European enclaves in North Africa before 1830

Last updated

Genoese Tabarka fort, built in the Middle Ages GRAHAM(1887) p275 TABARCA CASTLE (cropped).jpg
Genoese Tabarka fort, built in the Middle Ages

The European enclaves in North Africa (technically 'semi-enclaves') were towns, fortifications and trading posts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western North Africa (sometimes called also "Maghreb"), obtained by various European powers in the period before they had the military capacity to occupy the interior (i.e. before the French conquest of Algeria in 1830). The earliest medieval enclaves were established in the 11th century CE by the Italian Kingdom of Sicily and Maritime republics; Spain and Portugal were the main European powers involved; both France and, briefly, England also had a presence. Most of these enclaves had been evacuated by the late 18th century, and today only the Spanish possessions of Ceuta, Melilla, and the Plazas de soberanía remain.

Contents

Italian and Sicilian possessions

The Norman Kingdom of Africa in the 12th century Regnonormanno1160.jpg
The Norman Kingdom of Africa in the 12th century
The Genoese island of Tabarka in the 18th century Tarbarka 17th century.jpg
The Genoese island of Tabarka in the 18th century

Around the year 1000, small colonies of merchants began to appear in North Africa from the Republic of Amalfi and the Republic of Pisa. In 1133, Pisa negotiated a commercial treaty with the Almoravids, as did Genoa some five years later. [1] As Almoravid power weakened, the Maritime Republics grew bolder and Pisa attempted to seize the Balearic Islands in 1114 [2] In 1134, just one year after signing a commercial treaty with Bejaia, Genoa attacked the city before sending a combined fleet with Pisa to seize Annaba in 1136. The Pisans themselves raided Tabarka in 1140. [1] These Italian initiatives were particularly focused on gaining control of the lucrative coral trade. There are records of the coastal area of Marsacares (today El Kala) [3] being under the jurisdiction, at various times, of Pisa [4] and later, Genoa. [5]

The arrival of the Normans in Italy led to the Christian reconquest of Sicily (1061–1091). [6] Roger II of Sicily expanded his domains by taking Djerba in 1135. [7] There followed the seizure of a number of Tunisian coastal cities, leading to the formation of a short-lived entity that is sometimes known as the Norman Kingdom of Africa. [8]

After the evacuation of Mahdia in 1160, the Normans ceased to control any places on the North African coast. In 1284 the new Aragonese ruler of Sicily, Frederick III, invaded Djerba once again and held it until 1333. [9] [10] It was retaken for Sicily by Manfredi Chiaramonte, who became lord of the island, and also seized the Kerkennah Islands. [11] The Sicilian garrison abandoned the island in 1392, the year after Chiaramonte died. [12]

After this, the only Italian possessions in North Africa belonged to Genoa, which held Jijel (Algeria) as well as Tabarka (Tunisia), retaining the latter from 1540 to 1742. [13]

From West to East:

Portuguese possessions

Portuguese possessions in North Africa Algarve de Alem-Mar.svg
Portuguese possessions in North Africa

The Portuguese presence in North Africa dates from the reign of King João I who led the conquest of Ceuta in 1415. [14] and continued until El Jadida was abandoned in 1769. The enclaves, mostly along the Atlantic coast of Morocco, were known in Portugal as "the Berber Algarve" [15] or as "the Algarve on the other side" ('Algarve de Além'). [16]

The taking of Ceuta was recognised by Pope Martin V as a crusade. [17] Possession of the city brought no economic benefits to Portugal however, as trade simply moved to other cities in the region. Accordingly, João's successor King Duarte tried to take Tangier as well in 1437, but was unable to do so. [18] It was not until the reign of Duarte's son Afonso V that Portugal was able to expand its possessions in North Africa, taking Ksar es-Seghir in 1458 [16] and Arcila in 1471. He also retook Tangier, but could not hold it. [19] Afonso was known as o Africano (the African) because of his conquests, and he was the first Portuguese ruler to take the title 'King of Portugal and of the Algarves on this side and beyond the sea in Africa'. [20] In 1486 his successor Joao II seized and fortified El Jadida (Mazagan) as the Portuguese continued their drive south towards Guinea. [21] Two years later he accepted the submission of the governor of Safi. [22] [23]

The remaining Portuguese conquests in Morocco were secured by king Manuel I – Agadir, [24] Essaouira [25] and Azemmour. [26] El Jadida was retaken after an earlier loss, [27] and in 1508 direct rule was established over Safi. [28] Mehdya was taken in 1515, though it was lost soon after in 1541. [29] The old pirate base at Anfa, which the Portuguese had destroyed in 1468, before reoccupying and fortifying it in 1515, came to be known as "Casa Branca", hence, eventually, Casablanca. [30] [31]

