Algiers expedition (1519) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Algiers expedition (1519)
Date August 1519 Location Algiers Result Victory of the Regency of Algiers
Belligerents
Spain Kingdom of Sicily	Regency of Algiers
Commanders and leaders
Hugo de Moncada	Hayreddin Barbarossa
Strength
58 ships 23,000 soldiers	Very few
Casualties and losses
20 ships sunk 4,000 killed 3,036 captured	Very few

In 1519, a joint Spanish-Italian attack on Algiers was ordered by Charles V and commanded by Hugo de Moncada. This expedition ended in disaster.

The Viceroy of Sicily Hugo de Moncada was ordered to organise an expedition to conquer Algiers by Charles V. This attack took place in August 1519. A previous Spanish attack had been defeated in 1516 by Oruç Reis, the brother of Hayreddin Barbarossa.

Hayreddin Barbarossa was ready to oppose this expedition with his army. Hayreddin Barbarossa successfully routed the Spanish-Italian attack, resulting in shipwreck and massacre. The leader of the expedition, Hugo de Moncada, managed to escape. 3,036 Spaniards were captured.

When Charles V offered a sum of money for the captured officers, Barbarossa had all of the captives executed. When Barbarossa was offered another sum of money for the return of the dead bodies, he had the bodies thrown into the sea so that “If the relatives of any of the dead came to Algiers, they would not know the burial place of their father or brother, nor be able to see the ashes, but only the waves.” Another expedition against Algiers was led by Hugo de Moncada yet again in 1523. Hayreddin Barbarossa had also captured the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera in 1522 and severely defeated an attempt to recapture it three years later.

See also

• Algiers Expedition (1516)
• Algiers expedition (1541)

Sources