The Basques: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Basque Country, Starting from Prehistory through Roman Rule and the Middle Ages to the Present by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-16T00:00:00+00:00

The formidable Pyrenees

Between 1793 and 1795, the War of the Pyrenees was fought between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. The War of the Pyrenees was one of the many French Revolutionary Wars. Initially, Spain remained neutral, but when France declared war on Spain, they entered the war. The French army then recruited Basques from the French Basque provinces; this was a practice that continued into the 19th century. The French army invaded the province of Labourd, and there were many deaths (1,600 in all) and mass deportations. Many of the affected people fled to America.

To make the chronology easier to follow, the two theaters of this war have been split into separate sections.

War in the Eastern Pyrenees

In April of 1793, Spanish Captain General Antonio Ricardos commanded the Catalonian army. He invaded the region of Cerdagne and captured the commune of Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans. Following that, he boldly defeated the poorly trained French troops at the Tech River, located right on the Spanish-French border in the county of Roussillon. The French were commanded by an elderly commander, Mathieu Henri Marchant de La Houlière, who became so depressed by his failure to defend the area that he committed suicide. Spain then divided their army into two divisions: the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees and the Army of the Western Pyrenees.

In May, Ricardos attacked a French encampment under the command of Louis-Charles de Flers near Mas Deu. Once the French were gone from there, Ricardos struck Fort de Bellegarde at the town of Le Perthus. He promptly placed it under siege. About a month and a half later, the French gave up the fort.

It was now July. Ricardos pursued the French toward Perpignan, the capital city of Roussillon. Ricardos separated his army into five columns. In the beginning, they made good progress. The third column even captured some hills there. However, the second column, under Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, Marquis de las Amarillas, was delayed and failed to support the third column like he was supposed to. Louis-Charles de Flers then attacked the separated third column and forced it back. Another column turned around to help, and they were able to reform their position. But then the French attacked full-force. Unfortunately, the columns were too far apart, and the French defeated them.

During the following months, the war went both ways. At times, the French were able to repel the Spanish back, and at others, the Spanish were able to win some solid victories.

In December 1793, the Portuguese allied with Ricardos. This combined force won a victory in the Battle of Villelongue-dels-Monts. This was followed by the Battle of Collioure at the end of the month, which saw the Spanish winning the French ports of Collioure and Port-Vendres.

Ricardos went to Madrid to ask for reinforcements. The weather up in the mountains was cold and wet, and it took its toll on Ricardos, who was sixty-six years old. Ricardos died of pneumonia in March. His successor, Alejandro O’Reilly, died ten days later. Luis Firmin de Carvajal was then given command of the Army of Catalonia.

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