HISTORY
1715 – 30 Catalan volunteers expel 300 Bourbon soldiers who tried to disembark in the port of Manacor

30 Catalan (from Manacor) volunteers expel 300 Bourbon soldiers who tried to disembark in the port of Manacor

07/04/2015 Freedom.cat

On the 4th of Abril 1715 was the first Bourbon disembark attempt on the island of Mallorca. The young artilleryman Guillem Riera, from the watchtower of his defence, Tower Serral dels Falcons, ascertained the approaching Bourbon ships. Sounded the horn and 30 men answered the call, with crossbows and blunderbusses, to strengthen the resistance. The French, from their ships, summed more than 300 well-armed soldiers. With the small tower’s cannon, a faconet who fired bullets of the size of an orange, Guillem Riera got to shoot without stop, and, thanks to its precision, scared the barges away. Unaware of the limited forces that fired from the coast, the attackers fled and returned to the ships. Meanwhile, from the ground, the Mallorcan man gave no rest to crossbows and arks. Guillem Riera didn’t stop, but the small cannon, as hot as it was, exploded and killed him. Thanks to him, the Bourbon troops would be more than two months back. The week before, in Barcelona, were rushed General Moragues, Pau Macip i Jaume Roca, whom were sentenced to death, accused of going to Mallorca. On 27th of March, after being tortured, hang on the gallows and dismemberd, the head of General Moragues was introduced in an iron cage and hanged at Portal de Mar in Barcelona.

More information at: http://blocs.mesvilaweb.cat/balutxo/?p=268230