In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Susarte.
Simón Rodríguez Susarte, commonly known as Simón Susarte, was a Spanish goatherd from Gibraltar, who in 1704 aided a Bourbon Spanish attempt to seize Gibraltar during the Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar by revealing a concealed path to the attackers which led to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. Susarte then guided a Bourbon contingent along this difficult trail, aiming to surprise the Grand Alliance garrison in hopes of recovering the town.[1]
leading 500 Bourbon Spanish grenadiers up a concealed path to the top of The Rock of Gibraltar in 1704 in order to surprise the Grand Alliance garrison.
Following the capture of Gibraltar by an Anglo-Dutch fleet on 4 August 1704 on behalf of the Grand Alliance, the Franco-Spanish Bourbon forces counterattacked by laying siege to the town in September, mainly attacking from the northern slopes of The Rock.
The pathedit
On 8 October, Simón Susarte visited the Bourbon Spanish army camp on the north end of the isthmus to advise the troops of a path which led from the east side of Gibraltar's sheer rockface to its summit. This path was known to Susarte and other goatherds from Gibraltar, as they had used it regularly in search of pasture for their goats. The Marquis of Villadarias was in command at the camp; after confirming the veracity of Susarte's account, he decided to send a Colonel Figueroa together with 500 lightly armed grenadiers under Susarte to take the Alliance forces by surprise from the sheer rock face, in conjunction with a general attack to be launched by the remaining Spanish forces. On the night of 9 October, Figueroa's soldiers left the Bourbon lines and began climbing up the jagged eastern slopes of Gibraltar to the "Paso del Algarrobo" (Spanish: Carob Path). The troops spent the night on the east side of the Rock in Fig Tree Cave and Martin's Cave before ascending Middle Hill the next day.[2]
The Grand Alliance counter-attackedit
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt had anticipated the possibility of an attack from the rear and had kept a mobile force in reserve to guard against such an eventuality. It was formed by an English company and two Spanish companies: a regular company under captain Francisco de Sandoval and a Catalan company of miquelets under Jaume Burguy, numbering 300 men, all of them led by Hesse's brother Heinrich.[3] This reserve immediately responded and engaged the Spanish Bourbons at Middle Hill. Although the Bourbons had the advantage of height, they were trapped against the precipice they had climbed and only had three rounds of ammunition each, as a result of travelling light; they had not come prepared for a pitched battle.
The Spanish Habsburg force led by Captain Burguy, made up of miquelets and regulars, marched ahead and dislodged the Spanish Bourbon grenadiers from the top of the hill.[3] At the same time, Sandoval, with his remaining regulars and miquelets, charged upon the bulk of the assaulting force from one flank, while Heinrich von Hesse attacked from the other side.[3] Around a hundred of the Bourbon force, including their colonel, were captured. Hundreds more were killed, either by defending fire or by falling off the Rock while attempting to flee. Only a few, including Simón Susarte, made it back to the Bourbon lines. The English subsequently ensured that there would be no repeat of this episode by blasting away the path used by the Spanish.[4][5]
Existence of Simón Susarteedit
There is doubt about the existence of Simón Susarte, since contemporary sources did not mention him at all and the first recorded mention dates to seventy eight years after the event. Susarte's story is first mentioned by Ignacio López de Ayala in his Historia de Gibraltar (History of Gibraltar), in 1782,[6] and by Francisco María Montero in his Historia de Gibraltar y su Campo (History of Gibraltar and its Countryside), in 1860.[7] However, the official accounts of the siege published in the Gaceta de Madrid[8] or the letters of Villadarias (which generically talks about l'affaire de la montagne, the mountain affair) do not mention it. Sáez Rodríguez argues that the lack of any contemporary record of Susarte's involvement does not prove he did not exist but only that his alleged participation was hushed up.[9]
A park in San Roque featuring Susarte's statue is named after him.[1]
^ abSan Roque Tourism – Simón Susarte Park 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^Jackson, Sir William G. F. (1990). The rock of the Gibraltarians : a history of Gibraltar (2nd ed.). Grendon: Gibraltar Books. p. 107. ISBN0948466146.
