The siege of Barcelona (, ) was a 13 month battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession, which pitted

Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...

(backed by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, i.e. the Grand Alliance) against

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, 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 (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

, backed by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in a contest for the Spanish crown. The capitulation of Barcelona represented the fall of the last pro-Habsburg stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the end of the separate status of the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

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 ( or ) were 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 realm, the Catalan Court ...

(the parliament). However, repressive measures 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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

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 northeastern coast of 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 is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, 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, 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 ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, and

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

), 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 treaty, 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 vac ...

. 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 Kingdom of France, France and Archduchy of Austria, Austria that was concluded on 7 March 1714 in the Margraviate of Baden, Baden city of Rastatt to end the War of the Spanish Succession between bo ...

. 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 (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 (the urban militia of Barcelona), Rafael Casanova, was wounded during the fight. The day was marked by fighting in the streets, led by Antoni de Villarroel, 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 state, 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, 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, where Catalans gather every 11 September, known as the National Day of Catalonia 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 is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, 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)

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