26 October 2018

Finding three Irish governors at
an English outpost in Tangier

The former Portuguese and English walls at Tangier … the short-lived English colony had three Irish governors in the 17th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

I crossed the Strait of Gibraltar by fast ferry yesterday [25 October 2018] and sailed to Tangier, on a day trip from Seville, to explore the Medina and to visit the caves where god Hercules is said to have slept. It was an opportunity to discover a unique blend of European and African cultures and taste the delicious food.

Tangier once had three Irish Governors in the 17th century when it was an English colony for less than quarter of a century between 1661 and 1684.

King Charles II acquired the city as part of the dowry when he married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. The marriage treaty was an extensive renewal of the alliance between England and Portugal. It was opposed by Spain, then at war with Portugal, but received clandestine support from France.

England garrisoned and fortified the city against hostile but disunited Moroccan forces.

The first Irishman to act as governor of Tangier was Colonel Sir John FitzGerald, who was lieutenant governor from 7 June 1664 to April 1665, He was the son of Gerald FitzGerald, of Ballygleaghan, Co Limerick. He was descended from a branch of the FitzGerald family of Glin Castle, Co Limerick, who were Knights of Glin.

This John Fitzgerald was a colonel in the Irish Regiment of Tangier in 1663, although he was a Roman Catholic. Later, he held the office of Governor of Yarmouth in 1672, and he died in 1678 at Nonsuch Park, Surrey. He had no children, but perhaps if he had descendants the title of Knight of Glin would not have died out in recent years.

Abandoned British military equipment at the walls in Tangier … the city was an international zone from 1924 to 1956 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

The second Irish Governor of Tangier was William O’Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, who was Governor from 1675 to 1680. He was appointed Governor in succession to the Earl of Middleton in 1675, and that year a garrison school was founded, led by the Rev. Dr George Mercer.

He had succeeded his father as Earl of Inchiquin in 1674, and was Captain General of the Forces at Tangier from 1674 to 1680 and Colonel of the 2nd Tangier Regiment of Foot from 1675 to 1680. He commanded the Tangier Garrison at the time of the Great Siege of Tangier in 1680.

Later, he was the first Governor of Jamaica and Vice-Admiral of the Caribbean Seas from 1690 to 1692. He died in Jamaica in 1692 and his Irish estate and titles were inherited by his son, William O’Brien.

When Lord Inchiquin resigned as Governor of Tangier in 1680, he was replaced by a third Irish governor, Thomas Butler (1634-1680), Earl of Ossory. He was born at Kilkenny Castle, the eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Preston.

However, Lord Osssory died on 30 July 1680 before he could take up his post in Tangiers. His son, James Butler, succeeded as the 2nd Duke of Ormond eight years later in 1688.

Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining the English garrison against Moroccan attack greatly increased after Morocco was united under the Alaouites. Parliament refused to provide funds for its upkeep, partly due to fears of ‘Popery’ and fears arising from the imminent of a Catholic succession of James II.

In 1684, Parliament forced Charles II to give up his possession on the north African coast. The English forces blew up their defences and evacuated the city, which later became part of Morocco.

The British military presence in this part of North Africa returned briefly in the 20th century. The Tangier International Zone was a 373 sq km international zone under the joint administration of Britain France, and Spain, and later Portugal, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and the US from 1924 until its reintegration into independent Morocco in 1956.

The entrance to Glin Castle, Co Limerick … there is a remote, and very thin, connection with the Irish-born Governors of Tangier in the 17th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

An afternoon in Real Alcázar
in Seville, the oldest royal
palace still in use in Europe

The Reales Alcázares de Sevilla was built for Pedro I in 1364-1366 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

Having spent Wednesday morning in Seville Cathedral, I spent much of the afternoon [24 October 2018] in the Alcázar or Reales Alcázares de Sevilla or Royal Alcázar of Seville.

This royal palace was built for King Peter of Castile on the site of an Abbadid Muslim fortress that was destroyed during the Christian conquest of Seville, although elements of other civilizations remain.

The name Alcázar comes from the Arabic al-qaṣr, meaning the castle or palace, which in turn is derived from the Latin castrum, castle.

It is said the site of the Real Alcázar has been occupied from the eighth century BC. The collegium or College of Olearians was built here in the first century AD, and the early Visigothic basilica of Saint Vincent was built on its ruins.

When Seville was conquered by the Umayyad caliphate in the year 712, the Visigothic basilica was demolished to build the first military work. It This may have been a quadrangular enclosure, fortified, and annexed to the walls.

During the period of the first Taifa kingdoms, various buildings stood here, including stables and warehouses. The citadel began to gain importance, under the Abbadid dynasty in the first half of the 12th century, when the space doubled and a large palace called Al-Muwarak was built on the site of the present Patio de la Monteria. Some archaeological remains from this period are preserved.

Under the Almohads, when Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur was caliph, a new residence, court and mosque were built for the Caliph.

A small courtyard, the Patio del Yeso, served as the residence of Pedro I in 1358 before his new palace was built. When he was building this new palace, he reused some of shafts and capitals of this basilica, the only Visigothic remains to have survived to this day.

Most of the flamboyant architecture of the palace was the work of Peter of Castile and Alfonso X (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Most of the architecture of the palace, including its most flamboyant parts, was built for Peter of Castille and Alfonso X and includes Mudéjar, Gothic and Mannerist halls and courtyards.

After the Lisbon earthquake caused damage in 1755, the façade of the Palacio Gótico overlooking the Patio del Crucero was completely renovated in Baroque style.

We entered tAlcázar by the Puerta del León, the main entrance, which takes its name from the 19th century tile-work inlaid above it, showing a crowned lion holding a cross in its claws and bearing a Gothic script.

The Patio de las Doncellas or ‘Courtyard of the Maidens’ takes its name from a legend that the Moors demanded 100 virgins every year as tribute from the Christian kingdoms in Iberia.

In courtyards and halls of Alcázar in Seville (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

The lower level of the Patio was built for King Peter of Castile and includes inscriptions describing Peter as a sultan. There are lavish reception rooms on the sides of the Patio. In the centre is a large, rectangular reflecting pool with sunken gardens on either side.

For many years, the courtyard was entirely paved in marble with a fountain in the centre. However, we were told during our tour that archaeological evidence shows the gardens and the reflecting pool were part of the original design and these have been restored.

The upper story of the Patio was added by Charles V and designed by Luis de Vega in the style of the Italian Renaissance.

Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla or the Baths of Lady María de Padilla consists of rainwater tanks beneath the Patio del Crucero, and is named after María de Padilla, the mistress of Peter the Cruel.

The Salon de Embajadores, or Ambassadors’ Reception Room, was the main room used by Peter of Castile when he stayed at Alcazar.

The gardens at Alcázar have undergone many changes over the century. During the reign of Philip III in the 16th century, the Italian designer Vermondo Resta introduced the Italian Mannerist style. Resta was responsible for the Galeria de Grutesco (Grotto Gallery) transforming the old Muslim wall into a loggia from which to admire the view of the palace gardens.

The palace is one of the finest examples of Mudéjar architecture in Spain and one of the most beautiful. The upper levels are still used by the Spanish royal family as their official residence in Seville, making this the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.

In Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla in Alcázar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)