The Battle of the Bay of Velez or the Battle of VelezLes Sources inédites de l'histoire du Maroc: Dynastie Saadienne.. Archives et bibliothèques d'Espagne. France: E. Leroux, 1956. p.36-37.Rodríguez Raso, Rafaela. Maximiliano de Austria, Gobernador de Carlos V en España: cartas al emperador. Spain: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Escuela de Historia Moderna, 1963.Revue historique. France: Librairie G. Bailleère, 1969. p.380. was a naval battle between the forces of Salah Reis and a Portuguese flotilla in which the forces of Salah Reis emerged victorious, captured the Portuguese squadron and seized the Penon de Velez.Galibert, Léon. Histoire de l'Algérie ancienne et moderne depuis les premiers établissements des Carthaginois jusques et y compris les dernières campagnes du général Bugeaud: Avec une introduction sur les divers systèmes de colonisation qui ont précédé la conquête française. France: Furne et Cie, 1843. p.194.Les sources inédites de l'histoire du Maroc de 1530 ? 1845. p.155.(2007). Chapitre 6 : De Salah Raïs à Euldj Ali. Recherches sur l’Algérie à l'époque ottomane : II. La course, mythes et réalités (p. 89-100). Éditions Bouchène. p.92. The Portuguese fleet was commanded by Inácio Nunes Gato, who was also the official interpreter for John III.Actes du deuxième Congrès international d'étude des cultures de la Méditerranée occidentale. Algeria: Société nationale d'édition et de diffusion, 1978. p.296.
Background The Wattasid ruler, Abu Hassan implored the Christians for help, he stayed in Lisbon for four months where he obtained support from John III of Portugal, they in turn wished to reinstate him as the ruler in Fez and receive Velez, Larache and Algiers.De Haëdo, D., Traduite et annotée par De Grammont, H.-D. (1998).Salah Pacha, septième roi. Histoire des Rois d’Alger. p.100.Alonso Acero, Beatriz. Sultanes de Berbería en tierras de la cristiandad: exilio musulmán, conversión y asimilación en la monarquía hispánica, siglos XVI-XVII. España: Edicions Bellaterra, 2006. p.78. The Portuguese had formally offered him Arzila and likely intended to give him Tangier.Elbl, Martin. Portuguese Tangier (1471-1662): Colonial Urban Fabric as Cross-cultural Skeleton. Canada: Baywolf Press, 2013. p.619-620. He was to be transported to Velez by a fleet of 5 Portuguese caravels under the command of Inácio Nunez Gato, however bad weather delayed the journey. The Portuguese force had to stay in Tangier for nine days due to the weather, therefore when they arrived in Ceuta and then Velez the country was on high alert. When the Portuguese fleet arrived at Velez, Salah Raïs was warned of their arrival by a Sharifian caïd and immediately dispatched 24 galleys to the Velez.
The winter of 1552–1553 in the Regency of Algiers, was devoted to outfitting a fleet. In the beginning of June, Salah Reis embarked from Algiers and set out with a fleet of 40 vessels, galliots, galleys and brigantines.Braudel, Fernand. La Méditerranée et le monde méditeranéen à l'époque de Philippe II. (The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Era of Philip II) France: A. Colin, 1966. However, other sources note 1552 as the year of the battle.
Battle On July 5, 1553, while at sea with his squadron, Salah Reis came across and defeated a Portuguese fleet at the bay of Velez. At first he surrounded the Portuguese ships, after a cannonade on both sides and a continuous volley the Portuguese ships were boarded. The Portuguese bravely defended themselves for three hours before they were overwhelmed. Salah Rais and the Barbary corsairs scored a swift victory.Delgado Larios, Almudena. Conflictos y cicatrices. Fronteras y migraciones en el mundo hispánico. Spain: Dykinson, 2015. p.148. The entire flotilla and its caravels were captured and the Portuguese and Moroccans including the commander, Inácio Nunes Gato and the Wattasid ruler, Abu Hassan were taken captive and brought to Velez. Abu Hasan was kept in Algiers in strict captivity for some months before offering his vassalage to Salah Reis.Grammont, H.-D. de. Histoire d'Alger sous la domination turque (1515-1830), par H.-D. de Grammont. (5 juin 1886.) E. Leroux (Paris). 1887. p.79-80.
Aftermath Abu Hassan attempted to negotiate the release of the Portuguese crew with Salah Rais, however he was unsuccessful. Salah Rais did not grant the release of Inácio Nunes Gato or the other Portuguese captives, however he did promise help in reconquering Fez.
The booty was offered to the Saadi ruler as a token of friendship and neighbourliness and also to dissuade him from launching raids on Oran. It was a man named Musa who commanded the Velez on behalf of the Saadi ruler, Salah Reis gifted him the navy vessels and cannons he had captured. Salah Reis informed him that Abu Hassan would be imprisoned in Algiers for his dealings with the Christians and requested that the Saadi ruler should not cross the Moulouya, which was the border between the Saadi state and the Kingdom of Tlemcen. Despite this offer a new border incident occurred, and Salah Reis spent his winter preparing an expedition against Morocco, after which he defeated the Saadi ruler in the Battle of Taza.
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