Lord of the Sea

Senyor del mar

Lord of the SeaSenyor del Mar (or, on occasion, Lady of the SeaSenyora del Mar) is a title held by the person with the highest command over the Mediterranean Sea. Originally, the Lord of the Sea was a position appointed by the Consulate of the Sea, but for the past century the title has been synonymous with that of the monarch of the Mediterranean Crown. Therefore, Lord of the Sea is now often used as a shorthand for the full titles of the monarch, which are:

King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Murcia, Granada, Castile, Piemond, Venice, Naples, Corsica, Sardinia, the Balkans, and Carthage, Count of Barcelona, Toulose, Auvergne, and Provence, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Duke of Parma and Modena, Lord of Ceuta, Colonel in Chief of the Mediterranean Armed Forces, and Lord of the SeaRei d'Aragó, València, Mallorques, Múrcia, Granada, Castella, Piemont, Venècia, Nàpols, Còrsega, Sardenya, els Balcans i Cartagena, Comte of Barcelona, Tolosa, Alvèrnia i Provença, Gran Duc de Toscana, Duc de Parma i Mòdena, Senyor de Ceuta, Coronel en Cap de les Forces Armades Mediterrànies i Senyor del Mar

contents

Creation

1260 (Creation of the Consulate of the Sea)

Form of Address

Previously, Honorable Sir/Lady
Currently, Your Majesty

History

Origins

The figure of the Lord of the Sea has its origins in the year 1260, when James I "the Conqueror"Jaume I "el Conqueridor", sovereign of the Crown of Aragon, created the first Consulate of the SeaConsolat de Mar in Barcelona. The person who led the Consulate, appointed by the Monarch, received the title of Lord of the Sea.
For several centuries, the Lord of the Sea was an extremely powerful person who was partially outside of the control of the King. As the law of the Consulate of the Sea began to be adopted by countries outside of the Crown, the influence of the Lord of the Sea also extended beyond the Crown's borders. The Consulate began to build headquarters all around Europe and northern Africa, until almost all major cities in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and north-eastern Atlantic Ocean had one.

Beyond royal authority

By the 16th century, due to the role of the Consulate in international law, the Lord of the Sea was no longer a title appointed by the King. Instead, when the previous bearer of the title passed away, all consul-generals met and chose one of them to take on the title. During this era, the Lords of the Sea and the Crown got into several diplomatic conflicts, but the various Monarchs decided to tolerate this tension.

Royal takeover

Adelada I of Carthage was the Lady of the Sea at the end of the 18th century, when James III "the Thoughtless"Jaume III "l'Inconscient" went on his conquest spree in northern Africa and eastern Europe. In 1780, when he conquered Carthage, he took over all of Adelada's titles and became the new Lord of the Sea.
In 1793, when Peter V "the Serene"Pere V "el Serè" inherited the throne after the death in battle of his father, he devoted his life to bringing stability to the Crown again. The high nobility pressured him into keeping the title for himself, but as a compromise, he organized the Pact of PalermoPacte de Palerm. This treaty, signed by all countries in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, ensured that the Lord of the Sea would no longer have absolute authority. Instead, he and independent representatives of each of these countries (established as the Organization of the Pact of Palermo) would have to agree on any decisions taken that affect countries beyond the Crown.