Key Facts
- Duration
- 8 May – 6 June 1707 (approx. 4 weeks)
- Attacker force size
- 9,000–11,000 Castilian and French troops
- Defender force size
- ~2,000 Aragonese and British troops
- Aftermath
- City burned down and renamed 'San Felipe'
- Population fate
- Defenders massacred; inhabitants deported to La Mancha
Strategic Narrative Overview
Between 8 May and 6 June 1707, a Bourbon force of 9,000 to 11,000 Castilian and French troops under Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld and José Antonio de Chaves Osorio besieged the city. The garrison, comprising roughly 2,000 Aragonese and British defenders under Miguel Purroi and Josep Marco, resisted but was ultimately overcome. The city's fall ended organized Habsburg resistance in the region.
01 / The Origins
The Siege of Xàtiva occurred within the broader context of the War of the Spanish Succession, a pan-European conflict over the vacant Spanish throne. The Kingdom of Valencia largely supported the Habsburg claimant Archduke Charles, placing its cities in direct opposition to the Bourbon claimant Philip V, whose Franco-Castilian forces sought to consolidate control over the Iberian Peninsula after their decisive victory at the Battle of Almansa in April 1707.
03 / The Outcome
Following the city's capture, the defenders were massacred as an exemplary punishment. The remaining inhabitants were deported to the La Mancha region. Xàtiva was burned to the ground and officially renamed 'San Felipe' by Philip V as a mark of collective punishment. The episode left a lasting cultural imprint: the city's inhabitants are to this day nicknamed 'socarrats', meaning 'grilled people', in memory of the destruction.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld, José Antonio de Chaves Osorio.
Side B
1 belligerent
Miguel Purroi, Josep Marco.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.