WAR OF GRANADA.—SURRENDER OF VELEZ MALAGA.—SIEGE AND CONQUEST OF MALAGA.
1487.
Narrow Escape of Ferdinand before Velez.—Malaga invested by Sea and
Land.—Brilliant Spectacle.—The Queen visits the Camp.—Attempt to
Assassinate the Sovereigns.—Distress and Resolution of the Besieged.—
Enthusiasm of the Christians.—Outworks Carried by them.—Proposals for
Surrender.—Haughty Demeanor of Ferdinand.—Malaga Surrenders at
Discretion.—Cruel Policy of the Victors.
Before commencing operations against Malaga, it was thought expedient by the Spanish council of war to obtain possession of Velez Malaga, situated about five leagues distant from the former. This strong town stood along the southern extremity of a range of mountains that extend to Granada. Its position afforded an easy communication with that capital, and obvious means of annoyance to an enemy interposed between itself and the adjacent city of Malaga. The reduction of this place, therefore, became the first object of the campaign.
The forces assembled at Cordova, consisting of the levies of the Andalusian cities principally, of the retainers of the great nobility, and of the well-appointed chivalry which thronged from all quarters of the kingdom, amounted on this occasion to twelve thousand horse and forty thousand foot; a number, which sufficiently attests the unslackened ardor of the nation in the prosecution of the war. On the 7th of April, King Ferdinand, putting himself at the head of this formidable host, quitted the fair city of Cordova amid the cheering acclamations of its inhabitants, although these were somewhat damped by the ominous occurrence of an earthquake, which demolished a part of the royal residence, among other edifices, during the preceding night. The route, after traversing the Yeguas and the old town of Antequera, struck into a wild, hilly country, that stretches towards Velez. The rivers were so much swollen by excessive rains, and the passes so rough and difficult, that the army in part of its march advanced only a league a day; and on one occasion, when no suitable place occurred for encampment for the space of five leagues, the men fainted with exhaustion, and the beasts dropped down dead in the harness. At length, on the 17th of April, the Spanish army sat down before Velez Malaga, where in a few days they were joined by the lighter pieces of their battering ordnance; the roads, notwithstanding the immense labor expended on them, being found impracticable for the heavier. [1]
The Moors were aware of the importance of Velez to the security of Malaga. The sensation excited in Granada by the tidings of its danger was so strong, that the old chief, El Zagal, found it necessary to make an effort to relieve the beleaguered city, notwithstanding the critical posture in which his absence would leave his affairs in the capital. Dark clouds of the enemy were seen throughout the day mustering along the heights, which by night were illumined with a hundred fires. Ferdinand's utmost vigilance was required for the protection of his camp against the ambuscades and nocturnal sallies of his wily foe. At length, however, El Zagal, having been foiled in a well-concerted attempt to surprise the Christian quarters by night, was driven across the mountains by the marquis of Cadiz, and compelled to retreat on his capital, completely baffled in his enterprise. There the tidings of his disaster had preceded him. The fickle populace, with whom misfortune passes for misconduct, unmindful of his former successes, now hastened to transfer their allegiance to his rival, Abdallah, and closed the gates against him; and the unfortunate chief withdrew to Guadix, which, with Almeria, Baza, and some less considerable places, still remained faithful. [2]
Ferdinand conducted the siege all the while with his usual vigor, and spared no exposure of his person to peril or fatigue. On one occasion, seeing a party of Christians retreating in disorder before a squadron of the enemy, who had surprised them while fortifying an eminence near the city, the king, who was at dinner in his tent, rushed out with no other defensive armor than his cuirass, and, leaping on his horse, charged briskly into the midst of the enemy, and succeeded in rallying his own men. In the midst of the rencontre, however, when he had discharged his lance, he found himself unable to extricate his sword from the scabbard which hung from the saddle-bow. At this moment he was assaulted by several Moors, and must have been either slain or taken, but for the timely rescue of the marquis of Cadiz, and a brave cavalier, Garcilasso de la Vega, who, galloping up to the spot with their attendants, succeeded after a sharp skirmish in beating off the enemy. Ferdinand's nobles remonstrated with him on this wanton exposure of his person, representing that he could serve them more effectually with his head than his hand. But he answered, that "he could not stop to calculate chances, when his subjects were perilling their lives for his sake;" a reply, says Pulgar, which endeared him to the whole army. [3]
At length, the inhabitants of Velez, seeing the ruin impending from the bombardment of the Christians, whose rigorous blockade both by sea and land excluded all hopes of relief from without, consented to capitulate on the usual conditions of security to persons, property, and religion. The capitulation of this place, April 27th, 1487, was followed by that of more than twenty places of inferior note lying between it and Malaga, so that the approaches to this latter city were now left open to the victorious Spaniards. [4]
This ancient city, which, under the Spanish Arabs in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, formed the capital of an independent principality, was second only to the metropolis itself, in the kingdom of Granada. Its fruitful environs furnished abundant articles of export, while its commodious port on the Mediterranean opened a traffic with the various countries washed by that inland sea, and with the remoter regions of India. Owing to these advantages, the inhabitants acquired unbounded opulence, which showed itself in the embellishments of their city, whose light forms of architecture, mingling after the eastern fashion with odoriferous gardens and fountains of sparkling water, presented an appearance most refreshing to the senses in this sultry climate. [5]
The city was encompassed by fortifications of great strength, and in perfect repair. It was commanded by a citadel, connected by a covered way with a second fortress impregnable from its position, denominated Gebalfaro, which stood along the declivities of the bold sierra of the Axarquia, whose defiles had proved so disastrous to the Christians. The city lay between two spacious suburbs, the one on the land side being also encircled by a formidable wall; and the other declining towards the sea, showing an expanse of olive, orange, and pomegranate gardens, intermingled with the rich vineyards that furnished the celebrated staple for its export.