Spanish Africa

History of the Spanish Colonization of the North Africa to the modern time . 16th century, after the Great discoveries, the maritime Histoire seems dominated by the appearance of two empires: the Portuguese Empire in the east of the Cape of Good Hope resting on Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean, and the Spanish Empire resting on the the Caribbean, the Central America with a projection in the Peaceful in Filipino direction of the .

This upheaval cannot make forget, during a good part of the 16th century, the essential strategic role of the the Mediterranean, theater of confrontation privileged between the Cross and the Crescent. One of the episodes of most famous, the Spanish colonization of the Maghreb at the 16th century.

The geographical location of Far West Mediterranean

In the extreme west of the the Mediterranean, with the Straits of Gibraltar, the coasts of Spain and Africa approach so much so that from a bank one distinguishes the fires lit on the other. The Western Mediterranean is nothing any more but one arm of the sea, a Sleeve, Chanel easy to cross and which cannot play the part of obstacle.

The reasons which pushed the Spaniards to attack the the Maghreb

Religious passion

Antagonism pluriséculaire between the Christianity and the Islam, the desire of evangelization, as well as the will to push back the borders of Islam, in the continuity of the Reconquista have, as of the end of the 15th century and during all XVIe, thorough the Spaniards to intervene in the Moslem countries of North Africa.
  • Ferdinand the Catholic repeats on several occasions that he fights “for the service of God”, that it acts by zeal “at the place of our holy religion”, then that it attacks “the enemies of the Holy Catholic Faith”.
  • the Papauté also was interested in the African Croisade under successive pontificates of Alexandre VI Borgia (1492-1503) and of Jules II (1503-1513). In 1493 and 1494, two Bulle S of Alexandre VI brought to the African crusade the pontifical blessing. Lastly, the Spanish sovereigns continued to perceive, with the approval of Rome, the invaluable tax of the " Croisade" ( " Cruzada" ).
  • Holy Therese d' Avila, during its childhood on the reverse of the Sierra of Guadarrama (Castille), dreamed to leave for the mountain to the country the Moor S and to undergo the martyrdom there.
  • the Spanish Clergé gave its support for the African Croisade: Ximénes, archbishop of Tolède, the primacy of Spain, was the instigator, in 1505 of forwarding against Mers to el-Kébir. In 1509, Ximénes succeeds in completing forwarding against Oran. It had had to advance the sums necessary, with the generosity of all the churches of Spain. They sent to him, of the considerable sums. The chapter of Tolède was pricked so well to assist the zeal of its archbishop that there were Chanoine S which sold to their vault and with their crockery of argent.

Political reasons

Forwardings in Africa met temporal needs: the Spaniards, of Ferdinand with Charles Quint, and even beyond that, wanted by their interventions in Africa to prevent the danger of new Moslem invasions and to put a term at the devastations of Maghrebian piracy.

  • the Islam was also an enemy of the interior for Spain: in 1501 of the fatal riots burst in Alpujarras and the Vermeja Sierra. At the beginning of the 16th century, many were, among the subjects of the King Catholique, the descendants of the Moslems of Spain who all, in 1526, received the Baptême. These " new chrétiens" formed in Andalusia and with Valence an essential part of the population; in Catalonia and Aragon, they constituted strong colonies. The Castille itself had it also its Morisque S.

  • These Moslems of the interior remained, particularly in Andalusia and with Valence, a very great danger. Even converted, they often secretly remained faithful to the beliefs of the Coran. The Morisque S remained in relation to the Maghrebin S. the pirates Barbaresque S, in their incursions in Spanish territory, found near them devoted guides. The Moslems of Africa encouraged those of Spain in their religious resistance. At the end of the 15th century, as of before the fall of the last Moslem bastion of Spain (Grenade), of many Spanish Moslems had taken refuge in the Maghrebian countries. These exiled counted among the keenest enemies of Spain. The vital question, consequently for Spain, was to separate the Morisque S from the Moor S: the occupation of the North-African shores were then the solution.

