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Spanish-Moroccan War
Spanish-Moroccan War 1859-60
Posted 24 Apr 2006
My interest in the African War was sparked by a set of 4 booklets I picked up from Pallas Armata called simply "The Spanish Campaign in Morocco" (Hardman, 1996). The immediate cause of the Spanish-Moroccan War (1859-60) was Spanish jealously of contemporary French ventures in Algeria. Perhaps even more fundamental were: the Spanish belief that fighting the Moor was a sacred duty; and their long held desire to extend their Reconquista south of the straits. I guess my own interest in the period parallels these causes ... I have the armies for the medieval Reconquista in Spain and there is something quite romantic about the vision of regular European lines facing off massed Muslim tribesmen. It is another period I haven't got into much yet, but you'll find bits and bobs below.
Acknowledgement
Mike Blake has kindly provided much of the detail for this section - in particular he supplied most of the material for both the painting guide and Spanish order of battle. For example all references to Bueno (1998) and Acosta (1998) come from Mike.
Chris Tubb kindly sent through the article from the Illustrated London News (10 Nov 1859) including the two pictures.