[1] After the Earl of Peterborough entered Valencia in triumph in January 1706, Barcelona was left vulnerable.

This led the French to change the plans of attacking Valencia and try to besiege Barcelona instead, while the city was blocked from the seaside by the Count of Toulouse.

[2] Despite insufficient artillery and the constant harassment from Peterborough, who marched north with 3,000 men and attacked the besiegers from the mountains, the Franco-Spanish forces finally managed to shoot three breaches in the walls.

[3] But before the decision to storm the city could be made, the siege was abandoned, following the appearance of a large English fleet under the command of John Leake carrying reinforcements.

[2] The documentary sources explain that the escape of Philip V caused great perplexity in all the chancelleries of Europe, but especially in that of Versailles, governed by his grandfather and patron Louis XIV of France.