Portuguese Tangier (; ) covers the period of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

rule over

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

, today a city in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. The territory was ruled by the Kingdom of Portugal from 1471–1661.

History

After the Portuguese started their expansion by taking Ceuta in retribution for its piracy in 1415, Tangier became a major goal. Portugal attempted to capture Tangier in

1437 Year 1437 ( MCDXXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 20– 21 – James I of Scotland is fatally stabbed at Perth in a f ...

, 1458, and 1464 but only succeeded in 28 August 1471 after its population abandoned the city following the Portuguese

Conquest of Asilah The Portuguese conquest of Asilah ( ar, أصيلة، أرزيلة; Portuguese: ''Arzila'') in modern Morocco from the Wattasids took place on 24 August 1471. History Continuing with his policy of expansion of the Portuguese territories in Morocc ...

.. From Asilah King Afonso V dispatched the Marquis of Montemor Dom João ahead of a large detachment of troops to take possession of Tangier, and nominated as its first captain the Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, who took office with a garrison after the Marquis had left with the remainder of his troops. The original garrison of Tangier in 1471 numbered 40 horsemen; 470 infantry, of which 130 were crossbowmen; 10 gunners, 6 scouts. Tangier was considered too large for the Portuguese to adequately defend, hence King Afonso V ordered that three quarters of the city be demolished and the walls restricted to the remaining part. As in Ceuta, they converted its main

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

into the town's cathedral; it was further embellished by several restoration works. In addition to the cathedral, the Portuguese raised European-style houses and

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

and Dominican chapels and monasteries..

Siege of Tangier, 1501

In 1501, the Sultan of Fez assembled an army of 12000 men to attack Tangier. The captain of Tangier Dom Rodrigo de Castro was warned of the impending attack shortly before the army of Fez reached the vicinity of the by a messenger dog that had arrived from Portuguese Asilah with a message hung around its neck. Dom Rodrigo readied the garrison, made a sally to cover the retreat of the farmers and the cattle still outside the walls, and after being wounded in the face and losing 9 men including his son, he withdrew behind the city walls. After fighting at the gate, the Sultan withdrew with his army four days later to attack Asilah instead.

Later history

The

Wattasids The Wattasid dynasty ( ber, Iweṭṭasen; ar, الوطاسيون, ''al-waṭṭāsīyūn'') was a ruling dynasty of Morocco. Like the Marinid dynasty, its rulers were of Zenata Berber descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids re ...

assaulted Tangier in 1508, 1511, and 1515 but without success. In 1508, future Portuguese governor of India

Duarte de Menezes Dom Duarte de Menezes (before 1488 – after 1539), was a 16th-century Portuguese nobleman and colonial officer, governor of Tangier from 1508 to 1521 and 1536 to 1539, and governor of Portuguese India from 1522 to 1524. Background D. Duart ...

succeeded his father as captain of

, a function he had already been effectively performing in his father's name since 1507. He carved a formidable reputation as a military leader in numerous engagements around Tangier. The Sultan of Fez Abu Abd Allah al-Burtuqali Muhammad ibn Muhammad laid siege to Tangier in 1511. He succeeded in tearing down part of a bulwark and breach the defensive perimeter, however they were forced back by a force under the command of Dom Duarte de Meneses. Having attempted to storm the city again the following day, the Moroccans were once more prevented from advanving in urban combat, and the Sultan lifted the siege shortly afterwards.Luis Coelho de Barbuda: ''Empresas militares de Lusitanos'', 1624, p.170. In April 4 1512, the ''qaid'' of

Chefchaouen Chefchaouen ( ar, شفشاون, Shafshāwan, ), also known as Chaouen (), is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blu ...

Ali Ibn Rashid al-Alam (''Barraxa'' in Portuguese) and the ''qaid'' of Tetouan Cid Almandri II (''Almandarim'' in Portuguese) devastated the region and villages around Tangier with 800 horse, however they were engaged by 200 horse and 200 foot of the garrison of Tangier under the command of Duarte de Meneses and routed, the Portuguese having captured plentiful spoil." Wattasids - Simplified map

An incident took place in Tangier on the night of September 16 1533: after Dom Álvaro de Abranches had handed the captaincy to Gonçalo Mendes Sacoto and was preparing to embark back to Portugal, two Moroccans managed to scale the wall with a ladder undetected by the ''Traição'' gate, and though an alarm was eventually sounded, they wounded the son of Dom Álvaro Dom Jorge with a spear, Domingues Gonçalves with two stabbings and made off with an African they captured. In 1532, King John III had already expressed to the Pope his intention of withdrawing from some fortresses in Morocco, however when he requested the opinions of the grandees of Portugal on the matter in 1534, he declared his wish to maintain Tangier. The Portuguese Cortes that held session between 1562 and 1563 after the Great Siege of Mazagan insisted that the king maintain Tangier and strenghten its garrison. King Sebastian entered Tangier on July 6th 1578 with a fleet of 50 warships and 900 transports bearing an army of over 15000 men, and while there was met by the former Sultan of Morocco

Abu Abdallah Mohammed II Saadi Abu Abdallah Mohammed II, Al-Mutawakkil, often simply Abdallah Mohammed () (died 4 August 1578) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1574 to 1576. He was the oldest son of Abdallah al-Ghalib and became Sultan after his father's death. Life Immediat ...

