| Raid of the Balearic islands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSpanish–Ottoman wars andItalian War of 1551–1559 | |||||||
 Historic map ofMenorca byPiri Reis | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spain |  Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Philip II | Dragut | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
800 men[1] 40–100 soldiers | 150 ships 15,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4,000 inhabitants enslaved | Unknown | ||||||
Araid of the Balearic islands was carried out by theOttoman Empire in 1558, against theSpanishHabsburg territory of theBalearic islands.
The Ottomans had already attacked the Balearic Islands many times previously, as in the 1501Ottoman raid on the Balearic islands. Then followed the sacks ofPollença (in 1531 and 1550), theSack of Mahon in 1535,Alcúdia (1551),Valldemossa (1552),Andratx (1553), andSóller (1561). Ottoman attacks only decreased after theBattle of Lepanto in 1571, although they continued until the 17th century.[2][3]
On 30 December 1557,Henry II of France, who was in conflict with the Habsburgs in theItalian War of 1551–1559, wrote a letter to Suleiman, asking him for money,saltpeter, and 150 galleys to be stationed in the West. Through the services of his ambassadorJean Cavenac de la Vigne, Henry II obtained the dispatch of an Ottoman fleet in 1558.[4]
Suleyman the Magnificent sent his fleet as a diversion to help hisFrench allies against the Habsburgs. The Ottoman armada left Constantinople in April 1558. On 13 June 1558 the Ottoman fleet ravagedItaly, with little effect however apart from the sack ofSorrento, then part of the possessions ofSpain in southern Italy, where they took 3,000 captives.[5]
In July, the fleet then started to ravage the Balearic islands.[6] The Ottoman force consisted of 15,000 soldiers on 150 warships. The Ottomans, after repulsing an attack onMahón, attacked the citadel ofCiutadella inMenorca, which was only garrisoned with 40 soldiers.[7]
On 9 July 1558, the Ottomans underPiyale Pasha andTurgut Reis put the town under siege for eight days, then entered and decimated the town. After the fall of the citadel, the city was ravaged and the population enslaved.[7] All of Ciutadella's 3,099 inhabitants who survived thesiege were sold intoslavery in the Ottoman Empire, along with people from surrounding villages. In total, 3,452 locals were sold at the slave markets ofConstantinople. The Balearic islands were ravaged, and 4,000 people were taken as prisoners.[8]
An obelisk was set up in the 19th century byJosep Quadrado in the Plaza d'es Born in memory of the offensive, with the following inscription:
Here we fought until death for our religion and our country in the year 1558.[7]
Every year on 9 July a commemoration takes place in Ciutadella, remembering "l’Any de sa Desgràcia", or "the Year of the Disaster".[1]
As a later consequence of the 1553 Franco-OttomanInvasion of Corsica, the same Ottoman fleet was delayed from joining a French fleet inCorsica nearBastia, possibly due to the failure of the commanderDragut to honourSuleiman's orders. Suleiman apologized in a letter to Henry at the end of 1558.[9][10]