ombardment of the city would begin soon, which the crew welcomed with enthusiasm. A large crowd of people in Rabat and Salé observed the French ships after they were spotted by Moroccan artillery battery gunmen. To start the bombing, the Admiral had to wait for the British consul to board the Caton, which he did four hours later; he was then taken to Rabat.
At dawn on 26 November, the British steamer Janus joined the Caton, and the consul left the Caton and boarded the Janus. The Moroccan soldiers in both cities prepared to repel the French attack, arming both cities with artillery batteries. The Sané had moved to the fort at the entrance to the Bou Regreg river; Henri IV was a short distance from Moroccan batteries north of Salé. Gomer prepared for battle, and Narval and Caton provided logistical support. The French opened fire on the forts of Salé at 10:00 a.m., and the Moroccans retaliated instantly with forty battery artillery weapons. After an hour of confrontation, the batteries in Salé were destroyed, and the artillery in Rabat were rendered useless. The battle gained intensity, but at 3:30 p.m., the batteries were removed from the city; however, resistance did not stop until 5:00 p.m. The Sane and Gomer, lacking in ammunition, withdrew from the battle, while Henri IV continued bombarding the city until 7:00 a.m. the next morning.
Aftermath[edit | edit source]
The following day, Dubourdieu sent a report to the Minister of War describing the French losses. Henri IV took several hits, with 1 dead and 9 wounded. The Sane suffered more damage than the Gomer, but neither was seriously damaged. Three men were killed on the Sane, and nine were wounded.
The damage to Salé was considerable; a wall from the Almohad Caliphate was severely damaged, and the Great Mosque of Salé was struck by six cannonballs. Several homes were destroyed, and many were burnt down. Between 12 and 15 civilians were killed, along with six to seven soldiers. In military terms, the battle was a victory for France. In order to prevent Tangier from receiving a similar bombardment, Morocco agreed to pay 100,000 francs to the French on November 29, 1851.
Politically, the battle is considered a failure for France. Initially, France had desired a revolt against the governor of Salé to force repayment and avoid destruction of the city, but this did not occur. The French demanded that those who killed Christians in the city be sentenced to death, and that thieves have their hands cut off; however, the governor of Salé simply banished these people from the city.
Following this confrontation, diplomatic relations between France and Morocco ended for several months, until a French diplomatic mission returned in 1852. After the bombardment, Dubourdieu was promoted to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, and then to vice-admiral in February 1852.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- L'Économiste 2009, p. 18.
- Brown 1976, p. 238.
- Godard 1860, p. 621.
- Brown 1976, p. 239.
- Dukkālī 1986, pp. 335–336.
- Cousté 1989, pp. 77–78.
- Godard 1860, p. 622.
- Dubourdieu 1851, p. 2.
- "Sane" (in French). DossiersMarine. http://dossiersmarine.free.fr/fs_f_F5.html.
- "Gomer class" (in French). DossiersMarine. http://dossiersmarine.free.fr/fs_f_F5.html.
- "Narval" (in French). Net-Marine. http://www.netmarine.net/bat/smarins/narval/ancien.htm.
- Dubochet, pp. 369–370.
- (in French) Courrier de la Drôme et de l’Ardèche. Memoireetactualite. http://www.memoireetactualite.org/presse/26COURDROMAR/PDF/1853/26COURDROMAR-18530324-P-0001.pdf.
- Dubourdieu 1851, p. 3.
- Dukkālī 1986, pp. 335–338.
- Dubourdieu 1851, p. 4.
- Godard 1860, p. 623.
- Dukkālī 1986, p. 337.
- Brown 1976, p. 240.
- Louis Dubourdieu.
References[edit | edit source]
- L'Économiste (2009) (in French). Les Alaouites Mohammed VI : Une Dynastie, un Règne. L'Économiste.
- Brown, Kenneth L. (1976). People of Sale: Tradition and Change in a Moroccan City, 1830–1930. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674661554.
- Godard, Leon Nicolas (1860) (in French). Description Et Histoire Du Maroc. ISBN 978-116