Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera expedition (1563)

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera expedition (1563)
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars

The defeat of Spanish troops in Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
Date23 July – 2 August 1563
Location
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Spain Spanish Empire Ottoman Empire
Gomera Berbers
Commanders and leaders
Spain Sancho de Leyva
Spain Pedro de Venegas
Spain Álvaro de Bazán		 Unknown
Strength
7,000 men
50 galleys		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy Unknown

In 1563, a Spanish military expedition was launched to reconquer the exclave of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, which was under the control of the Ottomans. The campaign ended in a fiasco for the Spanish troops.

Background

In 1522, Spain lost the peñón to a Moroccan Berber attack that resulted in the deaths of the entire Spanish garrison. Ali Abu Hassun, the new Wattasid ruler of Morocco in 1554, then gave the peñón to the Ottoman troops who had assisted him in gaining the throne.[1] In 1525, the Spanish made an attempt to recover the islet but were defeated. After the victory at Oran, king Philip II of Spain decided to take advantage by launching a counter strike against Barbary haven, which is Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.[2]

Expedition

In 1563, the Spanish prepared another campaign against Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera. The command was given to Don Sanco de Leyva. The Spanish prepared an armada of 50 galleys[3][4] and 7,000 men.[5] The Spanish armada left Málaga on July 23. At Peñón, the Spanish governor, Pedro Venegas, made a plan by scaling the walls at night. He had fifty volunteers, accompanied by the eighth galleys of Álvaro de Bazán; however, the assault ended in failure after someone made a noise which alarmed the garrison and alarmed the others by firing cannons and dawn had arrived.[6][7]

Despite this failure, Sancho did not give up and landed between 4,000 and 5,000 men six miles away from the rock in an attempt to capture it by land, however, the night assault again ended in failure as the defenders were alarmed. Ottoman galleys began appearing to support the garrison. The failure of the assault frustrated Sancho who held a council. The majority agreed to withdraw, except Álvaro de Bazán, who argued for the continuation of the campaign. He even proposed ideas for another assault, but Sancho ordered the troops to reembark.[8][9]

The Spanish troops began leaving, but during their retreat, the Ottoman garrison and the Gomera Berbers attacked them with their artillery, inflicting heavy losses on the Spanish.[10][11][12] The Muslims had acquired great loot the Spanish left.[13] The Spanish returned to Malaga on August 2.[14]

References

  1. ^ Kissling, Hans Joachim; Spuler, Bertold; et al. (29 October 1996). The Last Great Muslim Empires: History of the Muslim World. Translated by Bagley, F. R. C. Princeton, New Jersey: Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-55876-112-4. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Roger Bigelow Merriman, p. 111
  3. ^ Roger Bigelow Merriman, p. 111
  4. ^ Agustín R. Rodríguez González
  5. ^ Francisco Feliu de la Peña, p. 32
  6. ^ Agustín R. Rodríguez González
  7. ^ Roger Bigelow Merriman, p. 111
  8. ^ Agustín R. Rodríguez González
  9. ^ Roger Bigelow Merriman, p. 112
  10. ^ Francisco Feliu de la Peña, p. 32
  11. ^ E. Leroux, p. 245
  12. ^ Agustín R. Rodríguez González
  13. ^ Agustín R. Rodríguez González
  14. ^ Roger Bigelow Merriman, p. 112

Sources

  • Agustín R. Rodríguez González (2017), Álvaro de Bazán, Capitán general del Mar Océano.[1]
  • E. Leroux (1905), Les Sources inédites de l'histoire du Maroc de 1530 à 1845.[2]
  • Francisco Feliu de la Peña (1846), Historical-political-military-administrative-religious legend of the Peñon de Velez de la Gomera.[3]
  • Roger Bigelow Merriman (1934), The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New, Vol IV, Philip the Prudent.[4]
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