Tripoli Trípoli طرابلس | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1510–1530 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
 Early 16th century map of Tripoli byPiri Reis | |||||||||
| Status | Territory of theSpanish Empire under the jurisdiction ofSicily | ||||||||
| Capital | Tripoli | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish (official) Libyan Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism Sunni Islam | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1510 | Pedro Navarro (first) | ||||||||
• 1520–1530 | François Velasquès (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
| 25 July 1510 | |||||||||
| 23 March 1530 | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 25 July 1530 | ||||||||
| Currency | Spanish real,gold dinar,dirham | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Libya | ||||||||
Part ofa series on the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History ofLibya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Libya portal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tripoli, today thecapital city ofLibya, was apresidio of theSpanish Empire inNorth Africa between 1510 and 1530.The city wascaptured by Spanish forces in July 1510, and for the next two decades it was administered as an outpost which fell under the jurisdiction of the SpanishViceroy ofSicily. The city was granted as a fief to theKnights Hospitaller in 1530, and the latterruled the city until 1551.
Tripoli was captured by a Spanish force led by CountPedro Navarro in 1510, and most of the city's population was killed, enslaved or displaced in the process.[1] The Spanish subsequently encouraged Christian settlers to repopulate the city, although these attempts were largely unsuccessful.[2] The Spanish later also encouraged Muslim former inhabitants to return to Tripoli, and they permitted thesheikh who had been exiled to Sicily to return.[1] These efforts were also fruitless.[2]
Spanish control of the city and its hinterland remained tenuous and it was never fully secured. Their authority was only intermittently present in areas located within 10 miles (16 km) of the city.[2] An attack on the city was planned byBarbary pirates in 1512, and it was further threatened afterOruç Reis andHayreddin Barbarossa capturedAlgiers from Spain in 1515. The sheikh escaped to Tajura in 1526, which subsequent became a base for Muslim resistance against Spanish rule.[1] The Spanish made some repair works to Tripoli's castle by taking stonework from the city's fortifications, but the defences were otherwise neglected.[3]
After theKnights Hospitaller were expelled fromtheir base in Rhodes during anOttoman siege in 1522, they entered negotiations with Spanish EmperorCharles V who offered them Tripoli and the islands ofMalta andGozo as their new base. A delegation sent by the Hospitallers produced a report which stated that these locations were unfavourable, and they were reluctant to accept both Tripoli and the Maltese Islands because of the distance between them and the considerable expenses that would be necessary to maintain them.[1]
The Hospitallers eventually accepted Tripoli, Malta and Gozo as a fief on 23 March 1530, and they took control of the city on 25 July.[3] Tripoli remainedunder Hospitaller rule until 1551, when it wascaptured by theOttoman Empire.[1]
Tripoli was administered by aGovernor, and it fell under the jurisdiction of theViceroy ofSicily.[1]
While Tripoli was under Spanish rule, some trade between Europe and Africa flowed through the city,[1] but it was very limited. The main source of revenue for the Spanish administration was apoll tax on the importation of slaves.[2]
