court in 1534. Rincon in turn became an official French Ambassador to the Ottoman court from 1538 to 1541.
1541 January: Rincon and his party arrived from Istanbul at Venice, ill and weary from stormy travel. There he met Lorenzo Gritti, a surviving son of the Venetian doge (his adventurous brother Lodovico Gritti
Lodovico Gritti
Lodovico Gritti Aluise Aloysi Luigi Louis Gritti, Ludovico or, as the Venetians called him, Alvise Gritti, and the Hungarians Lajos Gritti. He was influential in the Hungarian Kingdom under the reign of King John I of Hungary. He was also a minister of the Turkish sultan, and regent of Hungary...
was dead), and a Genoan named Cesare Fregoso. In their company, he made the hazardous journey that "in those times of jealousy and division" separated Venice from Paris. He and Fregoso were killed that July on way their back to Istanbul/Constantinople.
Imperial forces were apparently responsible for the assassination, which violated established standards of diplomatic immunity. The event triggered, or was a pretext for, the Italian War of 1542–1546 between Francis I and Charles V.