Andrea Doria was born in Genoa in 1466. He became a mercenary in the service of France, where he distinguished himself as a competent military leader. A financial disagreement with the French king led Doria to seek employment with the German emperor in 1528. He became the de facto ruler of Genoa. He supplied the German emperor with war galleys and participated in the naval struggle against the pirates, the French and the Ottomans in the Mediterranean Sea. As “Captain of the Sea” he participated in naval campaigns until he was very old, achieving glorious victories and surviving crashing defeats. He successfully deflected many conspiracies against himself and his family. He died in 1560.