  • To have the coasts of the the Maghreb, it was also to make impossible Moslem piracy. At the 15th century and after, the coasts of Spain, especially the Mediterranean coasts, had to suffer from continual plunderings of the Moslem sailors. With Tangier, in the river of Larache, with Bone, Oran, Algiers, Candle, Bizerte, Tunis, the Moslems armed with the galère S and the Fuste S which ran known to the Christian ships. With the surge of the Spanish Moslems in coast of North Africa, piracy already so prosperous had become new extensive in the ports of the the Maghreb. This recrudescence made necessary, against the Maghrebians, Spanish forwardings of which the principal goal was the destruction of the ports of the plunderers of the Islam.

Economic interests

  • Nothing shows, in the development of the African policy of the Kings Catholiques, any influences some lobby resulting from the Spanish commercial mediums.

  • the spirit of adventure and the lure of gain had a certain influence on the men of Spain of the S and pushed them to undertake the conquest of the North-African coast.

State of the Moslem power in North Africa

The Maghrebian weakness

  • the weakness of the Moslems of North Africa was characterized, compared to the Spaniards, by their military inferiority. The Moors did not know technological advances of the Art of the war and their inferiority remained during all the 16th century. The inhabitants of the the Maghreb still fought as at the previous centuries, the rule remained the body with body, the favorite weapons the dagger, the Saber, the lance, the stones or the arrows. They could hardly make use of the firearms, and when they captured some with the Spaniards, they could not make use of it and even when the arquebuses functioned, the address of the Maghrébin S made of it that they were less dangerous than arrows. Ignorance was of setting concerning the use of artillery and they could neither build nor to besiege the fortresses.

  • One of the weaknesses of the Moor S resided in their political division. " All the country, wrote in April 1494 Fernando de Zafra , is in such a frame of mind that it seems that God wants to give to Their Majestés." With old divisions between mountain dwellers, people of the plains, wandering camel drivers of the desert and the steppes, urban of the antique Ifriqya or the Western Morocco, to great regional divisions between Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia which never ceased counting and will affirm themselves with clearness and strength at the 16th century, of new divisions was added. Cities, villages formed independent States. The oases of the Figuig constituted an autonomous grouping thus; before the Spanish conquest, Oran, under the very fictitious suzerainty of the sovereigns of Tlemcen, seems a true independent city. The fights, the insecurity, the plunders and the war were continual between various potentates.

Assets of the Maghrebian S

If the Spanish conquest were favoured in the first years of the 16th century by divisions of the North Africa and the exceeded armament of the Moslems, it on the other hand was opposed by Maghrebian immigration in Africa, religious fanaticism and the country him even.

  • the massive immigration of the Spanish Moslems in Africa was the object of assets and weakness for the Moslem power. It initially caused in the Maghreb many movement. The arrival of exiled was the signal of the insecurity, conflicts and quarrels. A document, a letter of a secretary of the sultan of Fez gone back to 1491 underlines the violence of the conflicts between the Moslem autochtones and immigrants. On the other hand, immigration gave the Moslems of Africa additional forces, which more is, were savage enemies of Christendom.
  • As of the 15th century, one attended a revival of Islam to the the Maghreb, with a regrouping of the Moslem company around the Imam S and of the brotherhoods. These Moslem brotherhoods formed, against Spain, the great party of the war and then insured, by their agitation, the extraordinary fortune of the plunderers of Algiers.
  • the North-African country constituted a serious obstacle with Spanish progress. The geographical conditions of the war of Africa were indeed very hard. The vastness of the country, its broken relief, its furious seas, its coasts without sure shelter, its aridity made forwardings military random, dangerous and difficult. Each forwarding went a little to the adventure because one did not know the country, the roads, the points of water and the position of the douars that by the natives more or less worthy of faith. One often indicated like large obstacles to the Spanish conquest the relief even of the North-African country like the barrier of the Rif to the Morocco.
  • In the Moslem rows, one counts some exceptional chiefs like Khayr AD-DIN Barberousse or Dragut.
  • assistance of the Ottoman Empire which sends to the corsairs of Algiers men, money, vessels. Often providential assistances, as these 6000 men that Khayr AD-DIN Barberousse obtained, in 1518, the shortly even after the service of homage to the Large Turk. Starting from the arrival of the Barberousse brothers, the weapons of the Moslems of North Africa improved.
  • assistance of the France which provides starting from 1541 military informations and weaponry to the Turks of Algiers.

