The siege of Melilla was an attempt by the Sultanate of Morocco, supported 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 Algerian mercenaries, to capture the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

fortress of

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast.

Mohammed ben Abdallah ''Sidi'' Mohammed ben Abdallah ''al-Khatib'' (), known as Mohammed III (), born in 1710 in Fez, Morocco, Fes and died on 9 April 1790 in Meknes, was the List of rulers of Morocco, Sultan of Morocco from 1757 to 1790 as a member of the 'Alawi dyna ...

, then

Sultan of Morocco This is a list of rulers of Morocco since 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Morocco is Mohammed VI of Morocco, Mohammed ...

, invaded Melilla in December 1774 with a large army of Royal Moroccan soldiers and Algerian mercenaries. The city was defended by a small garrison under Irish-born Governor Don Juan Sherlocke until the siege was lifted by a relief fleet in March 1775.

Background

In 1773, the Sultan Mohammed III sent the artillery commander Sidi Tahar Fenis as ambassador to

to acquire military equipment. On September 19, 1774, he sent a letter to

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

with this matter, saying that peace between them could only be by sea. Therefore, Charles III declared war on the sultanate on 23 October 1774. Then the governor of Melilla was José Carrión de Andrade. In the city, there was a scarce garrison, which consisted of the fixed regiment of

, with the companies commanded by the captains Antonio Manso and Vicente de Alva, and detachments for the handling of the old iron artillery pieces. Between September and October 1774, a commission made up of the field marshal Luis Urbina Caneja, the engineer Luis Caballero (who was later during the siege) and the engineer commander Luis Ailmen, was in Melilla to prepare a report on defensive improvements in the square. Charles III ordered to reinforce the defenses of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

and

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, due to a possible Ottoman attack. At the end of November, the Spanish learned that the Sultan had planned to conquer Melilla. To reinforce the defense, Charles III sent Juan Sherlock to Melilla as commander and reinforced the garrison.

Siege

With the promise of British

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and material aid for a war against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

assembled an army of 30,000 to 40,000 men and powerful

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

in 1774 and began a bombardment of

. Juan Sherlock sent the mariner Juan Trinquini to Malaga to request reinforcements from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. On 11 December, a French ship arrived in Melilla with reinforcements from the peninsula. The ship left the city on 16 December with part of the civilian population. For defense, 117 new guns and mortars were installed. Tomás de Find, Charles III's major artilleryman, took charge of the maintenance of the artillery. Two Spanish squads, commanded by Antonio Barceló and José Hidalgo de Cisneros, blocked the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

to prevent

from supplying weapons and ammunition to the Muslim troops. A small garrison under Florencio Moreno likewise resisted the Sultan's army at

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera () also known as Hajar Badis () is a Spanish exclave and rocky tidal island in the western Mediterranean Sea connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthm ...

. In 1775, a British convoy carrying war material en route to Melilla was intercepted and captured by the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

and Spanish sail approached the beleaguered city; at the same time the Turks of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

began to encroach on Morocco's eastern borders. Spanish troops resisted the attack over a period of 100 days, over which time some 12,000 projectiles were lobbed onto the city. Sherlocke began to break the siege, a situation exacerbated by the desertion of ben Abdallah's

Algerians Algerians () are the citizens and nationals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. The majority of the country's population is composed of Arabs who make up 85% of the population, and there is a Berber minority of 15%. The term also ...

. The siege ended on 19 March.

Aftermath

There was a meeting between Juan Sherlock and the diplomat Hamed al-Gazel, where he told him that the Sultan wanted to maintain friendly relations and resume trade under more advantageous conditions than in the previous treaty. On 20 December 1777, Morocco recognised the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as an independent nation. With the Peace of Aranjuez in 1780, Spain ceded territories to Morocco, however in return Morocco recognized Spanish rule over the remainder of Melilla.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melilla Conflicts in 1774 Sieges involving Spain Melilla 1774–1775 History of Melilla 1774 in Africa 18th century in Morocco 1774 in Spain Charles III of Spain