Spanish conquest of Oran (1732)
Spanish expedition to Oran | |
---|---|
Part of the Spanish-Barbary wars | |
Mers el-Kebir, Regency of Algiers | |
Result |
Spanish victory[1] |
- Regency of Algiers
- Beylik of Oran
Mohamed Boutaleb
12 ships of the line[4]
50 frigates[4]
7 galleys[4]
26 galiots[4]
4 brigs[4]
97 xebecs[4]
Several gunboats and bomb vessels[4]
109 transport ships[4]
Unknown minor vessels
Unknown number of ships
142 pieces of artillery captured[2]
The Spanish conquest of Oran and Mers el-Kebir took place from 15 June to 2 July 1732, between the
Background
During the
The rumour that Spain was preparing for another expedition, was cause for alarm for the Emperor Charles VI, thinking that Spain wanted to occupy the Italian territories held by the Austrians again. When all the preparations had been concluded, with the aim of calming the other European powers, Philip V published a decree which stated his intention of reconquering Oran.[15]
Preparations of the expedition
The expedition began to organise itself on 16 March 1732, in the port of
On 7 June, Don José Carrillo de Albornoz, Duke of Montemar, who Philip V had chosen as leader of the expedition, attended the Convent of Santísima Faz, to pray for protection and the success of his plan.[17] The port began filling up with masts, and every type of sail, conceivable, and by the end of May, Campo Florido informed the Spanish General, Don Alejandro de la Motte, that he had solved the embargo of all the transport ships nearby. Everything had been planned, down to the last detail, and the expedition was ready to set sail.[18]
The fleet
The great fleet consisted of 12 ships of the line, 50 frigates, 7 galleys and 26 galiots, 4 brigs, 97 xebecs, several gunboats and bomb vessels, approximately 109 transport ships, and several minor ships and vessels of different classes,[4] in total, the ships of the fleet numbered about 500–600, and the supreme commander of the fleet was the veteran naval officer Don Francisco Javier Cornejo.[4] The fleet caused great astonishment in all Europe, and as a writer of that time, said:
Never before was the Mediterranean Sea covered in such a variety of flags.[4]
The army
The army was led by the Duke of Montemar.[4] The contingent consisted of 23 generals, 19 brigadiers and 129 officers.[4]
The infantry consisted of 32 battalions; the artillery battalion (600 men and 60 pieces of artillery and 20 mortars), the regiments of Spanish and Walloon Guards (each with 4 battalions), the regiments of Spain, Soria, Vitoria, Cantabria and Asturias (each with 2 battalions), the regiments of Ireland, Ulster and Namur (each with 1 battalion), the regiments of Aragon, Hainaut, Antwerp and First and Third of Swiss (each with 2 battalions), and a company of riflemen, guides, all born in Oran, and administrative, legal and medical personnel.[4][5] In total 23,100 men.[4][5]
The cavalry was composed by the regiments Queen and Prince (each with 417 men) and Santiago and Granada (each with 419 men), and another 4 regiments of Spanish Dragoons (each with 3 squads).[5] In total 3,372 men.[5]
Expedition
On 15 June 1732, with all troops on board, and all preparations completed, the fleet was at anchor, and the next day the fleet began its departure in perfect formation, offering a wonderful spectacle. The Spanish soldier and poet, Eugenio Gerardo Lobo, who took part in the expedition, dedicated his poetry to the Spanish expedition:[19]
Ve, lucido escuadrón, ve, fuerte armada,
Del monarca de España empeño augusto,
Y el pendón infeliz del moro adusto,
Su luna llore en ti siempre eclipsada.[19]
A few days after, the fleet was obliged, due to contrary winds, to take cover near the
Conquest of Oran and Mers el-Kebir
After midday, the
De la Motte and his army continued to advance till they reached
Consequences
On 5 July a solemn Te Deum was sung in Oran to commemorate the victory.
Montemar was received with great expectation in Seville on 15 August, Philip V presented him with a chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a reward for the service to his country.[23] Also Don José Patiño was rewarded with the same honour, as he had planned the expedition.[23]
Bey Bouchelaghem wasn't resigned to the loss of his beloved city.[24] Regretting the cowardice he had shown by abandoning the city, he tried many times to retrieve it, by attacking it over the following months.[24] The Spaniards could not move into the interior however, and returned most of their forces to Spain, leaving the two cities with enough men to defend them. At the end of August the Bey closed in on Oran with more than 10,000 troops, but they were defeated by the Spanish, causing them more than 2,000 casualties.[24] The Algerians attacked the city on the 12th of December then on June 10 in 1733 without notable success. In 1734, Bouchelaghem attacked the center of El-Ayoun around Oran and reached the gates of the city, but was unable to occupy it. Oran and Mers-el-Kebir remained under tight siege for more than fifty years.[25] The city was to remain under Spanish control until 1792.[26]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Doncel p.264
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Doncel p.263
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Doncel p.262
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Doncel p.259
- ^ a b c d e Doncel p.260
- ^ Thomas Salmon (1739). Modern History: Or, the Present State of All Nations: Describing Their Respective Situations, Persons, Habits, Buildings, Manners, Laws ... Being the Most Complete and Correct System of Geography and Modern History Extant in Any Language. Bettesworth and Hitch. pp. 96–.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
- ISBN 978-9961-61-173-9.
- ^ Doncel 262–263
- ^ Algeria: Moniteur algerién. Journal officiel de la colonie. nr. 532-880 (5 avril 1843-10 fevr. 1848) 2 v (in French). 1846.
- ^ The Rise of the Great Powers 1648-1815
- ^ Mckay / The Rise of the Powers
- ^ Suárez Fernández p.276
- ^ Doncel p.254
- ^ a b c d Doncel p.255
- ^ a b c Doncel p.256
- ^ a b Doncel p.257
- ^ Doncel 258–259
- ^ a b c d e f Doncel p.261
- ^ a b Martinez-Valverde / Enciclopedia General del Mar
- ^ Esterhazy, Louis-Joseph-Ferdinand Walsin (Général) Auteur du texte (1840). De la domination turque dans l'ancienne régence d'Alger / par M. Walsin Esterhazy,...
- ^ Doncel p.265
- ^ a b Doncel p.266
- ^ a b c Doncel p.267
- ^ المدنى 1965, p. 481
- ^ Doncel / Presencia de España en Orán 1509-1792
References
- (in Spanish) Sánchez Doncel, Gregorio. Presencia de España en Orán 1509-1792. T. San Ildefonso (1991) ISBN 978-84-600-7614-8
- (in Spanish) Arbeloa Romá, Armando. La expedición contra Orán del año 1732. Universidad de Alicante.
- Mckay, Derek (1983). The Rise of the Great Powers, 1648-1815. New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-48554-1.
- (in Spanish) Martínez-Valverde y Martínez, Carlos. Enciclopedia General del Mar. Garriga, 1957.
- Symcox, Geoffrey (1973). War, Diplomacy, and Imperialism, 1618-1763. New York: Harper Torchbooks. ISBN 0-06-139500-5.
- (in Spanish) Suárez Fernández, Luis. Historia general de España y América: La España de las reformas: Hasta el final del reinado de Carlos IV. (1984) ISBN 84-321-2119-3
- المدنى, أحمد توفيق (1965). كتاب حرب الثلاثمائة سنة بين الجزائر واسبانيا 1492 – 1792 [The Three Hundred Years' War between Algeria and Spain 1492 - 1792] (in Arabic). الجزائر: الشركة الوطنية للنشر والتوزيع.