By the time of Joao III, the Portuguese empire had expanded around the globe. In this context, retaining or perhaps expanding the possessions in Morocco held no economic attraction and seemed increasingly unsustainable in military terms. [32] In 1541 Agadir fell to the Saadi prince Moulay Muhammad, [33] and in the same year, Portugal also lost Safi and Azamor. [34] In 1550, they went on to lose Ksar es-Seghir and Arcila. [35]

In 1577 Sebastian I of Portugal was able to reconquer Arcila, though it was taken by the Saadi ruler Almanzor in 1589. [36] However Sebastian's disastrous crusade in Morocco cost him his life and brought an end to the age of Portuguese expansion. Indeed, it led to the extinction of the independent Portuguese state between 1580 and 1640. [37]

In 1640 Portugal regained its independence, but Ceuta opted to remain with Spain, [38] a situation that was officially acknowledged in the Treaty of Lisbon (1668). After this Portugal retained only three enclaves in North Africa – Tangier, Casablanca and El Jadida. Tangier was ceded to England in 1661 under the Marriage Treaty as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, [39] and Casablanca was abandoned after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. [31] Under siege by Muhammad III, El Jadida was evacuated on 10 March 1769, bringing an end to the Portuguese presence in North Africa. [40]

From West to East:

Spanish possessions

Having taken Granada in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain wanted to extend the Reconquista across the Straits of Gibraltar. [41]

"Plazas fuertes" and possessions of Spain in 1519 in North Africa Spanish mediterranean 1519.jpg
"Plazas fuertes" and possessions of Spain in 1519 in North Africa

After having secured the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco in 1496, they took a number of bridgeheads on the African mainland, first Melilla (1497), then Cazaza and Mers El Kébir (1505). The between 1508 and 1510 they extended the areas under their control widely, taking in Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508), and then major coastal cities – Oran (1509), Algiers (1510), Bejaia (1510) as well as Tripoli (1510) and surroundings in coastal Libya. [42] Spain however lacked the military means to extend its area of rule further. This limited success prompted the local Muslim rulers in North Africa to encourage Oruç Reis to attack Spanish positions and stage raids on Andalucia, Valencia and Alicante. In 1516, the year King Ferdinand died, Oruç took Algiers and expelled the Spanish. [43]

Ferdinand's successor Emperor Charles V intended to regain Algiers and end the threat of piracy posed by Oruç. Charles landed at Oran, and Oruç was killed by Spanish forces at Tlemcen in 1518. [44] However Charles was not able to retain control of the areas he had taken, and Oruç's brother Hayreddin Barbarossa secured the protection of the Ottoman Empire by making Algiers its vassal. [45]

By the time Philip II of Spain assumed the throne of Portugal in 1580 as well as of Spain, all of the Spanish possessions on the North African coast had already been lost, with the exceptions of Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and Oran-Mers El Kébir (Mazalquivir) [46] while only Ceuta, Tangier, Arcila and El Jadida remained of the Portuguese territories. Although Philip III of Spain gained Larache (1610) and La Mámora (1614) in Morocco, the rise of the Alaouite dynasty meant the loss of many former possessions to Muslim rule. By the death of Moulay Ismaíl (1672–1727), the only territories remaining to Spain were Ceuta (acquired from Portugal in 1640), Melilla, the Alhucemas Islands (occupied in 1673) and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.

Melilla and the Penon de Alhucemas in 1909. Melilla 1909.jpg
Melilla and the Peñón de Alhucemas in 1909.
Remaining Spanish Plazas de soberania in North Africa. Mapa del sur de Espana neutral.png
Remaining Spanish Plazas de soberanía in North Africa.

Spain's first Bourbon ruler Philip V wished to re-establish Spanish supremacy on the Algerian coast, and in 1732 sent an expedition which retook Oran and Mers El Kebir. The cities remained under Spanish rule until they were all but destroyed by an earthquake in 1790. [47] The Spanish evacuated it in early 1792 and it came under Ottoman rule once again. [48] [49]

From West to East:

French possessions

Sketch of the Bastion de France Bastion de france barbarie.jpg
Sketch of the Bastion de France

