The siege of Barcelona ( ca, Setge de Barcelona, ) was a thirteen month battle at the end of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

, which pitted

Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

(backed by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, i.e. the Grand Alliance) against

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mo ...

, backed by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in a contest for the Spanish crown.

Prelude

At the end of the century, after the death of the childless Charles II (1700), the Crown of Spain went to his chosen successor, Philip V of the House of Bourbon. The Grand Alliance of Austria, England and the Dutch Republic gave military support to a Habsburg claimant of the crown, Archduke Charles as Charles III of Spain, resulting in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). The Principality of Catalonia initially accepted Philip V following prolonged negotiations between Philip V and the

Catalan Courts The Catalan Courts or General Court of Catalonia ( ca, Corts Catalanes or ) was the policymaking and parliamentary body of the Principality of Catalonia from the 13th to the 18th century. Composed by the king and the three estates of the rea ...

(the parliament). However, repressive mesures of the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Francisco de Velasco and authoritarian decisions of the king (some of them contrary to Catalan legislation), as well as the economic policy and distrust to the French absolutism caused Catalonia to switch sides. During the early part of the war,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, the capital of

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 no ...

, had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surrounded the city. These troops later captured the fort of

Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...

, and used it to bombard the city into submission on 9 October. The Principality of Catalonia, as well as the other realms of the Crown of Aragon (

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, and

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

), quickly accepted Charles III as their new monarch. Charles summoned the last Catalan Courts of history. After a series of advances and stalemates of both sides, geopolitical changes in Europe led to peace. Britain and the Dutch Republic reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 11 April 1713, the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

. Austria reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 March 1714,

Treaty of Rastatt The Treaty of Rastatt was a peace treaty between France and Austria that was concluded on 7 March 1714 in the Baden city of Rastatt to end the War of the Spanish Succession between both countries. The treaty followed the Treaty of Utrecht of 11 A ...

. The Holy Roman Empire reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 September 1714, Treaty of Baden.

Battle

As most of Catalan population and political class supported the claim of the Archduke against Philip V, the Franco-Spanish forces were not strong enough to attempt a capture of the city until 1713. When the

was signed between April and July, the Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Mallorca remained the last realms in Spain of which still fought for the cause of Charles III. Despite the evacuation of the Allied armies, in July 1713 the

Junta de Braços The Junta de Braços or Braços Generals (''States-General'') was, during the early modern age, an institution of the Principality of Catalonia, convened by the Generalitat of Catalonia in cases of emergency or urgency. It was composed by the rep ...

(parliamentary assembly without the king) of Catalonia opted to unilaterally remain in the war in order to proctect Catalan constitutions, freedoms and lives from Bourbon punishment, rising the Army of Catalonia and attempting to obtain help from Britain and Austria. By 25 July of that year, the city of Barcelona was surrounded by Bourbon forces under the command of Restaino Cantelmo-Stuart, Duke of Popoli, but attacks upon it were unfruitful due to the scarcity of artillery. The Bourbons then waited for a 20,000 man reinforcement force, which arrived in April–May 1714. Under the command of Duke of Berwick, the assault was renewed despite the efforts of the Catalans to break the siege by sending troops behind enemy lines. Thanks to the arrival of French high-caliber cannons, the Bourbon armies began the systematic bombardment of the city. The objective was not the defenses of the city but the houses and the citizens of Barcelona. After a failed attempt to enter in the city on 30 August, the Bourbons finally triumphed on 11 September, when the assault which started at 4:30 in the morning was successful, as the wall fell in several places and the ''Conseller en cap'' and chief commander of the

Coronela La Coronela () was the name of the armed force of the town of Barcelona, and its objective was to defend the city during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was formed, in great part, by craftsmen and organized under the commandment of the ' ...

(the urban militia of Barcelona),

Rafael Casanova Rafael Casanova i Comes (; 1660 – 2 May 1743) was a Catalan jurist and supporter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as a claimant to the Crown of Spain during the War of the Spanish succession. He became mayor of Barcelona and commander in chief ...

, was wounded during the fight. The day was marked by fighting in the streets, led by

Antoni de Villarroel Antonio de Villarroel y Pelaez (1656, Barcelona – 1726, A Coruña) was a Spanish military commander in the service of Philip V until 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession. After the disgrace of the Duke of Orléans, he switched to th ...

, the general commander of the Army of Catalonia, who was also wounded. Finally, the Catalan leaders decided to surrender and start the negotiations about capitulation. The talks were extended until the next day, due to the desires of Philip V to punish the population without any kind of agreement, but Berwick, fearing a prolonged struggle, formally accepted to respect the lives of Barcelonians.

Aftermath

The Catalan defeat represented the end of the Principality of Catalonia as a separate political entity, as its independent institutions and legislation were suppressed and replaced by Castilian ones in order to establish absolutism.Mercader, J. ''Felip V i Catalunya.'' (Barcelona, 1968) This event is now commemorated every 11 September as the

National Day of Catalonia The National Day of Catalonia ( ca, Diada Nacional de Catalunya , es, Día Nacional de Cataluña) is a day-long festival in Catalonia and one of its official national symbols, celebrated annually on 11 September. It commemorates the fall of Bar ...

, known in Catalan as the ''Diada Nacional de Catalunya''. The surrender of the pro-Archduke forces to the Franco-Spanish army in 1714 was not only the end of the war, but also a phase in the centralization of various monarchies on the European continent which had been going on for two centuries. With the War of the Spanish Succession completed, Spain evolved from a composite monarchy made-up of different states to a centralized kingdom. The defenders of the city were buried in a cemetery, now a ''plaça'' (Catalan: square) called

Fossar de les Moreres The Fossar de les Moreres (, literally "Grave of the Mulberries") is a memorial square in Barcelona ( Catalonia, Spain), adjacent to the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar. The plaza was built over a cemetery where defenders of the city were b ...

, where Catalans gather every 11 September, known as the

or ''la Diada''. The former market hall Mercat del Born covers archaeological ruins which were part of the La Ribera district of Barcelona that was demolished after the defeat of Catalonia in 1714. The alleged abandonment of the pro-Habsburg defenders of Barcelona was one of the criticisms made by the opponents of Robert Harley during his impeachment by the British Parliament after the war.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Documents about ''the case of the Catalans''
dated on 1714, at the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

, UK. * Journal of the House of Lords: volume 19, 2 August 1715, ''Further Articles of Impeachment against E. Oxford brought from H.C.'
Article VI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcelona (1713-14) Military history of Catalonia Siege of Barcelona (1713–1714)

Battles in Catalonia

1713 in Europe 1714 in Europe Conflicts in 1713 Conflicts in 1714 1713 in Spain 1714 in Spain 18th century in Barcelona Sieges of the War of the Spanish Succession War of the Spanish Succession