A contemporary account of the conquest of Terceira

(Bazán, Álvaro de). Grundlicher bericht, wellicher gestalt, in jüngst verschienen Monat: Julio und Augusto, des jetz lauffenden 83. Jars, durch Künigklicher May. in Hispania, General Obristen Don Alvaro de Bacan, Marches de Sancta Cruce, die Insul Terzera, sambt etlichen andern, zu den Azores gehorig, eingenommen.

€ 3,500.00

Rare German pamphlet reporting the conquest of Terceira Island in the in the Azores by the Spanish general Álvaro de Bazán and his troops in July and August 1583. Translated from a Spanish print ("Relación de la iornada, expugnacion y conquista dela isla Tercera"), it provides a detailed account of the entire battle and its aftermath, describing how the first officer to set foot on Terceira, Don Felix de Arragon, was killed by two gunshots, his entire squad eliminated and their scout injured, and how the capital Angra was looted for three days in the wake of the conquest, after which Bazán ordered the citizens of Terceira to return to their homes and tend to their affairs. It is noted that although many attended the speech, a great number did not.

Due to their strategic location en route to the West Indies, the Azores were of great value to the Spanish Empire, and Terceira was the last independent part of Portugal to be conquered. While Philip II, King of Spain, was the official king of Portugal on the mainland since 1580, a resistance movement led by António, Prior of Crato, pretender to the Portuguese throne, had established an opposition government on Terceira in the same year. The War of the Portuguese Succession (1580-83) was a consequence of the deaths of King Sebastian I of Portugal and his successor, both without heirs.

The Spanish attack against Terceira was led by Álvaro de Bazán (1526-88), Marquess of Santa Cruz and Captain General of the Sea. He launched an amphibious invasion with overwhelming forces counting 15,372 men and 98 ships, including a fleet of 31 large merchantmen converted as troop transports, small vessels, and a landing craft, fighting galleons, 12 galleys, and 2 galleasses.

António had managed to reinforce his garrisons with 800 mostly French privateers. After the Spanish victory, Bazán refused to recognise their privateer status and charged them for piracy, probably under orders of Philip II, to avoid having to declare war on France. The battle of Terceira is important not only for the control it afforded over of the passage to the Indies and for Portugal's complete incorporation into the Spanish Empire, but it was also the first battle in history to use war galleons.

Very rare: VD 16 cites only 2 holding institutions (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München and Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel).