The Crown of Aragon as a Mediterranean naval power

How dominant was the Crown of Aragon in the mid-to-late fifteenth-century Mediterranean?

It was a major western Mediterranean power with a comparatively professional navy, but its effective strength varied with central authority and the cohesion of its scattered possessions.

Aragon controlled or influenced important territories including Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, Mallorca, and parts of the western Mediterranean. That reach made it a leading western Mediterranean power even after it had pulled back from some earlier eastern possessions. Its comparatively permanent and professional naval capability was unusual for the period and helped confront Barbary piracy. Many vessels also performed commercial work rather than existing as a purely military fleet. Because the Crown was a composite monarchy, effective naval strength depended heavily on how much personal authority a ruler could exercise over its scattered territories and resources.