Bona, present-day Annaba, was an important coastal city protected by a fortress that came under Spanish rule following the conquest of Tunis in the summer of 1535 and the agreements concluded between Charles V and the Hafsid ruler Muley Hassan. It was there, in January 1536, that part of the Spanish garrison rose in revolt. The mutiny was led by the infantry captain Francisco de la Chica and lasted six days. It was driven by arrears in pay and the harsh conditions endured by the garrison. Aggrieved at having been excluded from the sack of Tunis and complaining that they were “naked, barefoot, and poor,” the soldiers turned against the authority of the alcaide, Álvar Gómez de Orozco, known as El Zagal. During the uprising, the rebels deployed two cannon against the fortress where he had taken refuge. The insubordination was eventually crushed. Gómez ordered the public hanging of Captain de la Chica and nine other alleged ringleaders on the battlements. To conceal the summary nature of the executions and avoid royal sanction, El Zagal, assisted by the notary Pedro Gómez de Herrera, allegedly falsified the judicial records to give an appearance of legality to what was effectively an arbitrary act of justice. The property of the condemned men was sold at public auction, and the proceeds, received by the paymaster Izaguirre, were used to finance repairs to the fortress. Spanish rule in Bona proved short-lived. In 1540, after years of administrative difficulties and under the constant threat of Ottoman naval pressure, Charles V ordered the evacuation of the city and the demolition of its fortifications, acknowledging that the position could no longer be maintained.