Torre de los Adalides

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Torre de los Adalides
(Tower of the Champions)

Tower Near Algeciras.jpg

Torre de los Adalides
Location Algeciras, Spain
Coordinates 36°08′44″N5°27′40″W / 36.1455°N 5.4611°W / 36.1455; -5.4611 Coordinates: 36°08′44″N5°27′40″W / 36.1455°N 5.4611°W / 36.1455; -5.4611
Built 12th or 13th century
Architectural style(s) Islamic
Official name: Torre de los Adalides
Type Non-movable in ruins
Criteria Monument
Spain location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Torre de los Adalides
(Tower of the Champions) in Spain

The Torre de los Adalides (Tower of the Champions) was a rectangular medieval look-out tower of Islamic design located in the vicinity of Algeciras, Spain. It was situated roughly 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the coast on a hill some 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level in the area which is now covered by the city's northern suburbs. The tower was demolished by the Spaniards during the Spanish–American War as they thought the Americans might use it as a base of their own. The ruins of the tower are within military limits and cannot be approached without a formal permit. [1]

Algeciras City in Andalusia, Spain

Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar. The Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and the world in three categories: container, cargo and transhipment. It is located 20 km north-east of Tarifa on the Río de la Miel, which is the southernmost river of the Iberian peninsula and continental Europe. In 2015, it had a population of 118,920.

Spain Kingdom in Southwest Europe

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country mostly located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country (Morocco). Several small islands and a peninsula bordering Morocco in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory. The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with British dependency Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.

Spanish–American War Conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States

The Spanish–American War was fought between the United States and Spain in 1898. Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana harbor in Cuba, leading to U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. U.S. acquisition of Spain's Pacific possessions led to its involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately in the Philippine–American War.

Contents

History

The tower was one of a series of watchtowers built during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to monitor the Strait of Gibraltar and Algeciras Bay. Though, first mentioned in 1342, [2] the exact date of construction is unknown, although presumably it must have occurred shortly before the capture of the town of Tarifa in 1289 when the Campo de Gibraltar region began to assume importance as a land border. The tower had visual contact with other watchtowers in the region including the Torre de Botafuegos and Torre del Almirante as well as with the towns of Al-Yazira Al-Jadra (today's Algeciras) and Carteia. It was the base for the forces of Alfonso XI of Castile during the long Siege of Algeciras (1342-1344). It takes its name from the Moors whose troops were based in the area and who were known as the adalides (champions). The king used the tower as his home during the siege of the town. In 1344, these troops were involved in the Battle of Río Palmones against Granada, which marked the end of the siege and the surrender of the city of Algeciras. [3]

Watchtower type of fortification

A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area. In some cases, non-military towers, such as religious towers, may also be used as watchtowers.

Tarifa Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of mainland Spain. It is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for wind sports. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco.

Campo de Gibraltar Comarca in Andalusia, Spain

Campo de Gibraltar is a comarca (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalities of Algeciras, La Línea de la Concepción, San Roque, Los Barrios, Castellar de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera and Tarifa.

In 1776, the tower was being used as a powder store, protected by a small guard. By 1832, it had fallen into disrepair and was no longer in use. It was finally destroyed by army engineers in July 1898 during the Spanish–American War as there were fears it might be used by the enemy as a landmark for bombarding a nearby battery or as a base for setting up a provisional battery of their own. Today, the tower's foundations are located in the courtyard of the barracks of the same name. [2]

Gunpowder explosive most commonly used as propellant in firearms

Gunpowder, also known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur (S), charcoal (C), and potassium nitrate (saltpeter, KNO3). The sulfur and charcoal act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Because of its incendiary properties and the amount of heat and gas volume that it generates, gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rockets, and fireworks, and as a blasting powder in quarrying, mining, and road building.

Artillery battery artillery unit equivalent to an infantry company

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of artillery, mortars, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface to surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles etc., so grouped to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems. The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships.

Architecture

Little remains of the structure today, but plenty of historical data and photographs provide an insight into the structure and proportions. The tower had three floors, the first of them separated from the rest and that was accessed by a door at ground level. The second floor had a ladder attached to the wall outside. The third was reached by interior stairs. The building had a height of 14 metres (46 ft) and was rectangular in shape, 4 by 6 metres (13 by 20 ft), with walls 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) thick. [4] The tower was surrounded by an octagonal mud wall, 80 inches (2,000 mm) thick and 3.5–4.5 metres (11–15 ft) high. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "Torre de los Adalides / Torre de los Alaríes / Torre de los Aladides" (in Italian). Monumentalnet.org. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 Antonio Gil Albarracín, "Torre de los Adalides" in "Destrucción y reconstrucción del dispositivo defensivo en el litoral andaluz durante la primera mitad del siglo XX". (in Spanish) Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 "La Torre de los Adalides", Sur.es, 5 December 2011. (in Spanish) Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Cara, Lorenzo; Barrionuevo, Lorenzo Cara (2000). Ciudad y territorio en Al-Andalus (in Spanish). Athos-Pérgamos. p. 250. ISBN   978-84-95443-02-1 . Retrieved 5 February 2013.
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