 Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries several Holy Leagues were organized by the Papacy, the most famous of which finally managed to defeat the Ottoman fleet at the third Battle of Lepanto.However the resurgent threat of the Ottoman fleet continued until the early 18th century, and came again to the fore in the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War of 1714–1718.As with the previous Leagues, the Papal States organized the expedition, the Republic of Venice financed it and a third party - usually a Catholic kingdom - was to provide the backbone of the fleet.