colony · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Spanish Bougie

1510 CE – 1555 CE · capital Bejaia

Bejaia under Spanish occupation, a contested fortress that resisted the Barbarossa brothers for decades before falling to Ottoman Algiers.

Origins

In January 1510 Pedro Navarro captured Bejaia, then ruled by a Hafsid prince, as part of Spain's campaign along the North African coast after the fall of Granada. The conquest made Bejaia a Spanish presidio comparable to Spanish Oran.

Rule and society

The Spanish held only the town and its forts, with a garrison cut off from the hinterland, where the Kingdom of Kuku and the Kingdom of Ait Abbas held sway. The corsair Oruç Barbarossa attacked Bejaia in 1512 and 1514 and lost his arm in the first attempt. The port's trade declined sharply.

Decline and legacy

In 1555 Salah Rais, beylerbey of the Regency of Algiers, besieged and took Bejaia. Its governor Alonso de Peralta surrendered and was executed in Spain for doing so. The city became part of Ottoman Algeria.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Spanish Bougie. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-bougie
MLA
“Spanish Bougie.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-bougie. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Spanish Bougie.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-bougie.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Spanish Bougie’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-bougie (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