Spanish North African Enclaves and Urban Networks in the Western Mediterranean in the Early Sixteenth Century

Abstract

Starting in 1497, Spain conquered towns in North Africa including Oran, Melilla, and Bugía. Scholars focusing on military and political history have emphasized the Christian outposts' isolation from the Muslim hinterland and the Spain itself. This article takes a different direction by examining the enclaves as urban centres. Spanish officials conceptualized Maghribi space as a series of towns. Iberian campaigns often seized a sequence of settlements, rather than just one site or broad territories. Once conquered, these ‘plaças' formed infrastructure and demographic centres that concentrated power, consumption, and exchange. They served as entry points for Spaniards in the area and as contact points for North Africans with Europeans. Overall, the enclaves participated in a network of western Mediterranean towns. A focus on Oran-Tlemcen relations in the 1520-1530s helps illustrate such interaction, as well as the competition and unmet expectations that also limited connections.