Peñón of Algiers refers to a small islet off the coast of Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

, fortified by the Kingdom of Spain during the 16th century. The islet was connected to the African continent to form a seawall and the harbour of Algiers.

History

Established in 1510 when the Spaniards settled on a small island in front of Algiers (modern Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

), the Peñón of Algiers enforced Sālim al-Tūmī (Selim-bin-Teumi) to observe the terms of a treaty with Spain to accept a Spanish presence and to pay tribute. Fortifications were built on the islet, and a garrison of 200 men was established. Sālim al-Tūmī had to go to Spain to take an oath of obedience to Ferdinand of Aragon

Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...

.

The islet was captured in 1529 by Hayreddin Barbarossa in the Capture of Algiers (1529)

Capture of Algiers (1529)

The Capture of Algiers was accomplished when the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa took the Algerian city of Algiers from the Kabyles as well as the Habsburg Spanish in 1529.-Background:...

. Barbarossa dismantled the fortifications, ending the Spanish presence in the area.