Siege of Barcelona

Siege of Barcelona
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession
11 September 1714: the last stage of the Siege of Barcelona. The Catalan defenders charge against the Franco-Spanish army of the Bourbon king Philip V. Almost all of them died.
Date 25 July 1713 - 11 September 1714 Location Barcelona, modern-day Spain Result Decisive Franco-Spanish Bourbon victory.
Belligerents
Bourbon [1] Kingdom of France Kingdom of Spain	Austrian Barcelona defenders Maulets
Commanders
Duke of Berwick	Antoni de Villarroel
Strength
40,000 regulars 80 cannons 20 howitzers	2,000 regulars 4,700 militians of the Coronela Some piece of artillery
Casualties and losses
14,000 dead or wounded	7,000 dead or wounded

The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), which pitted Archduke Charles of Austria (backed by Britain and the Netherlands, i.e. the Grand Alliance), against Philip V of Spain, backed by France in a contest for the Spanish crown.

Prelude

During the early part of the war, Barcelona had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surrounded the city. These troops later captured the fort of Montjuic, and used it to bombard the city into its submission on October 9 of that year.

Battle

Even though the freshly defeated Catalan court then supported the Archduke against Philip V, the Franco-Spanish forces were not strong enough to attempt a recapture of the city until 1713. By 25 July of that year, the city was surrounded by Bourbon forces, but attacks upon it were unfruitful due to the scarcity of artillery. The Bourbons then waited for a 20,000 man reinforcement force, which arrived in April-May of 1714. The assault was renewed under the command of the Duke of Berwick, and after entering the city on 30 August, the Bourbons finally triumphed on 11 September. This date is now commemorated as La Diada.

Aftermath

The war's end in 1714, with the surrender of the pro-Archduke forces to a Franco-Spanish army, marks a two century long period of greater suppression of Catalan autonomy that mirrored the greater centralization of the various monarchies of the European continent. With the War of the Spanish Succession completed, Spain evolved from a de facto unified kingdom to a centralized de jure one. The defenders of the city were buried in a cemetery, now a plaza, Fossar de les Moreres, where Catalans gather every 11 September.

References

External links

• Documents about the case of the Catalans dated on 1714, at the House of Lords, UK.
• Journal of the House of Lords: volume 19, 2 August 1715, Further Articles of Impeachment against E. Oxford brought from H.C. Article VI.