The Battle of Cambrils or the Massacre of Cambrils took place in December 1640 during the

Reapers' War The Reapers' War ( ca, Guerra dels Segadors, , es, Guerra de los Segadores), also known as the Catalan Revolt, was a conflict that affected a large part of the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring ef ...

. The revolt had started in May–June 1640 and as a reaction the Spanish Army had occupied

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

in September. On December 8 a large army under

Pedro Fajardo de Zúñiga y Requesens Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

headed for Barcelona, passing through

Cambrils Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. History Roman empire to Midd ...

. Here, a small force of Catalan rebels attempted to ambush this much larger force, before withdrawing into the town and attempting to defend it. After several days of bombardment and heavy fighting the Spanish captured the town.
When the defenders tried to surrender, some 700 of them were massacred. The three leaders were quickly tried and executed on the

garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...

. The next day, more people were hanged and the city was sacked.
The Spanish army then continued in the direction of Barcelona, taking

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

on December 24. Later this army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Montjuïc on January 23.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambrils, Battle Of History of Catalonia Battles of the Reapers' War 1640 in Spain Conflicts in 1640