If you love watching people dress up in uniforms from 200 years ago, then La Peza is just the place to be on the 28th of this month, because they will be celebrating the show down between Napoleon’s veterans and the good folk of La Peza, complete with costumes of the time, plenty of muskets and fun.

By 1810 the French were firmly ensconced in the province of Granada and had recently moved into Guadix. Then one day the local commander thought that it might be a good wheeze to visit la Peza and whip up a spot of respect. The Pezians were not impressed and decided to put up a fight.

The Mayor, Alcalde Carbonero, decided to knock up a cannon using an evergreen oak trunk, carved out and filled with powder and plenty of metal objects.

Well, wood is that good at constraining and directing rapidly expanding hot cases so the tree-cannon blew up, killing just as many Spaniards as French soldiers.

The French ran off – disconcerted by the Spanish lunatics – but soon ran back and killed just about everybody who had survived the wooden cannon blast.
Hopefully, the re-enactment will be just a little better organised than the original confrontation.