It was justified in its clemency, for in future none of his ships ever harmed a Ragusan. Venetian intrigues again threatened the Republic’s independence, and during the negotiations for a new Christian League it required all the diplomatic skill and eloquence of Francesco Gondola, the Ragusan ambassador in Rome, to save the city from destruction. In a despatch to the Senate, dated April 1, 1570, he wrote as follows:— “This war gives food for reflection to the thoughtful, especially with regard to the State of Ragusa, considering the capital malignity of the Venetians against us; it is recorded and confirmed that at the war of Castelnuovo in 1539 they tried to induce Andrea Doria, general of the Emperor (Charles V.), to capture Ragusa before aught else; and they were so keen on this proposal, that they only gave way when Doria opposed an absolute refusal. He informed them that the Emperor had expressly recommended the said Republic to him, and enjoined him to protect it and guard it in the same manner as the cities of his own kingdom of Naples.... Upon these words the Venetians abandoned their project; but it is believed that our country may suffer much, and that this war will not end without many tribulations.” On April 8 he added: “The Emperor’s ambassador in Rome has been informed from Venice that the Senate has determined to place a garrison in Ragusa, so that the Turks may not occupy the city; and that if the Republic refuses to admit it, they have decided to seize it by force, which means that they wish to capture the town with the excuse of preventing the Turks from doing so, in order that Christendom may not be shocked (‘perchè la Christianità non strilli’).” The Spanish and Imperial ambassadors took the side of the Ragusans, and the Pope also favoured them, the Venetian representative alone declaring that “it was right that the League should not only burn the city of Ragusa, but raze it to the ground and destroy its people, so that their seed should not be found anywhere.” On June 27 he wrote as follows:—