Bombardment of Tangier (1791) | |||||||
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Part of Spanish-Moroccan War of 1790–1791 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Spain | Sultanate of Morocco | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Javier Morales de los Ríos | Sidi Ali ben Ahmed | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Some casualties and damages to the ships | Light damage |
The bombardment of Tangier was a naval attack launched on August 24, 1791, by Spain against the Moroccan city of Tangier in response to the Moroccan sultan Moulay Yazid's declaration of war and siege of Ceuta.
Following the failure of peace attempts between Spain and Morocco, Spanish King Charles IV also officially declared war on Morocco and ordered the bombardment of Tangier. [2] [3] The city of Tangier was a well-known departure point for Moroccan privateers, who captured or hindered Spanish merchants. The bombardment was intended to stop these activities and, above all, to encourage a rebellion by the local population against the Sultan, who had been besieging Ceuta since September 25, 1790. [4] News of the upcoming Spanish navy arrived to Moulay Yazid. The inhabitants of Tangier evacuated the city before their arrival. Moulay Yazid entrusted the defenses to Sidi Ali ben Ahmed and recruited the tribes there for a holy war, which he did. [5]
A light Spanish squadron was sent under the command of Lieutenant-General Javier Morales de los Ríos. It reached Tangier Bay on August 23 and began bombarding the port on the 24th, from five in the morning until three in the afternoon. Weather conditions forced the Spanish fleet to withdraw. [6] The city of Tangier, which had been fortified in the knowledge of an imminent attack, suffered very little damage, [7] while the Spanish sustained some casualties and damages to the ships due to Moroccan artillery fire. [8]
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif, born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north of Morocco from 1667 until the death of his half-brother, Sultan Moulay Rashid in 1672. He was proclaimed sultan at Fez, but spent several years in conflict with his nephew Moulay Ahmed ben Mehrez, who also claimed the throne, until the latter's death in 1687. Moulay Ismail's 55-year reign is the longest of any sultan of Morocco. During his lifetime, Isma’il amassed a harem of over 500 women with more than 800 confirmed biological children, making him one of the most prodigious fathers in recorded history.
Tangier or Tangiers is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco.
Tétouan is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) E.S.E. of Tangier. In the 2014 Moroccan census, the city recorded a population of 380,787 inhabitants. It is part of the administrative division Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima.
The 'Alawi dynasty – also rendered in English as Alaouite, 'Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandson, Hasan ibn Ali. Their ancestors originally migrated to the Tafilalt region, in present-day Morocco, from Yanbu on the coast of the Hejaz in the 12th or 13th century.
The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate.
MoulayAbd al-Rahman bin Hisham was Sultan of Morocco from 30 November 1822 to 28 August 1859, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was a son of Moulay Hisham. He was proclaimed sultan in Fes after the death of Moulay Sulayman.
MoulayAbd al-Aziz bin Hassan, born on 24 February 1881 in Marrakesh and died on 10 June 1943 in Tangier, was a sultan of Morocco from 9 June 1894 to 21 August 1908, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan at the age of sixteen after the death of his father Hassan I. Moulay Abdelaziz tried to strengthen the central government by implementing a new tax on agriculture and livestock, a measure which was strongly opposed by sections of the society. This in turn led Abdelaziz to mortgage the customs revenues and to borrow heavily from the French, which was met with widespread revolt and a revolution that deposed him in 1908 in favor of his brother Abd al-Hafid.
MawlaySulayman bin Mohammed, born on 28 June 1766 in Tafilalt and died on 28 November 1822 in Marrakesh, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1792 to 1822, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan after the death of his half-brother al-Yazid. Sulayman continued his father's centralization and expansion of the kingdom, and most notably ended the piracy that had long operated from Morocco's coast. As part of Morocco's long running conflict with Spain and Portugal, Sulayman halted all trade with Europe. However, he continued his father's policies of close relations with the United States. He was also a follower of Wahhabism.
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Mawlayal-Yazid bin Mohammed, born on 6 May 1750 in Fes and died on 23 February 1792 near Zagora, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1790 to 1792, a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan after the death of his father Mohammed bin Abdallah.
The Catholic Church in Morocco is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Catholics account less than 1% of the overall population of over 31 million. The country is divided into two archdioceses; Rabat and Tangier.
The Franco-Moroccan War was fought between the Kingdom of France and the Sultanate of Morocco from 6 August to 10 September 1844. The principal cause of war was the retreat of Algerian resistance leader Abd al-Kader into Morocco following French victories over many of his tribal supporters during the French conquest of Algeria and the refusal of the Sultan of Morocco Moulay Abd al-Rahman to abandon the cause of Abd al-Kader against colonial occupation.
The Hispano-Moroccan War, also known as the Spanish–Moroccan War, the First Moroccan War, the Tetuán War, or, in Spain, as the War of Africa, was fought from Spain's declaration of war on Morocco on 22 October 1859 until the Treaty of Wad-Ras on 26 April 1860. It began with a conflict over the borders of the Spanish city of Ceuta and was fought in northern Morocco. Morocco sued for peace after the Spanish victory at the Battle of Tetuán.
The Secretary of State for War, later Secretary of State, Minister for War, was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army, for the Marshalcy and for overseeing French border provinces. In 1791, during the French Revolution, the Secretary of State for War became titled Minister of War.
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Khazraji al-Sabti, better known as Sidi Bel Abbas, was a Moroccan Muslim saint. He is the patron saint of Marrakesh in the Islamic tradition and also one of the "Seven Saints" of the city. His festival was founded by al-Hasan al-Yusi at the instigation of Moulay Ismael.
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Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (abū zakarīyā' yaḥyā ben ziyān al-waṭṭāsī Arabic: أبو زكرياء يحيى بن زيان الوطاس was a vizier of the Marinid sultan of Fez, regent and effective strongman ruler of Morocco from 1420 until 1448. He is the founder of the Wattasid dynasty of viziers and later sultans, and as such often designated as Yahya I in Wattasid lists. He was also known by his nickname Lazeraque, as found in Portuguese chronicles.
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