The Landing at Barcelona was a failed Allied attempt in May 1704 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

to capture the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...

from its Spanish pro-Bourbon defenders.

Prelude

When King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

died without an heir in November 1700, he was succeeded in Madrid by the French prince Philip V. This successor was contested by England, the Dutch Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, and Portugal which favored Austrian prince

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

as new King, leading to the

. Within Spain, not everyone supported King Philip V. Especially Catalonia and Valencia feared losing their traditional local rights under a King who favored strict central government of the sort practiced in France. One of Philip's first decisions was to replace

Viceroy of Catalonia This is a list of Spanish viceroys (also called lieutenants) of the Principality of Catalonia from 1479 to 1713. *1479–1493: Enrique de Aragón *1493–1495: Juan de Lanuza y Garabito *1495–1496: Juan Fernández de Heredia *14 ...

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (25 April 1669 – 13 September 1705) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of ...

, who was not only German, but also very popular in Barcelona for defending the city against the French three years earlier.

Landing

In 1704, Spain was still firmly in the hands of Bourbon King Philip V. Contacted by some pro-Habsburg Catalan nobles, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt convinced the Allies to send a fleet to Barcelona, in the hope that, as a consequence, the people would rise up against the new pro-Bourbon Viceroy Francisco de Velasco. A fleet of 30 English and 18 Dutch ships under command of Admiral

George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld duri ...

, with George of Darmstadt on board, sailed from Lisbon to Barcelona. When the fleet appeared before the city, the expected uprising didn't happen. George of Darmstadt then landed some 1,200 British and 400 Dutch marines at the mouth of the river Besòs, where they were joined by some 1,000 armed Catalans. This landing also failed to provoke a reaction inside the city. Warned that a larger French fleet was approaching, the Allies had no other option than to re-embark and sail back to Lisbon. On their way back, they captured Gibraltar on 3 August. Several hundred Catalans accompanied the fleet south and fought with the Allies at Gibraltar. Some 350 of them settled just north of Gibraltar in a spot named

Catalan Bay Catalan Bay () is a bay and fishing village in Gibraltar, on the eastern side of The Rock away from Westside. Etymology Although the origin of Catalan Bay's name is documented, a couple of theories co-exist. Documentary evidence suggests th ...

after them.

Aftermath

A second attempt to take the city was successful one year later, in October 1705. Barcelona remained loyal to the Habsburg King Charles throughout the War, until it was conquered in 1714.

Sources

* *Francis, David (1975). ''The First Peninsular War: 1702–1713.'' Ernest Benn Limited. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barcelona Military history of Catalonia Landing at Barcelona (1704) Barcelona (1704) Barcelona (1704) Barcelona (1704) Barcelona (1704) Battles of the War of the Spanish Succession in Spain 1704 in Europe Conflicts in 1704 18th century in Spain 18th century in Barcelona Sieges of the War of the Spanish Succession