Ed Ranks the Sieges of Gibraltar

Some pretty valuable real estate.

Gibraltar is at a nice, strategically important position on the Mediterranean where it becomes a choke-point for ships between Europe and Africa, trying to get through the nearby Strait (of Gibraltar, naturally). He or she who controls Gibraltar (okay, honestly it's "he." I was being politically correct, but you know how history is horrible to women) thus is a powerful player.

This kind of strategic location is therefore pretty valuable, and has been fought over several times. How many? Well, let's say fourteen. It's probably more, but these are the big ones that wound up with epic, long sieges. Or sometimes just two day sieges.

14. Second Siege of Gibraltar (1315)

This one is extremely vague, and the exact dates are unknown. Some time during 1315, the Moors launched an attempt to take back the land which they had lost six years previously to Castile. The strike didn’t last long, and when the Castilian navy showed up, the Moors abandoned their quest and huffed it back across the strait. It's not very interesting.


13. Tenth Siege of Gibraltar (1506)

"Dudes, really?" - Archbishop Diego Deza.
Totally a real quote.

The Moors were booted from Spain in 1492 (an easy year to remember), and thus all sieges in the 16th Century and after are strictly battles of European Christians versus European Christians. The result of the Ninth Siege in 1466-1467 left the castle in the private hands of the landowning De Guzmán family. Yet by 1501 Queen Isabella thought that having such an important and strategic point being in private hands was pretty dumb, and thus declared it as crown property. The De Guzmán’s were not particularly happy… but what could they do? They couldn’t defy the Queen, could they? No. They just waited for her to die in 1504. Following her death was a period of political instability, and in 1506, the De Guzmáns gathered an army and tried to take Gibraltar back. They assumed that the inhabitants of Gibraltar LOVED their family and wanted them back. They were wrong and the citizens wouldn’t open the gates for them. For four months they laid siege until the Archbishop of Seville came down and was like, “Dudes, really? The people don’t want you. Go away. Do you really think this is honorable?” Shamed, the De Guzmáns gave up and marched away.


12.  Fourth Siege of Gibraltar (1333)   

In the previous Third Siege of Gibraltar, Castilian Governor Don Vasco Perez de Meira surrendered to the Moors on June 17, 1333.  A mere nine days later, on June 16, King Alfonso XI of Castile launched the Fourth Siege. So yeah, that was a pretty short period of peace. Since the Moors had just retaken the city, their defenses weren’t quite organized yet. So all-in-all, it was probably a pretty good plot by Castile. Was it a good enough ploy? No. After two months of siege with several failed assaults (Alfonso was too aggressive and didn’t even wait for backup forces to arrive), Alfonso was forced to withdraw his forces and accept a four-year truce from Muhammed IV of Granada. 

11. Third Siege of Gibraltar (1333)   

Whoa, going in a little bit of a reverse order here. Abd al-Malik, an ally of Muhammed IV, Sultan of Granada, decided that he wanted to recapture Gibraltar from Castile. First al-Malik engaged in a number of “distraction” campaigns to throw the Castilian forces off before launching his assault.  The ploy worked, and with  the forces of Castile engaged elsewhere deep in their own territory, about 7000 Moors laid siege to Gibraltar from February until June of 1333.  King Alfonso XI of Castile was not expecting that at all, and before he could respond his governor, Don Vasco Perez de Meira, surrendered to the Moors. So after three sieges of Gibraltar, the score is Castile 2, Moors 1.


10. Sixth Siege of Gibraltar (1411)  

The ruler of Fez.

The first five Sieges of Gibraltar were all Christian vs. Muslim affairs, featuring Castile vs. the Moors. But after that, history got a little more complicated. The Moors of Granada and Fez evolved to became rivals. In 1374 the two made a deal which traded Gibraltar from Fez-rule to Granada-rule. By 1410 the Moors in Gibraltar decided they didn’t like Granada’s rule and declared their allegiance to Fez. Thus in 1411, Granada launched a counter-strike which led to the Sixth Siege of Gibraltar. With a little bit of help from treacherous forces on the inside, Granada eventually broke through and regained control from Fez. This would be the only Muslim vs. Muslim siege. 


9. First Siege of Gibraltar (1309)

For a month from August to September 1309, King Ferdinand IV of Castile fought against the Moors of Gibraltar, led by Muhammed III of the Emirate of Granada. The forces of Castile attacked from the north and south simultaneously and reached the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. From there, they set up catapults and bombarded their Moorish foes. The Moors were never totally defeated, but eventually took Ferdinand up on an offer to guarantee them safe passage back to Africa in exchange for the surrender of Gibraltar. Thus end-eth the First Siege of Gibraltar. Usually "first" versions of ongoing wars that spawn sequels are pretty epic, like the First Crusade. This conflict is just a bit ordinary though.


8. Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar (1727)

The end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1713 formally seceded Gibraltar to Great Britain. Philip V of Spain wasn’t particularly happy about that fact. In 1727, Philip said “Fuck the Treaty of Utrect!” (haven’t we all?) and sent the Marquis de las Torres and Spain’s Catholic allies to go get that sweet, sweet territory back. The siege began on February 22 and soon the Spanish began building a number of batteries to fire upon the Brits. After 10 days of bombardment where the Brits struggled to make repairs, they were saved by some bad weather that slowed the Spanish assault down. That bought the Brits some time to get naval replenishment and the Spanish weren’t really able to resume a full-scale assault until May.  But by then, the Brits had gotten their supply chains up and running and were able to repair the damage to their fortress faster than the Spanish could damage it (thanks to their maintenance of naval domination, which allowed constant supplies to flow in via the water). In June, the Spanish had to settle for a truth and gave up their hopes of recapturing it. Well, until 1779, that is.


7. Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar (1704 to 1705)

Oh look, battle graphics!

Exactly a month after the English & Dutch (Grand Alliance) forces took Gibraltar from Spain in the Eleventh Siege, Francisco Castillo Fajardo of Spain marched to the isthmus with 4000 men to take it back in September of 1704. He set up shop (smartly) out of the English cannon range and (also smartly) waited for additional reinforcements to come before striking. By October his men were up to 7000 and he hoped to attack with a force of 12000. French reinforcements (part of the Spanish-French Bourbon Alliance) also arrived to assist as well. On October 26, they established a battery and begun to assault the English and Dutch defenses. The Grand Alliance was probably too weak to withstand any double-attack from multiple sides from Spain and France, but winter soon set in and have the Grand Alliance a chance to sail in reinforcements of their own. In February 1705, Marshal René de Froulay de Tessé of France led a major assault but suffered heavy losses. When Admiral John Leake arrived in March and defeated the French Navy at the end of the month, the Bourbon Alliance had no choice but to skedaddle and let the Protestants retain control over the Rock. 


6. Ninth Siege of Gibraltar (1466 to 1467)

The Eighth Siege ended with a Christian victory. Yet just as Sixth Siege would be a Muslim vs. Muslim affair, so would the Ninth Siege pit Christian vs. Christian. And every siege after that, basically. The Eighth Siege saw the De Guzmán family claimed Gibraltar. However, soon after that King Henry IV of Castile (who did absolutely zero to win back the territory himself), claimed it in the name of the crown, likely at the behest of the Ponce de Leon family (rivals to the De Guzmáns). But in 1466, many Castilian forces aided his half-brother, Alfonso the Innocent, in a claim to take the throne, starting a mini-Civil War for the throne. Juan Alonso de Guzmán allied with Alfonso in return for Gibraltar being granted back to him. Juan then immediately headed down to claim it, figuring that the governor in charge would quickly surrender. The governor did not and 15-month siege began. When Juan brought in cannon at the 10-month mark, things really got interesting and the holdout forces desperately tried to hold out until reinforcements came.  Such forces would never arrive, and they finally surrendered to Juan in July 1467.


5. Eleventh Siege (the "Capture of Gibraltar") (1704)   

Admirals used to look a lot different.

Oh yeah! TOP FIVE TIME! From now on, I'll try to explain exactly why these bad boys are all ranked higher than the others, if the descriptions themselves don't explain why they are more interesting than the others enough. After 200 years of peace in Gibraltar since the De Guzmán family’s abortive 1506 siege came the Eleventh Siege (aka “The Capture of Gibraltar”). This time (in August of 1704) was in the middle of the War of Spanish Succession. European powers led by England and the Dutch Republic joined forces (calling themselves “The Grand Alliance,” who were Protestants) to prevent the unification of the Spanish and French thrones (“The Bourbon Alliance,” Catholics).  The Grand Alliances wanted a nice base of operations where they would be able to control the Straits of Gibraltar from and… hey… a great place to control the Straits of Gibraltar from is FRIGGING GIBRALTAR!  Admiral George Rooke of England landed 2000 marines on August 1, 1704 and it took his English forces a massive two days to win the city and for the Spanish to surrender (not without heavy causalities though). Why is this one so awesome? A two day siege doesn't sound that epic. But winning a war in two days? That's pretty boss.


4. Fifth Siege of Gibraltar (1349 to 1350)   

Plague? Yes, I'll have some of that please.

Alfonso XI of Leon and Castile, twice defeated in the Third and Fourth Sieges of Gibraltar (both in 1333), decided he’d have another go in 1349. Although Castile had a somewhat long-lasting truce with the Moors, the Moors broke the truce in 1348 when Abu Inan Faris (no relation to Anna… probably) overthrew his dad and Alfonso decided the location was fair game. He brought a large number of siege engines and prepared to dig in for a lengthy fight. The siege did indeed last over the winter, and all the way until March 1350. If you’re at all familiar with European or World history, you might recognize these dates as fairly famous ones. 1347 to 1351 was the peak of the Black Death in Europe, when 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia died. If you think that a war zone is magically impervious to Black Death, you’d be wrong. Alfonso’s generals pleaded with the King to end the siege when death broke out in his camp. He refused. For that, Alfonso was rewarded with the gift of the Black Death himself. As soon as he died, his forces pulled out and abandoned the siege. Moors 3, Castile 2. Why is this one so cool? Come on, there is a Black Death story in the middle of it. It may not have been a particularly competent or successful siege, but that's a damn interesting story about a King being an idiot and getting the plague.