The Franco-Ottoman alliance of 1536 set the scene for the earliest French possessions on the North African coast. In 1550 the Dey of Algiers, Turgut Reis, granted the right to fish coral on the Massacares coast, near Annaba, to Tomasino Lenche (c.1510–1568), a merchant of Marseilles. The following year, Henri II of France granted him an identical monopoly (renewed in 1560 by Charles IX). Sultan Selim II granted France a trading concession over the ports of Malfacarel, la Calla (El Kala), Collo, Cap Rose (Cap Rosa) and Bone (Annaba). In 1552 Lenche was given permission to build the first permanent French presence on the coast, the fortress known as the 'Bastion de France'. [51] [52]

Tomasino Lenche completed the building of the Bastion de France in 1560 and founded the Magnificent Coral Company (la Magnifique Compagnie du Corail) for the commercial exploitation of the coast's resources. [53] From this base, it was not long before Tomasino had diversified into selling artillery, powder and other weapons to the Dey. The wealth of the Lenches attracted the envy of Algiers, however, which seized the Bastion in 1564. Lenche was able to re-establish himself there after a period, but in June 1604, the Bastion de France was torn down by soldiers from Annaba supported by galleys from Algiers sent by raïs Mourad. [54] The fortress was eventually returned to the Lenches after diplomatic intervention by Henry IV of France. Another Algerian attack was staged in 1615, but the following year captain Jacques Vinciguerra reasserted Lenche control. Eventually, in 1619, Tomaso II Lenche sold his rights to the bastion to Charles, Duke of Guise. [55]

View of the colony of El Kala (La Calle), 1788. At this time the Bastion had come under the control of the French Royal Africa Company and was no longer run as a private concession Vue de la colonie la calle 1788.jpg
View of the colony of El Kala (La Calle), 1788. At this time the Bastion had come under the control of the French Royal Africa Company and was no longer run as a private concession

After nearly a decade, on 19 September 1628, Sanson Napollon  [ it ], heir to the Lenche fortunes, signed a commercial treaty with Algiers and revived the trading posts at Annaba, La Calle and the Bastion de France. As well as harvesting coral, he also opened a trading post dealing in wheat at Cap Rosa. [54] In 1631 Louis XIII named Napollon governor of the Bastion, making it thereafter a property of the crown rather than of the Duke of Guise. [56] However Napollon was killed during a Genoese attack in 1633, and in 1637 an Algerian fleet under Ali Bitchin seized and destroyed all the French and trading posts along the coast. [57]

In 1664, Louis XIV mounted an expedition (known as the Djidjelli expedition) to take the city of Jijel and use it as a base against piracy. The city was taken, but after holding it for just three months, the French retreated, abandoning it. [58] In 1682 and again in 1683 Admiral Duquesne bombarded Algiers as part of France's campaigns against piracy, [59] and in 1684 the Dey of Algiers signed a new treaty with de Tourville. French possession of the Bastion de France was confirmed for 100 years, and previous rights in La Calle, Cap Rose, Annaba, and Bejaia were restored.

The 1684 treaty also transferred these rights from Napollon to M. Denis Dussault, before, under another treaty signed in 1690, all rights in these concessions were assigned to the French Africa Company. [60] The French Africa Company promptly abandoned the Bastion and based its trade in la Calle, where it continued to operate until it was wound up in 1799. In 1807 the Dey of Algiers ceded all former French rights for trading posts and bases to the United Kingdom, and they were not restored to France until the Congress of Vienna. During the diplomatic crisis of 1827 between Algiers and France, the French abandoned la Calle, and the Algerians promptly destroyed it. These events were the prelude to the French conquest of Algeria in 1830. [61]

English possessions

English Tangier circa 1670 by Wenceslaus Hollar Wenceslas Hollar - Tangier from the S.W..jpg
English Tangier circa 1670 by Wenceslaus Hollar

