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Raid on La Goulette (1615)
	Part of Ottoman–Habsburg wars
Date	December 1615
Location	Halq al-Wadi, Ottoman Tunisia
Result	Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spanish Empire	Eyalet of Tunis; Regency of Algiers
Commanders and leaders
Francisco de Rivera	Unknown
Strength
3 galleons; 1 tartane	19 armed ships
Casualties and losses
3 dead; 30 wounded	4 vessels captured; Several vessels damaged

The raid on La Goulette of 1615 was a naval attack by Spanish Ensign Francisco de Rivera on La Goulette, the main port of Ottoman Tunisia. After chasing Barbary pirates from Sicily to La Goulette, Rivera entered their harbor and captured several ships before escaping.^[1]

Background

While the Spanish court focused their Italian resources on the concurrent War of the Montferrat Succession, Osuna received the task of keep a watch on Muslim navies.^[2] In December, his ships discovered that the Ottoman Empire had concentrated 70 galleys in Navarino, near Morea, leading Osuna to mobilize the squad of galleys of Sicily, commanded by Pedro de Gamboa y Leyva. While the spy ships captured two Barbary privateers and sank four in the African coasts, Osuna sent Leyva in combination with fleets of the Order of Malta and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to carry supply for the Christian rebels against Ottoman rule in Morea.^[3]

In the way to Morea, Leyva captured eleven Turkish caramoussals and the flagship of corsair Azan Mariol, who was known for harassing Calabria. He rescued 150 Christian galley slaves and made 200 Muslim prisoners.^[3] However, upon being alerted of the activity of new Barbary pirates, Osuna sent in Ensign Francisco de Rivera, who had been recently given command of the 36-gun galleon San Juan Bautista, the first in a private fleet of sailing ships Osuna had started building that year.^[4] He also took with him a tartane, carrying 100 soldiers of the Spanish marine infantry and 80 sailors between them.^[3]

Battle

Rivera found a suspicious African vessel and, after stopping it, had 60 soldiers in the tartane to search it. Meanwhile, two other Tunisian roundships joined the scene, each carrying 300 men and 36-40 guns, and attacked the San Juan. Rivera fought for five hours, as the Tunisians refused to engage in boarding despite their advantage in numbers, until eventually retreating in nightfall. River returned briefly to repair his ships from battle damage in Trapani,^[3] after which he sailed off again with two other galleons in order to capture the privateers.^[5]

Rivera captured two unrelated pirates on the way and headed for La Goulette, the fortress guarding the entry to the lake of Tunis, after learning the wanted corsairs would have taken refuge in it.^[6] He entered the channel with only the San Juan and other galleon, leaving outside the other two ships for better maneuvering. Not less than 19 Barbary ships were in the port of La Goulette, but the attack's surprise prevented them from reacting in time. Rivera captured two ships of 18-20 guns, among them the flagship of the Regency of Algiers, which was in La Goulette at the time.^[5] 37 enemies were killed on the deck, and the rest of the local crews jumped on the sea, where many of them drowned or were shot, except by three who were captured.^[5] Helped by favorable wind, Rivera finally exited the lake with the taken ships in two while the artillery of Tunis and La Goulette fell on them.^[6]

The San Juan had received multiple hits, and one of the captured ships, more exposed to the enemy fire, sank, but Rivera returned with all the rest to Trapani, with only 3 dead and 30 wounded men. 19 Flemish prisoners whom the pirates kept in the ships were freed.^[6] The ships in the harbor of La Goulette had been damaged enough the attack that no further action happened in a short time.^[5]

Aftermath

The action was celebrated in Sicily, with the Duke of Osuna immediately commending Rivera to be promoted to captain, which was granted, although the court refused to give him any further reward.^[6] The court was displeased, considering the operation an act of privateering, which had been explicitly forbidden in 1615 on moral principles despite Osuna's notorious success at it.^[7] Spanish poet Luis Vélez de Guevara recorded the battle celebratorily in his theater play about Rivera and Osuna.^[8]

References

^ Salvá, Miguel (1864). Collección de Documentos Inéditos para la Historis de España (PDF). Madrid: Imprenta de la Viuda de Calero. p. 364. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
^ Fernández Duro (2006), p. 95-96.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fernández Duro (2006), p. 96.
^ Canales & Rey (2016).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Duque de Osuna á S. M., fecha en Palermo, 9 March 1616. Relación de lo que ha hecho el capitán Francisco Ribera en estos mares y en la Goleta, con los galeones que S. E. mandó armar y fueron á su cargo.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fernández Duro (2006), p. 97.
^ Fernández Duro (2006), p. 93-94.
^ Fernández Duro (2006), p. 247.

Bibliography

Canales, Carlos; Rey, Miguel (2016). De Salamina a las Malvinas: 25 siglos de guerra naval. EDAF. ISBN 9788441437005.
Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (2006). El gran duque de Osuna y su marina: jornadas contra turcos y venecianos (1602–1624) (in Spanish). Spain: Editorial Renacimiento. ISBN 978-84-8472-126-0.