The siege of Barcelona took place between 3 and 27 April 1706 during the

War of the 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, Phil ...

when a Franco-Spanish army laid siege to

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 ci ...

in an attempt to recapture the city following its fall to an English-led Allied army the previous year. After the

Earl of Peterborough Earl of Peterborough was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for John Mordaunt, 5th Baron Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for earlier history of the family). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, the second Earl. He was ...

entered

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in triumph in January 1706, Barcelona was left vulnerable. This led the French to change the plans of attacking Valencia and try to besiege Barcelona instead, while the city was blocked from the sea-side by the

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ru ...

. The Spanish forces were led by

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

, while René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé was placed in charge of the French land forces during the siege. Despite insufficient artillery and the constant harassment from Peterborough, who marched north with 3000 men and attacked the besiegers from the mountains, the Franco-Spanish forces finally managed to shoot three breaches in the walls. But before the decision to storm the city could be made, the siege was abandoned, following the appearance of a large English fleet under the command of John Leake carrying reinforcements. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned its supplies and artillery in its hasty retreat. Phillip was cut off from returning to Madrid, and so he crossed into France. Barcelona and the entire region 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 north ...

remained in Allied hands until 1714. After the Grand Alliance victory at Barcelona, the

solar eclipse of May 12, 1706 The solar eclipse on May 12, 1706 was a total eclipse. The astronomic event, part of the Saros 133 cycle, took place during the Spanish War of Succession, crossing Spain, France and Northern Italy: for this reason it was seen at the time as a me ...

was widely interpreted as the “eclipse of Sun King”, i.e., the dimming of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, king of France, while the French court officially regarded the eclipse only as a scientific phenomenon.Hendrik Ziegler
Image Battles under Louis XIV: Some Reflections
pp. 32–35 , from Claydon, Tony ; Levillain, Charles-Édouard (Eds.): "Louis XIV outside in: images of the Sun King beyond France", 1661–1715, Farnham 2015.

References

Barcelona 1706 Conflicts in 1706

Siege of Barcelona (1706) The siege of Barcelona took place between 3 and 27 April 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession when a Franco-Spanish army laid siege to Barcelona in an attempt to recapture the city following its fall to an English-led Allied army the p ...

Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 1706 in Spain 18th century in Barcelona Sieges of the War of the Spanish Succession {{Austria-battle-stub