^ abcDe la Penya i Parell, Narcís Feliu: Anales de Cataluña. Vol. III. Barcelona: Juan Pablo Martí, 1709, pp. 526–527
^Jackson, William G. F. (1986). The Rock of the Gibraltarians. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses p. 107
^Hills, George (1974). Rock of Contention: A history of Gibraltar. London: Robert Hale & Company p. 193
^Montero, Francisco María (1860). Historia de Gibraltar y su Campo (in Spanish). Cádiz: Imprenta de la Revista Médica.
^Álvarez Vázquez, Manuel (2003). "Gibraltar en la 'Gaceta de Madrid' (1704- 1705)" (PDF). Almoraima (in Spanish) (29): 333–350.
^Sáez Rodríguez, Ángel J. (2007). Las defensas de Gibraltar (siglos XII-XVIII) (in Spanish). Málaga: Editorial Sarriá. p. 95. ISBN978-84-96799-10-3.
Bibliographyedit
Montero, Francisco María (1860). Barbard College Library (ed.). Historia de Gibraltar y su campo (in Spanish). Cádiz: Imprenta de la Revista Médica. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
Ferrer Del Río, Antonio (1856). Historia del reinado de Carlos III en España (in Spanish). Madrid: Imprenta de Matute y Compagni. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
Tubino, Francisco María (1863). Gibraltar: Ante la historia, la diplomacia y la política (in Spanish). Seville: La Andalucia. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
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In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Rodriguez and the second or maternal family name is Susarte Simon Rodriguez Susarte commonly known as Simon Susarte was a Spanish goatherd from Gibraltar who in 1704 aided a Bourbon Spanish attempt to seize Gibraltar during the Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar by revealing a concealed path to the attackers which led to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar Susarte then guided a Bourbon contingent along this difficult trail aiming to surprise the Grand Alliance garrison in hopes of recovering the town 1 Simon SusarteBornGibraltarNationalitySpanishOccupationGoatherdKnown forleading 500 Bourbon Spanish grenadiers up a concealed path to the top of The Rock of Gibraltar in 1704 in order to surprise the Grand Alliance garrison Route up the Rock of Gibraltar taken by 500 soldiers of the besieging Spanish Army led by the goatherd Simon Susarte Contents 1 The Gibraltar siege 2 The path 3 The Grand Alliance counter attack 4 Existence of Simon Susarte 5 See also 6 References 7 BibliographyThe Gibraltar siege editFollowing the capture of Gibraltar by an Anglo Dutch fleet on 4 August 1704 on behalf of the Grand Alliance the Franco Spanish Bourbon forces counterattacked by laying siege to the town in September mainly attacking from the northern slopes of The Rock The path editOn 8 October Simon Susarte visited the Bourbon Spanish army camp on the north end of the isthmus to advise the troops of a path which led from the east side of Gibraltar s sheer rockface to its summit This path was known to Susarte and other goatherds from Gibraltar as they had used it regularly in search of pasture for their goats The Marquis of Villadarias was in command at the camp after confirming the veracity of Susarte s account he decided to send a Colonel Figueroa together with 500 lightly armed grenadiers under Susarte to take the Alliance forces by surprise from the sheer rock face in conjunction with a general attack to be launched by the remaining Spanish forces On the night of 9 October Figueroa s soldiers left the Bourbon lines and began climbing up the jagged eastern slopes of Gibraltar to the Paso del Algarrobo Spanish Carob Path The troops spent the night on the east side of the Rock in Fig Tree Cave and Martin s Cave before ascending Middle Hill the next day 2 The Grand Alliance counter attack editPrince George of Hesse Darmstadt had anticipated the possibility of an attack from the rear and had kept a mobile force in reserve to guard against such an eventuality It was formed by an English