Reconquista captures Algeciras
April 1344
Alfonso XI of Castile besieged and took the Moroccan-held port at the mouth of the Strait after twenty months. Cannon were used in the siege, among the earliest European recorded combat use of gunpowder artillery against fortifications. The Strait of Gibraltar was largely closed to Marinid reinforcements from Africa, sealing the Reconquista's southern flank.
In context
Also in 1344 (4 other events on record)
- Earthquake and tsunami devastate Alexandria · Middle East · Disaster
- Chinese gunpowder weapons evolve: fire-lances proliferate · East Asia · Technology
- Sukhothai kingdom begins its decline in Siam · Southeast Asia · Politics
- Charles IV of Bohemia founds the archbishopric of Prague · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in War
Era
Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.