Military operations

Nature and difficulties of the Spanish occupation of the the Maghreb

Money, nerve of the war

  • the money missed to finance military operations. The poverty of the African grounds disappointed the hopes of the chiefs and the adventurers.

  • the seizure on part of the the Maghreb did not bring back money to Spain.
  • the financial questions heavily weighed on the control of the operations. Pedro Navarro, for lack of reinforcements and abandoned to her only resources, did not dare to attack Tunis. One needed enormous sums to equip the vessels, to join together the vivres necessary, to advance balances it with the embarked troops. Ferdinand the Catholic very often opposed to the arguments apostles of the African war the shortage of the royal Treasury.

The system of the restricted occupation

  • the Spaniards were satisfied to occupy with residence some points of the North-African littoral: Melilla, Oran, Seas to el-Kébir, Candle, the Dogvane of Algiers, not to quote so that the most important stations. They were thus, thanks to these walls, put at the shelter of the Moslem attacks.

  • the back-country was abandoned to the natives.
  • Some raids were organized by the Spaniards inside the grounds ( jornadas ).
  • No emigration Spain had just given force and strength to Spanish Africa.
  • the cities that King Catholique in the Maghreb had were not never, indeed, which garrisons, military cities, presidios .

The solution of the least effort

The system of the restricted occupation was the solution of the least effort.

  • This method was one of the consequences of the insufficient means employed by Spain with the conquest of the the Maghreb.

  • That avoids joining together many and expensive armies to occupy the African countries.
  • With the shelter of the high walls of Oran, a few hundreds of men held in respect the immense kingdom of Tlemcen. To really take possession of the back Oranian country, of the thousands of men would have been necessary.
  • On the immense Maghrebian country, the Spaniards did not have any serious influence. Economically the country escaped to them; politically there remained subjected more seemingly than actually; religieusement it remained hostile irréductiblement.

Difficulties with the daily newspaper

Captive between the Moslem sea and States, the Spanish fortresses knew at the beginning even conquest of the difficult hours where one was to more often fight against the hunger than against the enemy.

  • chair Them lived almost exclusively only supply from Spain.
    • Oran, in spite of the deliveries in kind of Tlemcen, consumes the flour of the mills of Valence and Barcelona.
    • Melilla lives only thanks to the supply of Malaga.
    • the Penon of Algiers makes come its drinking water from the Balearic Islands.
  • the life was particularly difficult for the soldiers: food shortages and deprivations were frequent.

A quasi null evangelization

  • In spite of the pump of the official ceremonies which accompanied any conversion, the success of catholic propaganda near the natives was not very sharp.

  • It never had there serious efforts on behalf of the Spaniards to attract the native with the faith of the Christ.
  • rare successes: in the correspondence of Alcaudète written in 1535, one notes the baptism of fifty Arabs.

Trade in the Spanish possessions in Africa

  • the official trade was primarily reduced to the supply Spanish bases by Europe.

    • the supply of the Tunisian stations was normally ensured by the ports of Sicily or the Royaume of Naples.
    • Barcelona, Valence, Malaga dispatched corn, Orge and cookies which the garrisons of Morocco and Algeria consumed.
  • the Spaniards hardly exploited the rare richnesses of the Maghreb: they did not take part directly in the coral fisheries of the African coasts where the Corsicans and Génois reigned as uncontested Masters.

End of the Spaniards in North Africa

  • the situation of Spanish Africa appears in 1559 compromised already well. Eighteen years later, in 1577, its ruin about complete is an accomplished fact.

  • Apart from the period 1573-1574, where the Spaniards were the Masters of Tunis, King Catholique never had but one station in of the barbaresque countries, Goulette. In Sicily and with Naples, one ingéniait oneself to provide for his supply out of wine, drinking water, corn, powder, artillery, lime, Alambic S, to distill sea water.

  • In 1574, in spite of the defeat of Lépante, the Turks seized at the same time Tunis and Goulette. The catch of Goulette, occurred the first, was particularly painful for the Spaniards. It was an old bastion of Spanish Africa which crumbled.

Internal bonds

References

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