No great glory in chasing a Pirate. The manipulation of news during the Tunis Campaigns of 1534 and 1535

Charles V’s conquest of Tunis in 1535 remains one of the best known incidents of his reign. It played a key role in the projection of a positive image of the emperor as an idealistic crusader. The propaganda has obscured how the event was understood at the time. This article examines the tactics used to control and manipulate information, both on the part of the emperor and, in particular, by the French and English courts. It traces the strategy of secrecy and misinformation used by the imperial chancelry during the preparations for the campaign, and the emperor’s extraordinary efforts to control information in 1535. Why this failed and how the French and English courts responded to these events takes up much of this study, which sets out the varied tactics used by these Christian monarchs to deprive the emperor of publicity. A fascinating example of how news manipulation and falsification as well as propaganda shaped world politics then as much as they do now.