Bombardment of Salé (1628)
| Bombardment of Salé (1628) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Empire |
 Republic of Salé | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Tomás de Larraspuru y Churruca | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 35 ships | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Low | Unknown | ||||||
The bombardment of Salé in May 1628 was carried out by Spanish troops commanded by Tomás de Larraspuru y Churruca against the Moroccan city of Salé, which at that time was a city-state republic ruled by Barbary corsairs.
Background
[edit]Following the death of Ahmad al-Mansur in 1603, a war of succession broke out in Morocco, prompting other groups to rebel,[1] including the Republic of Salé, a city-state ruled by Barbary corsairs.[2] Among the main targets of the corsairs of Salé was Spain,[2] which held several cities on the Moroccan coast.[3] During the 1620s, they besieged La Mamora several times, being expelled each time. In 1628, they attempted another siege but were driven back by a Spanish fleet of 35 ships commanded by Tomás de Larraspuru y Churruca, causing many casualties among the corsairs.[4]
Bombardment
[edit]A few days after the siege, Tomás de Larraspuru went to Salé with his fleet with the aim of bombing the city.[4] The bombing lasted for several days and was a success, costing few casualties to the Spanish and achieving its objective of restoring normality to the presidios.[5][6]
Aftermath
[edit]Relations between Salé and Spain improved after the conflict, there were even attempts to peacefully incorporate the city into Spain.[7] However, this never happened, mainly because internal conflicts in Morocco resumed in 1636.[8] La Mamora was besieged by Morocco several times until it finally fell in 1681.[9]
Other Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast would fall, such as Larache in 1689[10] or Asilah in 1691.[11] However, other cities would resist these sieges, such as Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, which today remain Spanish enclaves.[12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ Mikaberidze 2011, p. 87.
- ^ a b Pennell 2013, p. 78.
- ^ Johnson 2021, p. 153.
- ^ a b Duro 1898, p. 87.
- ^ Duro 1898, p. 87–88.
- ^ Potter 1960, p. 43.
- ^ Martín-Corrales 2020, p. 20.
- ^ Arsenal 2018, p. 296.
- ^ de Molina & Gallent 1939, p. 9.
- ^ Rézette 1976, p. 41.
- ^ Daoud 2002, p. 37.
- ^ O'Reilly 1994, p. 1.
- ^ Lorca 2025, p. 152.
- ^ Zurlo 2005, p. 101.
Bibliography
[edit]- Mikaberidze, Alexander (22 July 2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: 2 volumes [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-59884-337-8.
- Pennell, C. R. (October 2013). Morocco: From Empire to Independence. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-78074-455-1.
- Johnson, Jane (5 August 2021). The Sultan's Wife. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-78954-528-9.
- Duro, Cesáreo Fernández (1898). Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León (in Spanish). Est. tipográfico "Sucesores de Rivadeneyra,".
- Potter, John Stauffer (1960). The Treasure Diver's Guide. Doubleday.
- Martín-Corrales, Eloy (15 December 2020). Muslims in Spain, 1492-1814: Living and Negotiating in the Land of the Infidel. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-44376-1.
- Arsenal, León (2018). Enemigos del imperio (in Spanish). ISBN 978-84-414-3901-6.
- de Molina, Triso; Gallent, Guillermo Guastavino (1939). La toma de la Mámora: Relatada por Tirso de Molina [pseud.]. M. Boscá, impresor.
- Rézette, Robert (1976). THE SPANISH ENCLAVES IN MOROCCO Par ROBERT REZETTE. Nouvelles Editions Latines.
- Daoud, Zakya (2002). Gibraltar: Improbable frontière : De Colomb aux clandestins (in French). Séguier. ISBN 978-2-84049-310-5.
- O'Reilly, Gerry (1994). Ceuta and the Spanish Sovereign Territories: Spanish and Moroccan Claims. ISBN 978-1-897643-06-8.
- Lorca, Sabine (29 March 2025). Siege Engineers. Publifye AS. ISBN 978-82-352-4782-7.
- Zurlo, Yves (2005). Ceuta et Melilla: Histoire, représentations et devenir de deux enclaves espagnoles (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-7475-7656-7.