Siege of Barcelona

The siege of Barcelona took place between 14 September and 19 October 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession when a multinational Grand Alliance army led by Lord Peterborough, supporting the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne, captured the city of Barcelona from its Spanish Bourbonic defenders, most of whom then joined the Habsburg army. An attempted landing had been repulsed the previous year at the Landing at Barcelona. Following the city's capture by Peterborough, the Bourbons launched a concerted attempt to recapture it the following year during the 1706 siege of Barcelona, which failed. The city and Catalonia remained in Allied hands until reconquered by the Bourbons in 1714. Background Following the outbreak of the war, Catalonia had been regarded as a base of support by the Allies in their campaign to put Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne in opposition to the rival French candidate Philip V. Barcelona was recommended as a potential target by the region's former Governor Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1704, he had attempted a landing outside the city but had been forced to withdraw. However he continued to believe that the Catalans would welcome Allied intervention due to their opposition to Madrid. The Bourbon authorities had clamped down with a series of repressive measures against the inhabitants. The Allies captured Gibraltar and began looking for fresh bases that might be taken. In 1705, a fresh expedition of mainly Anglo-Dutch ships and soldiers set out from Lisbon. The Duke of Berwick, recently replaced in his post as French commander in Spain, was concerned about the likelihood of an attack on Barcelona and unsuccessfully recommended that 12,000 French reinforcements be moved south from France. The Governor of Barcelona believed the Allies were more likely to move against Nice.