Tangier (1661–1684) was ceded to England by Portugal as part of the dowry for Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II of England. However the enclave was expensive to defend and fortify against the attacks by Moulay Ismail and offered neither commercial nor military advantage to England. In February 1684 the English troops were transported home, the walls were torn down, and the mole in the harbour destroyed. [62] [63]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 William Chester Jordan; Bruce McNab; Teofilo F. Ruiz (8 March 2015). Order and Innovation in the Middle Ages: Essays in Honor of Joseph R. Strayer. Princeton University Press. pp. 145–. ISBN   978-1-4008-6967-1.
  2. ↑ Silvia Orvietani Busch (2001), Medieval Mediterranean Ports: The Catalan and Tuscan Coasts, 1100 to 1235 (BRILL, ISBN   90-04-12069-6), pp.207–211
  3. ↑ Gourdin, Philippe (1986). "Émigrer au XVe siècle: la communauté ligure des pêcheurs de corail de Marsacares. I. Étude de la population et des modalités de départ". Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome. Moyen-Âge, Temps Modernes. 98 (2). Mélanges de l'école française de Rome: 543–605. doi:10.3406/mefr.1986.2875 . Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. ↑ C. Mileto; F. Vegas; L. García Soriano; V. Cristini (11 September 2014). Vernacular Architecture: Towards a Sustainable Future. CRC Press. pp. 387–. ISBN   978-1-315-73690-7.
  5. ↑ Giovanna Petti Balbi (2007). Governare la città: pratiche sociali e linguaggi politici a Genova in età medievale. Firenze University Press. pp. 205–. ISBN   978-88-8453-604-4.
  6. ↑ Jeremy Johns (7 Oct 2002). Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Diwan . Cambridge University Press. p.  31. ISBN   9781139440196.
  7. ↑ Joshua C. Birk (11 January 2017). Norman Kings of Sicily and the Rise of the Anti-Islamic Critique: Baptized Sultans. Springer. pp. 143–. ISBN   978-3-319-47042-9.
  8. ↑ Dalli, Charles (2008). Bridging the gaps: sources, methodology and approaches to religion in History / edited by Joaquim Carvalho, Pisa 2008. Pisa: Pisa University Press. pp. 77–93. ISBN   978-88-8492-554-1.
  9. ↑ Maribel Fierro (4 November 2010). The New Cambridge History of Islam: Volume 2, The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. p. 187. ISBN   978-1-316-18433-2.
  10. ↑ Daniel Jacobs; Peter Morris (2001). The Rough Guide to Tunisia. Rough Guides. p. 225. ISBN   978-1-85828-748-5.
  11. ↑ Georges Jehel (2001). L'Italie et le Maghreb au Moyen Age.: Conflits et échanges du VIIème au XVème siècle. Presses Universitaires de France – PUF. ISBN   978-2-13-052263-8.
  12. ↑ Ernest Mercier (1888). Histoire de l'Afrique septentrionale (Berbérie) depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'a la conquête français (1830). Leroux.
  13. ↑ Teofilo F. Ruiz (2 October 2017). The Western Mediterranean and the World: 400 CE to the Present. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 269–. ISBN   978-1-4051-8817-3.
  14. ↑ Bailey Wallys Diffie (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580. U of Minnesota Press. p. 55. ISBN   978-0-8166-0782-2.
  15. ↑ Iglesias Rodríguez 2013, p. 21.
  16. 1 2 Coates 2001, p. 57.
  17. ↑ Pius Onyemechi Adiele (2017). The Popes, the Catholic Church and the Transatlantic Enslavement of Black Africans 1418–1839. Georg Olms Verlag AG. p. 265. ISBN   978-3-487-42216-9.
  18. ↑ James Maxwell Anderson (2000). The History of Portugal. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 42–44. ISBN   978-0-313-31106-2.
  19. ↑ Elbl 2013, p. 10; Coates 2001, p. 57.
  20. ↑ a history of portugal. CUP Archive. 1662. p. 205. GGKEY:XWSD821GE8S.
  21. ↑ Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues; Tessaleno C. Devezas (1 December 2007). Pioneers of Globalization: Why the Portuguese Surprised the World. Centro Atlantico. p. 229. ISBN   978-989-615-056-3.
  22. ↑ Weston F. Cook (1994). The Hundred Years War for Morocco: Gunpowder and the Military Revolution in the Early Modern Muslim World. Westview Press. ISBN   978-0-8133-1435-8.
  23. ↑ a history of portugal. CUP Archive. 1662. pp. 205–. GGKEY:XWSD821GE8S.
  24. ↑ Bunes Ibarra 1989, p. 19; Coates 2001, p. 58.
  25. ↑ Coates 2001, p. 58.
  26. ↑ Comer Plummer III (19 August 2015). Roads to Ruin: The War for Morocco in the Sixteenth Century. Lulu.com. p. 103. ISBN   978-1-4834-3677-7.
  27. ↑ Sarmento 2011, p. 117.
  28. ↑ Levtzion 1977, p. 398.
  29. ↑ Elbl 2000, p. 352.
  30. ↑ Park & Boum 2005, p. 81.
  31. 1 2 Ciment 2003, p. 104.
