All fellow readers, I have an important announcement to make.
(Clears throat)
From now on for an undefined period I will be posting updates on Ankh Von Hapsburg's behalf. He has been having some problems with his Internet (or PC ; I don't exactly remember).
So the updates will undoubtedly be written by Ankh but I will be posting them here.
Any contribution to the TL will be appreciated if you get permission from the author to do that.
I too will be contributing my part of the Indian situation whenever it becomes possible for me.
So here is the new update.
Part 9: The Age of Colonialism 1826-1876: Section 4: The Scramble for Africa 1847-1876 Part 3: The Saharan Crusade:
At the Congress of Vienna, the Empire of the Spanish had been assigned the Saharan territory north of British Mali and in 1849 they moved to make good their claim. Their first target was Morocco, which hadn’t been granted to them but was a threat to their trade to and from their North African colonies in Algiers and Tunis. Thus, in 1850 after a year’s worth of preparation the Spanish invaded Morocco, officially to protect their trade from pirates (the Barbary pirates having been forced to relocate to Morocco by the Spanish acquisition of Algiers). However, it was little more than a blatant land grab by the Spanish. Morocco was a backward nation, but they fought valiantly and boosted by the prestigious naval strength of the Barbary Corsairs, Morocco held out for 4 long years against Spanish incursion. They defeated a Spanish fleet of the coast of Granada and even succeeded in bombarding the city in early 1853. Despite this audacious assault, the Moroccan capital of Rabat fell to the Spanish at the turn of the year and the Kingdom of Morocco fell under Spanish rule in April 1854 and by 1855 they were a member of the Empire of the Spanish.
Having achieved this long-term aim of dominion over the North African coast. The Spanish embarked on a campaign to establish the beginnings of a colonial network along north-west African coast line, heading south towards British Mali. To that aim Fernando Baston, a Spanish naval captain, sailed south from the newly-conquered Rabat and explored and charted the African coast as far the British controlled territory Gambia river. During this journey, he plotted suitable areas for Spanish settlements to add to the existing settlements, both colonial and native.
In the meantime, the North Italians began their own ‘Saharan Crusade’, this time against the Berbers of Fezzan. The North Italians had received no African territory at the Congress of Vienna, but had earlier received Tripolitania and Cyrenaicaand thus targeted Fezzan, to add to their African dominions. Thus, in 1852 the North Italian desert troops invaded Fezzan with the help of Libyan supporters. The Berbers had a significant advantage over the North Italian forces, i.e. the fact that they were used to desert combat whilst the North Italians were more accustomed to fighting in the more pleasant European climate. As such the Fezzan War was long and drawn out. The North Italian troops gradually made progress but suffered heavy losses to both enemy action and the heat. Despite this, the North Italians were victorious and in 1861 Fezzan fell under North Italian dominion, albeit with continued guerrilla resistance by the Berber tribesmen. The conquest of Fezzan ended the military action of the so-called Saharan Crusade.
The ’crusade’ continued throughout the Scramble for Africa, but it was a cultural crusade rather than a militant one. The Spanish launched an extensive colonisation campaign on the western coast of Africa, whilst the North Italians remained secure in their territories in Libya and Fezzan. They staked a claim to the desert territory that surround Libya, but made no coherent effort to actually colonise it, largely due to the inhospitable climate of the Sahara. By 1876 the Spanish had established numerous settlements, both large and small, along the West African coast, whilst the North Italians largely remained within Libya.
(Clears throat)
From now on for an undefined period I will be posting updates on Ankh Von Hapsburg's behalf. He has been having some problems with his Internet (or PC ; I don't exactly remember).
So the updates will undoubtedly be written by Ankh but I will be posting them here.
Any contribution to the TL will be appreciated if you get permission from the author to do that.
I too will be contributing my part of the Indian situation whenever it becomes possible for me.
So here is the new update.
Part 9: The Age of Colonialism 1826-1876: Section 4: The Scramble for Africa 1847-1876 Part 3: The Saharan Crusade:
At the Congress of Vienna, the Empire of the Spanish had been assigned the Saharan territory north of British Mali and in 1849 they moved to make good their claim. Their first target was Morocco, which hadn’t been granted to them but was a threat to their trade to and from their North African colonies in Algiers and Tunis. Thus, in 1850 after a year’s worth of preparation the Spanish invaded Morocco, officially to protect their trade from pirates (the Barbary pirates having been forced to relocate to Morocco by the Spanish acquisition of Algiers). However, it was little more than a blatant land grab by the Spanish. Morocco was a backward nation, but they fought valiantly and boosted by the prestigious naval strength of the Barbary Corsairs, Morocco held out for 4 long years against Spanish incursion. They defeated a Spanish fleet of the coast of Granada and even succeeded in bombarding the city in early 1853. Despite this audacious assault, the Moroccan capital of Rabat fell to the Spanish at the turn of the year and the Kingdom of Morocco fell under Spanish rule in April 1854 and by 1855 they were a member of the Empire of the Spanish.
Having achieved this long-term aim of dominion over the North African coast. The Spanish embarked on a campaign to establish the beginnings of a colonial network along north-west African coast line, heading south towards British Mali. To that aim Fernando Baston, a Spanish naval captain, sailed south from the newly-conquered Rabat and explored and charted the African coast as far the British controlled territory Gambia river. During this journey, he plotted suitable areas for Spanish settlements to add to the existing settlements, both colonial and native.
In the meantime, the North Italians began their own ‘Saharan Crusade’, this time against the Berbers of Fezzan. The North Italians had received no African territory at the Congress of Vienna, but had earlier received Tripolitania and Cyrenaicaand thus targeted Fezzan, to add to their African dominions. Thus, in 1852 the North Italian desert troops invaded Fezzan with the help of Libyan supporters. The Berbers had a significant advantage over the North Italian forces, i.e. the fact that they were used to desert combat whilst the North Italians were more accustomed to fighting in the more pleasant European climate. As such the Fezzan War was long and drawn out. The North Italian troops gradually made progress but suffered heavy losses to both enemy action and the heat. Despite this, the North Italians were victorious and in 1861 Fezzan fell under North Italian dominion, albeit with continued guerrilla resistance by the Berber tribesmen. The conquest of Fezzan ended the military action of the so-called Saharan Crusade.
The ’crusade’ continued throughout the Scramble for Africa, but it was a cultural crusade rather than a militant one. The Spanish launched an extensive colonisation campaign on the western coast of Africa, whilst the North Italians remained secure in their territories in Libya and Fezzan. They staked a claim to the desert territory that surround Libya, but made no coherent effort to actually colonise it, largely due to the inhospitable climate of the Sahara. By 1876 the Spanish had established numerous settlements, both large and small, along the West African coast, whilst the North Italians largely remained within Libya.