Cañones del Elector de Sajonia en la plaza fuerte de Rosas (siglos XVI-XVII): El Barzoque y los 36 libras

This article identifies three pieces of artillery, especially the Barzoque that served in defence of the fortress of Rosas (Spain) during the 16th and 17th centuries. The cannons are part of the spoils of war that Spanish imperial troops took from the protestant princes following the defeat of the Schmalkaldic League at the battle of Mühlberg in 1547. This article is based mainly on primary sources, especially two documents found in the General Archive of Simancas and the unpublished treatise of Captain Diego de Prado y Tovar, who saw the cannons on his visit to Rosas and whose drawings give a clear idea of the Barzoque’s mouldings.