nso X. of Castile. Its renewed
prosperity dates from the discovery of America in 1492. As the headquarters
of the Spanish treasure fleets, it soon recovered its position as the
wealthiest port of western Europe, and consequently it was a favourite
point of attack for the enemies of Spain. During the 16th century it
repelled a series of raids by the Barbary corsairs; in 1587 all the
shipping in its harbour was burned by the English squadron under Sir
Francis Drake; in 1596 the fleet of the earl of Essex and Lord Charles
Howard sacked the city, and destroyed forty merchant vessels and thirteen
warships. This disaster necessitated the rebuilding of Cadiz on a new plan.
Its recovered wealth tempted the duke of Buckingham to promote the
fruitless expedition to Cadiz of 1626; thirty years later Admiral Blake
blockaded the harbour in an endeavour to intercept the treasure fleet; and
in 1702 another attack was made by the British under Sir George Rooke and
the duke of Ormonde. During the 18th century the wealth of Cadiz became
greater than ever; from 1720 to 1765, when it enjoyed a monopoly of the
trade with Spanish America, the city annually imported gold and silver to
the value of about L5,000,000. With the closing years of the century,
however, it entered upon a period of misfortune. From February 1797 to
April 1798 it was blockaded by the British fleet, after the battle of Cape
St Vincent; and in 1800 it was bombarded by Nelson. In 1808 the citizens
captured a French squadron which was imprisoned by the British fleet in the
inner bay. From February 1810 until the duke of Wellington raised the siege
in August 1812, Cadiz resisted the French forces sent to capture it; and
during these two years it served as the capital of all Spain which could
escape annexation by Napoleon. Here, too, the Cortes met and promulgated
the famous Liberal constitution of March 1812. To secure a renewal of this
constitution, the citizens revolted in 1820; the revolution spread
throughout Spain; the king, Ferdinand VII., was imprisoned at Cadiz, which
again became the seat of the Cortes; and foreign intervention alone checked
the movement towards reform. A French army, under the duc d'Angouleme,
seized Cadiz in 1823, secured the release of Ferdinand and suppressed
Liberalism. In 1868 the city was the centre of the revolution which
effected the dethronement of Queen Isabella.

See _Sevilla y Cadiz, sus monumentos y artes, su naturaleza e historia_, an