Conquest Of Ceuta

The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell under Portuguese control after a carefully prepared attack, and the successful capture of the city marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. Ceuta remained under Portuguese control until being transferred to Spain in 1668.

Background

Ceuta is a North African coastal city strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar. In 711, shortly after the Arab conquest of North Africa, the city was used as a departure point for the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. However, the city was destroyed in 740 and only rebuilt in the 9th century, passing to the Caliphate of Córdoba in the 10th century. In the subsequent centuries it was ruled by the Almoravids, the Almohads as well as various Andalusian Taifas. Ceuta then experienced a period of political instability, under competing interests from the Marinid Empire and the Kingdom of Granada. A Nasrid fleet sent by Abu Said Faraj, Governor of Málaga, conquered Ceuta from the 'Azafids in May 1306; later, in 1309, the city was taken by the Marinids with the support of an Aragonese fleet.

The city featured rich trade with the Levant, Egypt, Libya, abundant tuna fishing stocks in its surrounding waters as well as coral, which constituted its main export industry, besides being also a notorious pirate haven, where Berber pirates sold their prey after raiding Iberian coasts and shipping. Ceuta's position opposite the straits of Gibraltar gave it control of one of the main outlets of the trans-African Sudanese gold trade; and it could enable Portugal to flank its most dangerous rival, Castile. It was defended by a composite system of walls, built and added to by various Moroccan dynasties throughout the centuries, most recently the Marinids, and with a high number of gates which could prove difficult to defend. It included a strong citadel built by the Marinids.

Relations between the Muslim Marinids of Morocco and the Nasrids Granada in southern Iberia were strained after Abu Said Uthman III had attempted to capture Gibraltar in 1411, while Yusuf of Granada in turn instigated a revolt in Morocco as a response.

After defeating a Castillian army that had invaded Portugal in 1385 at the Battle of Aljubarrota, the recently crowned King John I of Portugal signed a peace treaty with Castille, in 1411. Even before signing peace with its only neighbour, King John I cast an eye at gaining Ceuta and began preparations as early as 1409. The chief promoter of the Ceuta expedition was João Afonso, royal overseer of finance. The children of King John, prince-heir Duarte, prince Peter and Prince Henry (later nicknamed 'the Navigator') eagerly supported the project, as the prospect of taking Ceuta offered them an opportunity to win wealth and glory.

Preparations for the conquest

Preparations for the conquest of Ceuta, such as the gathering of materials and money started years beforehand and carried out slowly, though the objective was kept a secret. No taxes were raised because such a course of action demanded a gathering of Cortes and it would risk leaking the objective of the projected expedition. Nor was currency debased. Loans were taken, foreign ships chartered, galleys repaired and new ones built, until 30 had been assembled by the admiral of Portugal Carlos Pesanha, and expenses closely controlled.

Prince Henry, later surnamed 'the Navigator' was tasked with organizing the recruitment of men in the provinces of Beira and Trás-os-Montes and assemble them in the city of Porto. Henry's brother Peter was tasked with enlisting in the southern provinces of Extremadura, Alentejo and Algarve, with the gathering point at Lisbon. Prince-heir Duarte handled paperwork and judicial matters, though he fell into depression.

Faux embassy to Sicily

In order to scout the defenses of Ceuta beforehand, King John nominated the Prior of Crato Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo as ambassador to the then regent and heir of the Kingdom of Sicily Blanche of Navarre. He was to take two galleys commanded by general-of-the-sea Afonso Furtado de Mendoça and officially propose to Blanche the marriage of Prince Peter, but stop at Ceuta to take in supplies. They stopped at Ceuta for four days, and measured the depth of the harbour. Having successfully reached Sicily and received a negative reply, as King John had anticipated, they headed back to Portugal, again stopping at Ceuta.

After returning to Portugal, at the royal Palace of Sintra Dom Álvaro drew for King John and the princes in private a map of Ceuta and its surrounding geography with sand and thread.

Disclosure of the plan to the privy council

Only after he was in possession of these precise informations about Ceuta did King John then disclose his intentions to capture Ceuta to his wife Queen Philippa of Lancaster. By occasion of a hunting trip in Montemor-o-Novo later, the king then disclosed the project to the Constable of Portugal, the renowned general Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, who approved it in earnest.

Finally, the King disclosed the project to the highest members of the Court, at Torres Novas, to where he summoned the Queen, the princes, the Constable Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, the royal chancellor João das Regras, the archbishop of Braga Dom Lourenço, the grandmaster of the Orders of Christ Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa, the grandmaster of the Portuguese order of Santiago Dom Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, the grandmaster of Aviz Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, the prior of the Hospitallers Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Marshal of Portugal Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, lord Martim Afonso de Mello, and the royal ensign João Gomes da Silva. By order of the King, the Constable expressed his vote in favor of the expedition first, the council then voting unanimously in favour too.