  32. ↑ University of Minnesota. Center for Early Modern History (25 September 2000). City Walls: The Urban Enceinte in Global Perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 356. ISBN   978-0-521-65221-6.
  33. ↑ Bunes Ibarra 1989, p. 19.
  34. ↑ White 2004–2005, p. 65.
  35. ↑ Coates 2001, p. 57; White 2004–2005, p. 65.
  36. ↑ Devezas & Modelski 2008, p. 56.
  37. ↑ Jon Cowans (12 May 2003). Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 112–. ISBN   0-8122-1845-0.
  38. ↑ Rodríguez Hernández 2015, pp. 80–81.
  39. ↑ Martínez Ruiz 2005, p. 1044.
  40. ↑ "Mazagan". E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936. Vol. 5. L-Moriscos. Leiden, New York and Cologne: E.J. Brill. 1993. pp. 423–424. ISBN   90-04-09791-0.
  41. ↑ Fernández, Lilia (2018-03-22). 50 Events that Shaped Latino History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN   978-1-4408-3763-0. The last Muslim kingdom in Spain, Granada, fell to forces led by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel, on January 2, 1492.
  42. ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1990). The Atlas of the Crusades. London: Times Books. p. 162. ISBN   0-7230-0361-0.
  43. ↑ William S. Maltby (25 March 2002). The Reign of Charles V. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 48. ISBN   978-0-230-62908-0.[ permanent dead link ]
  44. ↑ William Robertson; Dugald Stewart (1840). The history of the reign of the emperor Charles V, book 2–7. T. Cadell. p. 295.
  45. ↑ Naylorp, Phillip Chiviges (2009). North Africa: a history from antiquity to the present. University of Texas Press. p. 117. ISBN   978-0-292-71922-4 . Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  46. ↑ Doncel, Gregorio Sánchez (1991). La presencia española en Orán (1509–1792). ISBN   9788460076148.
  47. ↑ Sachar Paulus; Norbert Pohlmann; Helmut Reimer (29 January 2004). Securing Electronic Business Processes: Highlights Of The Information Security Solutions Europe 2003 Conference. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 610–. ISBN   978-3-528-05887-6.
  48. ↑ "Oranesado".
  49. ↑ Ethel Davies (2009). North Africa: The Roman Coast. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 177–. ISBN   978-1-84162-287-3.
  50. ↑ Morgado García, Arturo Jesús (1998–1999). "Las relaciones entre Cádiz y el norte de África en el siglo XVII". Trocadero: Revista de historia moderna y contemporanea. 10–11: 75. ISSN   0214-4212.
  51. ↑ Léon Galibert (1844). L' Algérie ancienne et moderne depuis les premiers établissements des Carthaginois jusqu'à la prise de la Smalah d'Abd-el-Kader: par Léon Galibert. Vignettes par Raffet et Rouargue frères. Furne et Cie. p. 217.
  52. ↑ Baude, Jean-Jacques [at Wikisource] (1832). Revue des Deux Mondes  (in French). Paris: Revue des Deux Mondes. p. 148 – via Wikisource.
  53. ↑ Roland Courtinat (2003). La piraterie barbaresque en Méditerranée: XVI-XIXe siècle. SERRE EDITEUR. pp. 73–. ISBN   978-2-906431-65-2.
  54. 1 2 P. M. Holt; Peter Malcolm Holt; Ann K. S. Lambton; Bernard Lewis (1977). The Cambridge History of Islam. Cambridge University Press. pp. 257–. ISBN   978-0-521-29137-8.
  55. ↑ Institut Royal de France. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1833). Mémoires de l'Institut Royal de France: Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Imprimerie Royale. pp. 559–.
  56. ↑ Algeria: Tableau de la situation des établissements français dans l'Algérie en 1837–54. Journal des opérations de l'artillerie pendant l'expedition de Constantine, Oct. 1837. Tableau de la situation des établissements français dans l'Algérie précédé de l'exposé des motifs et du projet de loi, portant demande de crédits extraordinaires au titre de l'exercice. 1842. pp. 420–.
  57. ↑ Peter N. Miller (2015). Peiresc's Mediterranean World. Harvard University Press. pp. 208–. ISBN   978-0-674-74406-6.
  58. ↑ A handbook for travellers in Algeria. John Murray. 1873. pp. 40–.
  59. ↑ John A. Lynn (19 December 2013). The Wars of Louis XIV 1667–1714. Routledge. pp. 173–. ISBN   978-1-317-89951-8.
  60. ↑ Charles Henry Alexandrowicz (7 January 1972). Studies in the History of the Law of Nations. BRILL. pp. 258–. ISBN   90-247-1331-5.
  61. ↑ Royal Statistical Society (Great Britain) (1839). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Statistical Society of London. pp. 115–.
  62. ↑ Sharon La Boda (1994). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa. Taylor & Francis. pp. 667–. ISBN   978-1-884964-03-9.
  63. ↑ Iain Finlayson (13 January 2015). Tangier: City of the Dream. I.B.Tauris. pp. 27–. ISBN   978-1-78076-926-4.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.