The siege of Barcelona took place between 3 and 27 April 1706 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

when a Franco-Spanish army laid siege to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in an attempt to recapture the city following its fall to an English-led Allied army the previous year. After the Earl of Peterborough entered

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in triumph in January 1706, Barcelona was left vulnerable. This led the French to change the plans of attacking Valencia and try to besiege Barcelona instead, while the city was blocked from the sea-side by the

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundi ...

. The Spanish forces were led by Philip V, while René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé was placed in charge of the French land forces during the siege. Despite insufficient artillery and the constant harassment from Peterborough, who marched north with 3000 men and attacked the besiegers from the mountains, the Franco-Spanish forces finally managed to shoot three breaches in the walls. But before the decision to storm the city could be made, the siege was abandoned, following the appearance of a large English fleet under the command of

John Leake Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake (4 July 1656 – 21 August 1720) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. He then distinguished himself when he led ...

carrying reinforcements. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned its supplies and artillery in its hasty retreat. Phillip was cut off from returning to Madrid, and so he crossed into France. Barcelona and the entire region of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

remained in Allied hands until 1714. After the Grand Alliance victory at Barcelona, the

solar eclipse of May 12, 1706 The solar eclipse on May 12, 1706 was a total eclipse. The astronomic event, part of the Saros 133 cycle, took place during the Spanish War of Succession, crossing Spain, France and Northern Italy: for this reason it was seen at the time as a me ...

was widely interpreted as the “eclipse of Sun King”, i.e., the dimming of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

, king of France, while the French court officially regarded the eclipse only as a scientific phenomenon.Hendrik Ziegler
Image Battles under Louis XIV: Some Reflections
pp. 32–35 , from Claydon, Tony ; Levillain, Charles-Édouard (Eds.): "Louis XIV outside in: images of the Sun King beyond France", 1661–1715, Farnham 2015.

References

Barcelona 1706 Conflicts in 1706 Siege of Barcelona (1706) Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 Barcelona 1706 1706 in Spain 18th century in Barcelona Sieges of the War of the Spanish Succession {{Austria-battle-stub