Ninth siege of Gibraltar
Ninth Siege of Gibraltar | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Forces of Juan Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia | Gibraltar garrison loyal to Esteban de Villacreces | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Juan Alonso de Guzmán | Esteban de Villacreces |
History of Gibraltar |
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Timeline |
Gibraltar portal |
The ninth siege of Gibraltar was a fifteen-month-long
Background
In 1462,
Rodrigo Ponce de León, son of the second
Several years later, Beltrán de la Cueva, being a favorite of Henry IV, was given the post of Governor of Gibraltar. It was soon after that the War of the Castilian Succession began between Henry IV and his brother Alfonso, with Beltrán giving his support to Henry. Juan Alonso approached Alfonso in order to obtain an agreement that, if he sided with Alfonso against the king, he would be granted "lordship of Gibraltar, both city and fortress". The deal was agreed upon and it was for this reason that Juan Alonso sought to reclaim Gibraltar in April 1466 and began the ninth siege of Gibraltar.[2][3]
Siege
The siege began, to the surprise of Esteban de Villacreces, the lieutenant of De la Cueva, and actual defender of the Gibraltar garrison, with a frontal assault in the middle of the day. Esteban sent messages to both Beltrán and Henry IV, requesting aid to support the garrison, but they could not divert any troops or supplies to the town. Instead, Esteban began gathering food, weapons, and soldiers from the people of Gibraltar to help resist Juan Alonso's assault. Juan Alonso, however, had already breached the town's walls by that time and Esteban was forced to retreat with his troops into the heavily fortified garrison, giving Juan Alonso control of the town as a whole.[2][3]
While Esteban had sufficient provisions for a time and enough weapons to hold off direct assaults, he also relied upon Beltrán or Henry IV eventually sending reinforcements so the town of Gibraltar could be retaken. Juan Alonso, however, used his troops and armaments to continually attack the garrison, the siege of which lasted sixteen months. During the siege, Juan Alonso obtained further troops and weapons and put his son,
References
- ISBN 9781846030161. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Staff writer (1877). "Gibraltar". Harper's Magazine. 55. Harper's Magazine Foundation: 81–82. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ a b c Mann, J. H. (1873). A history of Gibraltar and its sieges. Provost. pp. 195–203. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
ninth siege of gibraltar.
- Saunders. pp. 71–73. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
ninth siege of gibraltar.
- Leavitt, Trow, & Co.: 110. Retrieved October 21, 2012.