Tuesday 27 October 2015

The Siege of Tangier, 1683

by British (English) School

The Moroccan city of Tangier was given to Charles II in 1661 as part of the dowry of his Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza. It was besieged by the Sultan of Morocco in 1679 and the English withdrew in 1684, destroying the city’s fortifications before their departure.
This bird’s-eye view of Tangier is thought to represent the deliberate destruction of the city’s defences by the troops of Admiral Lord Dartmouth, watched by Moorish troops in the foreground. It is not known when it entered the collection at Dyrham Park, but it would have been an appropriate picture for William Blathwayt I (1649?–1717), who was appointed Secretary of State for War in 1683.

1 comment:

Big Andy said...

Tangier is a fascinating little campaign. there was a good bit of fighting in the later 1660s and again in the early 1680s, The JSAHR have copies of Halkets journal for the battles of the 1680s just before the English Withdrawal