La Consulaire
La Consulaire is the name of a very large Barbary artillery piece which famously defended Algier harbour. It was captured by the French during the Invasion of Algiers in 1830, on 5 July, and taken as a trophy to Brest, where it is still displayed.
![](../I/m/La_Consulaire_(Baba_Merzoug).jpg)
La Consulaire is a 13 -metre long smoothed-bore muzzle-loading gun, ordered by Hassan Pasha Ibn Kheireddin for the completion of the fortifications of Algier. It was founded in Algiers in 1542 by a Venetian founder for Hasan Agha. Its original name is Baba Marzug ("lucky father").
![](../I/m/Bombardement_d'Alger_1682.jpg)
The gun was used in 1683 to project the limbs of the consul of France, Jean Le Vacher, towards the fleet of Admiral Duquesne, earning it its name.
In 1830, a fleet under Admiral Duperré conquered Algiers and captured the gun. It was brought back to Brest and mounted on a granite stand decorated with high reliefs, and is on display inside the military zone of the Arsenal, near Recouvrance Bridge.
Gallery
- Base pannel: France casting the rays of science unto Africa
- Base pannel: the Army
- Base pannel: the Navy
- Top of the monument
Sources and references
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Consulaire. |