3. Seventh Siege of Gibraltar  (1436)

One thing that the Moors loved to use Gibraltar for was as a base for raids into Christian/Castilian territory. Even though Castile hadn’t tried to siege the land in nearly a hundred years (since 1350), by 1436 Castile was getting really pissed off at these raids and Enrique Pérez de Guzmán (a descendant of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, a hero of the First Siege of Gibraltar) decided he would use his magical hero blood to do what his granddad did and take it back for Christianity! His army blockaded the isthmus while a fleet landed men on the beaches. There he discovered that… oh… oops… this place is a lot more heavily fortified and defended than he thought it would be. As his forces were completely bombarded, he ordered his men to withdraw. He wasn’t so lucky himself though, as his boat capsized and he drowned. The Moors then found his body, decapitated it, and hung it from the town’s wall. So I guess “magical hero blood” isn’t really a thing, is it? No. Awesome story though. Really makes this one memorable.


2. Eighth Siege of Gibraltar (1462)  

Pictured: Juan Alonso de Guzmán

In August of 1462, a Moorish inhabitant of Gibraltar defected, fled to the Christian city of Tarifa, and converted. He informed the governor of Tarifa that Gibraltar was basically undefended. The governor was obviously skeptical, but sent a small force to observe and confirm the claims. But Tarifa didn’t have the men to retake the city itself, and therefore got help from Juan Alonso de Guzmán (son of Enrique, whose dead and beheaded body apparently still hung from the city walls after 20+ years). Juan (who had also taken part and led the forces in the siege where his father died) was ready to avenge his father and launched a land assault. After just two days of light fighting, the Moors surrendered. It was barely a siege at all and Juan probably didn’t get his fill of bloodlust like he wanted. He did get to properly bury his dad though. And thus the Christians re-took Gibraltar for a final time. It would never fall back into Moorish hands again. This one ranks near the top for its sweet revenge narrative. It also has a fantastic story about a defector flipping sides and informing. You could make an awesome movie about this one. Start it off in 1436 with Juan's dad dying on the beach and being cut up. Have the young actor playing Juan scream "NOOOOOO!!!!" Then flash forward. Get a distinguished, older actor to play Juan, hellbent on vengeance and seeing his dad's sun-dried, mummified corpse taken down off the walls. End with him burying dad. This is good shit, man. Somebody make this film now.


1. Fourteenth Siege (the "Great Siege of Gibraltar") (1779 to 1783)

Nice mushroom cloud. What the hell did they put in that cannon?!

The Fourteenth Siege, also known as the final or the “Great Siege of Gibraltar” was the longest and (probably) most famous of Gibraltar's sieges. Hence #1. By 1779, Spain had lost Gibraltar to the English over 70 years before, but now the Brits were caught up in the middle of the American Revolution. Busy taking care of those ornery Colonists who were doing dumb shit like throwing tea in harbors, the English were now susceptible to the advancements of their French and Spanish enemies.  Spain allied with France in 1779 with the hopes of taking back Gibraltar.  Realizing that their previous sieged by land had ended in failure, Spain knew they needed to attack with combined land and maritime forces for this go-around. They convinced (read: bribed) the Sultan of Morocco to stop trading with the English in Gibraltar (thus reducing their ability to resupply) and sent a force of 13000 men down. Beginning in the summer of 1780, the Spanish bombarded the hell out of the British fortifications by land and sea. The bombardment was fairly consistent, but Spain’s naval blockade was less effective. Therefore, the Brits were able to occasionally sneak merchant vessels who could resupply them. This allowed the Brits to continue to hold on. And on. And on. All the way from 1779 to 1783.  The siege lasted for a few months under four years. It would have kept going for longer, militarily. However, politics intervened and ended the war. In 1783, Britain and Spain agreed to a land-swap deal where the Spanish would abandon their quest to retake Gibraltar in return for Britain giving up parts of Florida and Menorca (an island which the Brits claimed from Spain as a result of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht where they also formally got Gibraltar). To this day, the Menorca-Gibraltar land swap still stands and the two remain Spanish and British, respectively. Florida, on the other hand… well.. maybe the US wouldn’t be so bad off if it just gave it back to Spain.

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Final Tallies! 

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Christian vs. Muslim Sieges (7)

Muslims 4 - Christians 3

Muslim vs. Muslim Sieges (1)

Grenada Moors 1 - Fez Moors 0

Sieges Based on Spanish Nobles Squabbling like Petty Bitches (2)

Spanish Crown 1 - De Guzmán Family 1 (tie)

Catholic vs. Protestant Sieges (4) 

Protestants 4 - Catholics 0