Conquest of Oran (1509)

Conquest of Oran
The taking of Oran by Cardinal Cisneros, by Juan de Borgoña
Date May 1509 Location Oran Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Error creating thumbnail: Hispanic Monarchy	File:Dz tlem2.png Kingdom of Tlemcen
Commanders and leaders
File:Flag of Cardinal Cisneros.svg Cardinal Cisneros Error creating thumbnail: Pedro Navarro Error creating thumbnail: Alonso de Granada Error creating thumbnail: Diego Fernández de Córdoba
Strength
8,000–12,000 infantry 3,000–4,000 cavalry	12,000 defenders
Casualties and losses
Fewer than 30	4,000 dead 8,000 prisoners
Cause: The interest of the Spanish Crown in establishing a new fortified post on the coasts of Barbary

The taking of Oran in 1509, a stronghold that would remain uninterruptedly under Spanish rule for nearly two hundred years, was the product of an initiative of Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, who financed the expedition, and which had the support of Ferdinand the Catholic.

Background

After the successful expedition to Mers-el-Kébir in 1505, and the taking of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera in the summer of 1508, Cardinal Cisneros, who had been Regent of the kingdom, proposed to Ferdinand the Catholic an expedition to conquer the coastal city of Oran, financing it himself, on the condition that the captured stronghold would remain under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Toledo. The Monarch agreed, facilitating the levy of the troops and the formation of the fleet, and granting Cisneros the title of Captain General of Africa on August 20, 1508.

The taking of Oran

Preparations for the expedition began in September 1508. On May 16, 1509, the fleet set sail, made up of 80 naos and 10 galleys accompanied by smaller vessels, heading for Mers-el-Kébir, a city neighboring Oran, where the troops landed on the morning of the 18th. After a solemn Mass, the soldiers formed up under the command of Pedro Navarro, while the old Cardinal remained in the city's fort.

The two towns are separated by a mountain range, at the foot of which the city's defenders gathered, withdrawing before the Spanish attack; the Spaniards took by assault the citadel and the gates of the walled city, entering it, sacking it, seizing numerous captives and killing many civilians.

The following day, the Cardinal moved by ship from Mers-el-Kébir, and celebrations were held in the captured city. Some three hundred Christian captives who were being held prisoner in the city were freed.

File:Flag of Cardinal Cisneros.svg

Personal standard of Cardinal Cisneros used in the battle, according to the fresco in the Mozarabic Chapel of Toledo Cathedral.

Consequences

The policy of expansion in North Africa, taking coastal strongholds without penetrating into the continent, continued in the following years with the taking of Bougie and Tripoli in 1510, and the vassalage offered to the Catholic King by Tunis and Algiers.

However, after the expedition to Djerba and the participation of the Spanish Crown in the Holy League, the Crown placed the so-called war of Africa in the background, given the priority affairs in Italy.

See also

• Conquest of Tripoli
• Spanish Strongholds of Africa
• Spanish expedition to Oran

Bibliography

• Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1895). Armada Española (desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. Tomo I, 1476-1559) (PDF) (in español). Madrid: Imprenta Real.
• Ximénez de Sandoval, Crispín (1849). Memoria histórica militar: recuerdo de los principales sucesos de los españoles en la parte del África francesa, que corresponde ahora a la provincia de Orán (in español). Madrid.