, who had appealed to Sebastian for help recovering his throne after having been deposed by his uncle

Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I ( ar, أبو مروان عبد الملك الغازي), often simply Abd al-Malik or Mulay Abdelmalek, (b. 1541 – d. 4 August 1578) was the Saadian Sultan of Morocco from 1576 until his death right after the Battle o ...

. Sebastian then moved his army to

Asilah Asilah (; ar, أزيلا or أصيلة; pt, Arzila; es, Arcila) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about south of Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. History The town's history da ...

, and from there marched out for the fatal

Battle of Alcácer Quibir The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" ( ar, معركة الملوك الثلاثة) or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" ( ar, معركة وادي المخازن) in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the t ...

, where the Portuguese were routed but all three monarchs perished in the action. The tenure of Jorge de Mendonça, the last captain of Tangier nominated by the Portuguese Crown before the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

was marked by hardships in the city. The garrison had lost most of its horsemen and veteran soldiers in the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir, and there was a lack of food, which caused many to die of starvation, while poor weather prevented his successor from reaching the city with reinforcements for months. In 1580, it passed with the rest of Portugal's domains into Habsburg control as part of the

but maintained its strictly Portuguese garrison and administration. In 1661, Tangier was given to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

of Charles II of England when he married

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

, along with the island of Bombay and 800,000 pounds sterling.Morse Stephens, 1891, p.330.

Portuguese captains of Tangier

*28 August 1471 to 1484? - Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, 1st Count of Olivença *1484? to 1486 - Manuel de Melo, Count of Olivença *1486 to 1489 - João de Meneses, 1st Count of Tarouca 1st Term *1487 to 1489 - Fernão Martins Mascarenhas, Interim *1489 to 1490 -

Manuel Pessanha Manuel Pessanha (Portuguese translation of Italian Emanuele Pessagno) was a Genoese merchant sailor who served in Portugal in the 14th century as the first admiral of Portugal at the time of King Denis of Portugal. His brother was Antonio Pessag ...

, Interim *1490? to 1501 - Lopo Vaz de Azevedo *1501 to 1501 - Dom Rodrigo de Castro *1501 to 1508 - João de Meneses, 1st Count of Tarouca, 2nd Term *1508 to 1521 - Duarte de Meneses, 1st Term

*1521 to 1522 - Henrique de Meneses *1522 to 1532 - Duarte de Meneses d'Évora *1532 to 16 September 1533 - Dom Álvaro de Abranches. *16 September 1533 to 1536 - Gonçalo Mendes Sacoto *1536 to 1539 - Duarte de Meneses, 2nd Term *1539 to 1546 - João de Meneses *1546 to 1548 - Francisco Botelho *1548 to 1550 - Pedro de Meneses *1550 to 1552 - João Álvares de Azevedo *1552 to 1553 - Luís de Loureiro *1553 - Fernando de Menezes *1553 to 29 April 1554 - Luís da Silva de Meneses *29 April 1554 - 4 May 1554 - Pedro Garcia *4 May 1554 - 9 May 1554 Pedro Álvares Correia *9 May 1554 - Diogo Lopes de Franca *1554 to 1564 - Bernardim de Carvalho *1564 to 1566 - Lourenço de Távora *15 July 1566 to 1 August 1572 - João de Meneses *1572 to 1573 - Rui de Carvalho *1573 to 1574 - Diogo Lopes da Franca *1574 to 15 August 1574 - António of Portugal *1574 to 1578 - Duarte de Meneses, Viceroy of Portuguese India *1578 to September 1578 - Pedro da Silva (Governor), Pedro da Silva *7 September 1578 to 25 July 1581 - Jorge de Mendonça *25 July 1581 to 1590 - Francisco de Almeida(governor of Angola), Francisco de Almeida *1590 to 17 June 1591 - Belchior da França and Simão Lopes de Mendonça *17 June 1591 to 24 August 1599 - Aires de Saldanha Retrato de D

*24 August 1599 to 22 September 1605 - António Pereira Lopes de Berredo *22 September 1605 to March 1610 - Nuno de Mendonça *March 1610 to June 1614 - Afonso de Noronha *June 1614 to October 1614 - Luís de Meneses, 2nd Count of Tarouca *October 1614 to August 1615 - Luís de Noronha *August 1615 to 22 December 1616 - João Coutinho, 5th Count of Redondo *22 December 1616 to 1 July 1617 - André Dias da França *1 July 1617 to 1621 - Pedro Manuel *1621 to 13 March 1622 - André Dias da França *13 March 1622 to July 1624 - Jorge de Mascarenhas, Marquis of Montalvão *July 1624 to 14 May 1628 - Miguel de Noronha, 4th Count of Linhares *14 May 1628 to 18 June 1628 - Galaaz Fernandes da Silveira *18 June 1628 to 1637 - Fernando de Mascarenhas, Fernando de Mascarenhas, Count of Torre *15 April 1637 to 24 August 1643 - Rodrigo Lobo da Silveira *1643 to 16 April 1645 - André Dias da França *16 April 1645 to 20 November 1649 - Caetano Coutinho *20 November 1649 to January 1653 - Luís Lobo, Baron of Alvito *January 1653 to 7 March 1656 - Rodrigo de Lencastre *7 March 1656 to 1661 - Fernando de Meneses, 2nd Count of Ericeira *1661 to 29 January 1662 - Luis de Almeida, 1st Count of Avintes, Luís de Almeida, 1st Count of Avintes

References

Source