The battle belonged to overlapping Spanish-Ottoman, Habsburg-Ottoman, and Ottoman-Venetian conflicts, including the War of Cyprus. Peace in this period often meant a pause for rearmament within centuries of recurring war. Religion supplied cohesion and justification, while control of resources, Italy, and Mediterranean trade drove the conflict. Ottoman pressure and taxation on eastern routes made expensive voyages around Africa and across the Atlantic more attractive to European powers. Lepanto belongs within that competition over commercial access as well as the religious struggle.
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Mediterranean wars, trade, and Ottoman expansion
A strategic overview connects the long Ottoman wars to control of Mediterranean trade routes, Italy, and access to Asian commerce.