Captain José Ramón Vallespín vindicates the role of the sailors of Aragon in their expansion through the Mediterranean
The 'Days of the Sea' highlight the Navy of the Crown of Aragon
Captain José Ramón Vallespín, director of the Department of Studies and Research of the Institute of Naval History and Culture, director of 'Naval History Magazine' edited by the General Subdirectorate of Publications and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Defense, gave the conference 'The Aragón Navy', within the 'Days of the Sea' organized by the Frax Foundation with the collaboration of Benidorm City Council.
The Culture Classroom of the Mediterranean Foundation hosted the lecture of the speaker who reviewed for just over an hour the importance of the Navy of the Kingdom of Aragon which allowed it to expand throughout the Mediterranean thanks to the technological revolution that Aragonese engineers introduced in the ships, both military and commercial, which took place, especially, in the dockyards of cities such as Barcelona or Valencia.
The speaker delved into the development of the Aragonese Navy from the 13th century and its role in the incorporations of the kingdoms of Mallorca and Valencia to the crown and the subsequent incorporations of Naples, Sardinia, Malta, Sicily, Naples or the duchies of Athens and Neopatria. He also influenced the personality of monarchs such as Jaume I, Pere el Gran or Alfons el Magnànim and in the role of Roger de Llúria or Roger de Flor, his most recognized admirals.
The Navy of the Kingdom of Aragon would later, after the merger with Castile, be the base that shaped the fleet that dominated the seas for several centuries during the times of the empire.
The event, which began at 8:30 p.m., was attended by members of the municipal corporation, the president of the Frax Foundation, Matías Pérez Such, and a good number of people who enjoyed the speech of the capital of Navío Vallespín.
The next appointment with the 'Days of the Sea' will be on Thursday, May 23, on the same stage and will be led by Captain Abel Romero Junquera, an analyst at the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies of the Ministry of Defense. The conference will be titled 'Geopolitics and security in the Arctic'.