The
tenth siege of Gibraltar
in 1506 was a minor military action in which the
Duke of Medina Sidonia
,
Juan Alfonso Perez de Guzman
tried but failed to recover the fortress of
Gibraltar
from the troops who were holding it in the name of the newly united crowns of
Castile
and
Aragon
.
Background
[
edit
]
On 3 June 1469 King
Henry IV of Castile
made a gift of Gibraltar to
Enrique de Guzman, 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia
in return for the effort and expense that his family had put into first capturing this fortress from the Moors and then arranging for settlers and a garrison.
On 30 September 1478 Henry IV's successors,
Ferdinand
and
Isabella
, granted the Duke the title of Marquess of Gibraltar.
However, on 22 December 1501 a Royal Decree was issued that ordered Garcilaso de la Vega to assume Gibraltar for the King.
He traveled to the Rock where he formally took possession from the local authorities in early January 1502.
Ferdinand and Isabella granted the request of the people of Gibraltar for a coat of arms, which was designed as a Castle with a Golden Key pendant, the key representing the role of the castle in defending Spain.
Following the death of Isabella in 1504 the kingdom became unsettled.
Isabella was succeeded on the throne of Castile by their mentally unstable daughter
Juana
,
[a]
whose husband was
Philip, Archduke of Austria
.
Ferdinand was appointed regent of Castile until Juana and Philip's son
Charles
, later to be Emperor, gained the age of majority.
Philip disputed the regency, but died in Burgos in 1506.
A council of Castilian nobles took control, since Juana would not do so, and eventually Ferdinand returned to Castile and assumed the regency in 1507.
Juan Alfonso Perez de Guzman, decided to forcibly re-assert his claim to Gibraltar during the power vacuum of 1506.
Siege
[
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]
The Duke of Medina, who was in Seville,
sent instructions to his son
Enrique
to do what was needed to recover the fortress.
The Duke considered that Gibraltar rightfully belonged to his family, and expected that his friends in the fortress would arrange a surrender.
That did not happen.
News of the planned action quickly reached the people of Gibraltar, and all of them were enlisted in a force to defend the place.
The Captain-General of
Granada
, Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, the Conde de Tendilla, was asked for help.
It is significant of the recent shift in the power structure that the request went to a King's officer rather than a rival noble.
The "siege" lasted for four months, with Medina's forces trying to blockade the fortress rather than to storm it.
There was little fighting and no loss of life other than from disease. Giving up hope of success, the Duke yielded to the advice of the Archbishop of Seville.
He withdrew, paying compensation to the people in the area who had suffered damages from his forces.
Of the many sieges of Gibraltar, this was the only one that ended without bloodshed.
Aftermath
[
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]
Juan de Guzman stubbornly maintained his right to Gibraltar, asserting that King Philip I had restored it to him.
In June 1507 he returned to his stronghold of Seville, which he had left to avoid an outbreak of plague, determined to launch another siege.
Before he could act, on 10 July 1507 he died at the age of forty.
Ferdinand died in 1516 and was succeeded by his grandson, Juana's son, Charles.
[b]
In 1519 Charles became
Holy Roman Emperor
. Understanding the strategic importance of Gibraltar, he appointed Rodrigo Bazan civil and military commander of the Rock in 1520.
Under Bazan's long and peaceful rule, which lasted until 1535, the civil disturbances ended. Buildings were repaired and new construction was undertaken.
However, the defenses were neglected, particularly those to the south. The next threat to Gibraltar came from this direction, with a devastating attack in 1540 by one of the captains of the Turkish corsair
Hayreddin Barbarossa
.
Notes and references
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edit
]
Notes
- ^
Juana of Castile, technically queen of Castile from 1504?1555, is popularly called
Juana la Loca
(Joanna the Mad). Throughout her long rule the kingdom was always under a regency, and she was often confined to a nunnery.
- ^
Technically Juana and Charles were proclaimed as co-rulers, but in fact Juana was incapable.
Citations
Sources
- Gallagher, Patrick (1968).
The Life and Works of Garci Sanchez de Badajoz
. Tamesis Books. p. 232.
ISBN
978-0-900411-00-7
. Retrieved
23 January
2013
.
- Gilbard, George James (1881).
A popular history of Gibraltar, its institutions, and its neighbourhood on both sides of the Straits, and a guide book to their principal places and objects of interest ...
Garrison Library Printing Establishment. p. 4
. Retrieved
23 January
2013
.
- Gomez, Maria A.; Juan-Navarro, Santiago; Zatlin, Phyllis (30 October 2008).
Juana of Castile: History and Myth of the Mad Queen
. Associated University Presse. p. 9.
ISBN
978-0-8387-5704-8
. Retrieved
24 January
2013
.
- Lopez de Ayala, Ignacio (1845).
The History of Gibraltar: From the Earliest Period of Its Occupation by the Saracens : Comprising Details of the Numerous Conflicts for Its Possession Between the Moors and the Christians, Until Its Final Surrender in 1462 : and of Subsequent Events : with an Appendix Containing Interesting Documents
. William Pickering. p.
99
. Retrieved
23 January
2013
.
- Sayer, Frederick (1862).
The history of Gibraltar and of its political relation to events in Europe, from the Commencement of the Moorish dynasty in Spain to the last Morocco war: with original and unpublished letters from the Prince of Hesse, Sir George Eliott, the Duc de Crillon, Collingwood, and Lord Nelson, and an account of the fourteen sieges the rock has sustained since it became a fortress
. Saunders. p.
83
. Retrieved
23 January
2013
.
- Stephens, F.G. (1873).
A History of Gibraltar and Its Sieges
. Provost
. Retrieved
23 January
2013
.