In the east, Habsburg Spain fought alongside other Christian allies against the Ottoman Empire, taking part in numerous actions and campaigns in and around the Mediterranean over the period. The naval competition culminated in victory for the Christian alliance at the battle of Lepanto in 1571, the last naval battle in the Mediterranean to see the large scale use of galleys by both sides. In the middle of the century, Spain developed the galleon for naval warfare, using them in convoys to link her possessions in the Philippines, the Americas and Europe.