Algeci'ras

Algeci'ras, or ALGEZIRAS, a town in Spain, in the province of Cadiz, on the Bay of Gibraltar. Its harbour is bad, but it possesses a good dock. The citadel is in a very dilapidated condition; but the streets, though dirty and silent, look picturesque. The town is 5 miles from Gibraltar across the bay or gulf, and 9 round by land. Charcoal and tanned leather are the chief articles of export; the oranges of Algeci'ras are famous, as well as its bull-fights. Population, 12,450. It was the first town in Spain taken by the Moors (711), in whose possession it remained for seven centuries; but in 1344 it was retaken by Alfonso XI., king of Castile, after a twenty months' siege that attracted the interest of all Christendom. Alfonso destroyed the old Moorish town; the modern one was built by Charles III. in 1760. On the 6th of June 1801, between Algeci'ras and Tarifa, the English admiral Saumarez attacked the combined French and Spanish fleets; he was defeated, but renewed the engagement on the 12th, and gained a complete victory.