company and two Spanish companies a regular company under captain Francisco de Sandoval and a Catalan company of miquelets under Jaume Burguy numbering 300 men all of them led by Hesse s brother Heinrich 3 This reserve immediately responded and engaged the Spanish Bourbons at Middle Hill Although the Bourbons had the advantage of height they were trapped against the precipice they had climbed and only had three rounds of ammunition each as a result of travelling light they had not come prepared for a pitched battle The Spanish Habsburg force led by Captain Burguy made up of miquelets and regulars marched ahead and dislodged the Spanish Bourbon grenadiers from the top of the hill 3 At the same time Sandoval with his remaining regulars and miquelets charged upon the bulk of the assaulting force from one flank while Heinrich von Hesse attacked from the other side 3 Around a hundred of the Bourbon force including their colonel were captured Hundreds more were killed either by defending fire or by falling off the Rock while attempting to flee Only a few including Simon Susarte made it back to the Bourbon lines The English subsequently ensured that there would be no repeat of this episode by blasting away the path used by the Spanish 4 5 Existence of Simon Susarte editThere is doubt about the existence of Simon Susarte since contemporary sources did not mention him at all and the first recorded mention dates to seventy eight years after the event Susarte s story is first mentioned by Ignacio Lopez de Ayala in his Historia de Gibraltar History of Gibraltar in 1782 6 and by Francisco Maria Montero in his Historia de Gibraltar y su Campo History of Gibraltar and its Countryside in 1860 7 However the official accounts of the siege published in the Gaceta de Madrid 8 or the letters of Villadarias which generically talks about l affaire de la montagne the mountain affair do not mention it Saez Rodriguez argues that the lack of any contemporary record of Susarte s involvement does not prove he did not exist but only that his alleged participation was hushed up 9 A park in San Roque featuring Susarte s statue is named after him 1 See also editHistory of GibraltarReferences edit a b San Roque Tourism Simon Susarte Park Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Jackson Sir William G F 1990 The rock of the Gibraltarians a history of Gibraltar 2nd ed Grendon Gibraltar Books p 107 ISBN 0948466146 a b c De la Penya i Parell Narcis Feliu Anales de Cataluna Vol III Barcelona Juan Pablo Marti 1709 pp 526 527 Jackson William G F 1986 The Rock of the Gibraltarians Cranbury NJ Associated University Presses p 107 Hills George 1974 Rock of Contention A history of Gibraltar London Robert Hale amp Company p 193 Lopez de Ayala Ignacio 1782 Historia de Gibraltar in Spanish Montero Francisco Maria 1860 Historia de Gibraltar y su Campo in Spanish Cadiz Imprenta de la Revista Medica Alvarez Vazquez Manuel 2003 Gibraltar en la Gaceta de Madrid 1704 1705 PDF Almoraima in Spanish 29 333 350 Saez Rodriguez Angel J 2007 Las defensas de Gibraltar siglos XII XVIII in Spanish Malaga Editorial Sarria p 95 ISBN 978 84 96799 10 3 Bibliography editMontero Francisco Maria 1860 Barbard College Library ed Historia de Gibraltar y su campo in Spanish Cadiz Imprenta de la Revista Medica Retrieved 27 July 2009 Ferrer Del Rio Antonio 1856 Historia del reinado de Carlos III en Espana in Spanish Madrid Imprenta de Matute y Compagni Retrieved 27 July 2009 Tubino Francisco Maria 1863 Gibraltar Ante la historia la diplomacia y la politica in Spanish Seville La Andalucia Retrieved 27 July 2009 Jackson William Godfrey Fothergill 1987 The Rock of the Gibraltarians London and Toronto Farleigh Dickinson University Press ISBN 0 8386 3237 8 36 08 18 N 5 20 37 W 36 138441 N 5 343574 W 36 138441 5 343574 Simon Susarte s path 1704 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Simon Susarte amp oldid 1145566669, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
