Siege of Barcelona

{{Campaignbox War of the Spanish Succession}} The '''Siege of Barcelona''' ({{lang-ca|Setge de Barcelona}}, {{IPA-ca|ˈsedʒə ðə βərsəˈɫonə|IPA}}) was a battle at the end of the [[War of Spanish Succession]] (1701–1714), which pitted [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Archduke Charles of Austria]] (backed by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and the [[Netherlands]], i.e. the [[Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg)|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 [[Montjuïc]], and used it to bombard the city into its submission on October 9 of that year. ==Battle== Even though the freshly defeated [[Catalonia|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 [[James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick|Duke of Berwick]], and after entering the city on 30 August, the Bourbons finally triumphed on 11 September. This defeat is now commemorated as the National Day of Catalonia, also known as La Diada Nacional de Catalunya. Notes: 1. Britain and Dutch Republic reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 11 April 1713, [[Treaty of Utrecht]] 2. Austria reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 March 1714, [[Treaty of Rastatt]] 3. The Holy Roman Empire reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 September 1714, [[Treaty of Baden]] ==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. ==External links== * [http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/documentxsl.asp?com=1&i=2&nbKey=1&stylesheet=xsl\A2A_com.xsl&keyword=catalans&properties=0601 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.'' [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=38455&strquery=catalan%20case#s14 Article VI]. {{coord missing|Spain}}