Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

such widespread strife the Spanish crusaders could but rejoice; subsequently,
Bejaia fell to the Spaniards in 1510 while Jijel was occupied by their allies the
Genoese in 1512. So, due to that general state of weakness and disunity, the
Central Maghrib could not resist swarms of crusaders that were unleashed on
its shores. One after the other, the major cities and ports fell to Spanish
conquest. In less than a decade, Spanish garrisons, called presidios, dotted the
Algerian coast from Oran to Jijel. 20
The Spanish conquest of North African kingdoms did not differ much
from the reconquest of Muslim kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula during
Reconquista —except for duration. Reconquista is often presented as a series of
military campaigns that officially began in 722 and ended in 1492. The
Christians rulers used the argument of ‘prior possession of the land’ to justify
attacks on Muslims kingdoms in Andalusia and claimed that they were fighting
to re-conquer Christian territory lost to Muslims after the conquest of Tariq Ibn
Ziad in 711 AD. This way, they gained support of the Papacy and galvanized
armies all over Christendom. By 1236, Cordoba, one of two remaining Muslim
kingdoms—besides Granada—fell to combined Christian attacks.
More than just military campaigns, the Reconquista also was a religious
and an ideological crusade. Originally, it took the form of mere attacks
undertaken by various Christian rulers for power and self-enrichment. Military
superiority ensured them victory but they lacked the demographic element
necessary for settlement of the conquered territories. Therefore, they attacked
20 For a general description of the different attacks and capitulation of local rulers see Grammont,
Histoire d’Alger, pp. 27-39.
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