Ramón de Bonifaz

Ramón de Bonifaz (1196-1252 or 1256) was a medieval Spanish naval leader best known for breaking a river barricade, leading to the capture of Seville from the Almohad Caliphate.

[1] Bonifaz made his fortune as a merchant in Burgos, a city on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela,[1] and may have descended from one of the many French or Italian families that settled along the sacred way.

[1] In 1247, King Ferdinand III of Castile and León ordered Bonifaz to organize a fleet to join in the reconquista of Seville.

Bonifaz drew his motley navy mostly from ships in the Bay of Biscay[1] and took them up the Guadalquivir River to attack the Almohad held city.

[1] The Moors barricaded the river with a pontoon bridge braced with a heavy, metal chain that stretched from the Torre del Oro (Tower of the Gold) to the opposite bank.

Medieval illustration of Ramón de Bonifaz.
The Torre del Oro (at right) anchored one end of the barricade in the Guadalquivir. It marks where the Moorish defenses spanned the river.