By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS– Two hundred and thirty-one years have passed since the liberation of the cities of Oran and Mers El-Kebir from Spanish colonization which lasted three centuries.
February 27, 1792 is a special date in the history of the country which marks the definitive liberation of the city of Oran after the siege imposed by the Bey of Mascara, Mohamed Benothmane El-Kebir, on the Spanish military garrison of Oran and Mers El-Kebir. The glorious battles led by volunteers from all over the west of the country afflicted the Spanish troops with a heavy defeat, forcing them to withdraw.
This event, still firmly anchored in the national memory, has been evoked by many writers and historians, including the scholar Abi Ras El-Naciri El-Djazaïri (1751-1823), witness of this victory, who recounted its unfolding in his book Ajaïb El-Asfar wa lataïf El-Akhbar, as well as the nomadic literature for the struggles for the liberation of Oran.
The Spanish occupation of Oran dates back to the beginning of the 16th century, when the coastal locality of Mers El-Kebir was occupied in 1505 followed by that of the city of Oran in 1509, according to historical sources.
From Oran and throughout its occupation, the Spanish army launched attacks against the local population and then extended to the towns of Mostaganem, Tlemcen and Mascara, exterminating all of several tribes, looting the wealth and abducting women and children.
Entire tribes were forced to flee, abandoning their lands. History professor at Oran 1 Ahmed-Ben-Bella University, Mohamed Bendjebbour, told APS that the Spanish invaders perpetrated barbaric acts against the people.
Spanish sources even indicate that “the city of Oran was deserted even by birds and animals. Only those who managed to take refuge in the mountains survived. This is how Oran remained under the control of the Spaniards”.
This academic pointed out that since the Spanish occupiers set foot on Oran soil, campaigns for the liberation of the city continued until victory was snatched in April 1708, after fierce battles led by the Bey of Mascara, Mostefa Benyoucef, known as Bouchelaghem, to which the people joined.
Following this great victory, the latter relocated the capital of Beylik from Mascara to Oran and made it his headquarters. “However, this joy did not last long because of the recapture of Oran and Mers El-Kebir by the Spanish in 1732, after Philip V had prepared a campaign, which lasted three years, against Oran”, added the Professor Bendjebbour.
A long siege to liberate the city
After the second occupation of Oran, the campaigns for its liberation resumed with renewed vigor, in particular those led by Bey Mohamed Benothmane El-Kebir, for which he mobilized the Ulemas and students of the Holy Quran at the level of the different regions of Western Algeria (Mascara, Mazouna, Ghriss, Nedroma and others), who benefited from training before coming to Oran, according to the same interlocutor.
The Bey relied on the blitz method of attacking and quickly withdrawing to tighten the noose on the Spaniards. In 1780, he launched a surprise attack on Oran, thus managing to eliminate a certain number of Spaniards.
On September 14, 1784, another attack which this time targeted the Forts of the city, and in 1787 he imposed a long siege on Oran which lasted until 1790 and set up several “relays”, such as those of ” Djebel El-Meida” and “Ifri”.
The Bey Mohamed Benothmane El-Kebir intensified the attacks but, in the same year, Oran was rocked by an earthquake which destroyed the Spanish military fortifications, which greatly helped to defeat them. The siege of Oran and the battles fought were crowned by the defeat of the Spaniards, who were forced to sign a peace treaty on September 12, 1791.
A period of four months had been set for them to withdraw definitively. The Spaniards left Oran on February 27, 1792. The Bey, on the strength of his victory, set about urbanizing the city of Oran, developing it and relaunching commercial activity to attract populations from the various Algerian cities.
