Simón Susarte facts for kids

Route up the Rock of Gibraltar taken by 500 soldiers led by Simón Susarte.

Simón Rodríguez Susarte, often called Simón Susarte, was a Spanish goatherd from Gibraltar. In 1704, he helped the Spanish army try to take back Gibraltar during a big battle called the Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar. He showed them a secret path up the Rock of Gibraltar. Susarte then led a group of Spanish soldiers along this tough path. Their goal was to surprise the soldiers of the Grand Alliance who were defending the town. They hoped to win Gibraltar back for Spain.

The Battle for Gibraltar

In August 1704, a fleet of ships from England and the Netherlands captured Gibraltar. They were fighting for the Grand Alliance. After this, the Spanish and French forces, known as the Bourbon forces, fought back. In September, they started a siege of Gibraltar. This means they surrounded the town and tried to attack it, mostly from the northern side of The Rock.

Simón's Secret Path

On October 8, Simón Susarte went to the Spanish army camp. He told the soldiers about a path that went from the east side of Gibraltar's steep rock face all the way to its top. Susarte and other goatherds knew this path well. They used it often to find places for their goats to eat grass.

The leader at the camp, the Marquis of Villadarias, checked if Susarte's story was true. Once he knew it was, he decided to send 500 lightly armed soldiers, called grenadiers, with Susarte. Their plan was to surprise the Alliance forces from the top of the rock. At the same time, the rest of the Spanish army would launch a big attack.

On the night of October 9, the 500 soldiers left the Spanish lines. They started climbing the rough eastern slopes of Gibraltar. They went up a path called the "Paso del Algarrobo" (which means Carob Path). The soldiers spent the night resting in caves on the east side of the Rock, like Fig Tree Cave and Martin's Cave. The next day, they continued climbing up to Middle Hill.

The Grand Alliance Fights Back

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was defending Gibraltar, had thought about the possibility of an attack from behind. He had a special group of soldiers ready for such a situation. This group included an English company and two Spanish companies. One Spanish company was led by Captain Francisco de Sandoval, and another was a Catalan company of soldiers called miquelets, led by Jaume Burguy. There were 300 men in total, and Prince George's brother, Heinrich, led them.

This special group quickly reacted when they saw the Spanish Bourbon soldiers. They fought them at Middle Hill. The Bourbon soldiers were high up, which was an advantage. However, they were stuck against the steep cliff they had climbed. They also had very little ammunition, only three rounds each, because they had traveled lightly. They were not ready for a long battle.

The Spanish Habsburg soldiers, led by Captain Burguy, moved forward first. They pushed the Spanish Bourbon grenadiers off the top of the hill. At the same time, Sandoval, with his remaining soldiers, attacked the main group of Bourbon forces from one side. Heinrich von Hesse attacked from the other side.

About one hundred of the Bourbon soldiers, including their colonel, were captured. Hundreds more were killed. Some were shot by the defending forces, and others fell off the Rock while trying to escape. Only a few, including Simón Susarte, managed to get back to their own lines. After this, the English made sure this kind of attack could not happen again. They blasted away the path the Spanish had used, destroying it.

Was Simón Susarte Real?

There is some doubt about whether Simón Susarte truly existed. Old records from that time do not mention him at all. The first time his story was written down was 78 years after the event.

Ignacio López de Ayala first wrote about Susarte in his book Historia de Gibraltar (History of Gibraltar) in 1782. Later, Francisco María Montero also mentioned him in his book Historia de Gibraltar y su Campo (History of Gibraltar and its Countryside) in 1860.

However, the official reports of the siege, like those in the Gaceta de Madrid, or letters from Villadarias, do not mention Susarte. Villadarias only talks generally about "the mountain affair." Some historians, like Sáez Rodríguez, argue that just because there's no old record of Susarte doesn't mean he didn't exist. It might just mean his part in the event was kept quiet.

Today, there is a park in San Roque that has a statue of Susarte and is named after him.

See also

In Spanish: Simón Susarte para niños

• History of Gibraltar