Faux embassy to Holland

The secretive nature of the expeditions purpose caused numerous theories to rise among Portuguese society as to its true objective, some speculating the King meant to undertake a Crusade to the Levant, others to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily, still others (correctly) guessing Ceuta. By that point, rumours of the preparations being carried out in Portugal against a secret objective spread to many neighbouring realms and their rulers. The residents of Ibiza and Sicily made preparations to resist a possible Portuguese attack, in which they incurred considerable expense. Some French wrote to King Ferdinand of Aragon expressing their suspicion that the Portuguese were preparing to participate in the Hundred Years War alongside the English, in France.

King John II of Castile, King Ferdinand I of Aragon and the emir of Granada Yusuf III all sent embassies to the Portuguese Court enquiring on the purpose of King John's preparations; the Castilian and Aragonese ambassadors were reassured that the purpose of the armada aimed neither Kingdom, but the ambassador of Granada was only given evasive answers.

In order to conceal the true objective of the expedition, John dispatched Fernão Fogaça as an ambassador to the Count of Holland William VI, with the official mission of publicly demanding from the Count a compensation over a number of abuses the Hollanders had supposedly carried out at sea against Portuguese mariners. The Count had in fact been informed by King John of the true purpose of this phony embassy beforehand, hence he entertained Fogaça with a public audience in which he offered such a rude reply that it might be understood as a declaration of war. As a result, rumour thus spread that King John was about to depart on an expedition to attack Holland.

Final gathering in Lisbon

In the Spring of 1415, plague broke out in Lisbon, forcing the Court to relocate to the nearby town of Sacavém. On July 10, 1415, Prince Henry called at Lisbon with a fleet of 7 galleys and 20 naus bearing a numerous corps of well-equipped men. Among them was Aires Gonçalves de Figueiredo, a 90 year old ''fidalgo'' at the command of a nau.

The Portuguese fleet probably numbered 59 galleys, 33 carracks or naus and 120 smaller vessels, bearing as many as 50,000 men, of which about 20,000 were combat personnel. It featured English, French and German mercenaries or soldiers of fortune. One German baron commanded 50 men of his household, while an Englishman by the name of Mondo commanded four ships.
The expedition included among its ranks some of the most important persons in Portugal at the time besides the king, such as prince-heir Duarte, prince Peter, prince Henry, the Count of Barcelos Dom Afonso de Cascais, the Constable of Portugal Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira and his nephew Dom Álvaro Pereira, the Grandmaster of the Order of Christ Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa, the prior of the Knights Hospitaller Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Admiral Carlos Pessanha, the Count of Viana Dom Diarte de Meneses, the General of the Sea Afonso Furtado de Mendonça, the first Duke of Braganza Dom Afonso, the Marshal of Portugal Gonçalo Vascques Countinho and the Royal Ensign João Gomes da Silva, among others. All of the main noble houses in Portugal participated in the expedition, with the notable exception of the Lima family.

Shortly before their departure, Queen Fillippa fell ill from the plague that was then affecting Lisbon. She moved from Lisbon to Sacavém and called her sons to her bedside so that she could give them her blessing. Philippa presented her three eldest sons with jewel-encrusted swords, which they would use in their impending knighthoods, and gave each a portion of the True Cross, "enjoining them to preserve their faith and to fulfil the duties of their rank".

Though he had been reluctant to marry her, the king had grown quite fond of his wife, and it is said that he was "so grieved by ermortal illness… that he could neither eat nor sleep". In her final hours, Philippa was said to be lucid and without pain. According to legend she was roused by a wind which blew strongly against the house and asked what wind it was, upon hearing it was the north wind, she claimed it quite beneficial for her son's and husband's voyage to Africa, which she had coordinated. At her death she prayed with several priests and, "without any toil or suffering, gave her soul into the hands of Him who created her, a smile appearing on her mouth as though she disdained the life of this world". The expedition was nearly called off, but King John decided to carry it through. A day of mourning was decreed, at the end of which Prince Henry commanded that all participants wear their best, the ships be decorated and trumpets be sounded with fanfare.

The grandmaster of the Order of Aviz was appointed to administer Portugal in the king's absence on July 23, and that day King John embarked on the royal galley. Two days later, the entire fleet weighted anchor and departed from Lisbon, while the citizens and local inhabitants watched from the surrounding hills and beaches.

From Sacavém, the Aragonese spy Ruy Dias de Vega wrote a few days later to the King of Aragon Ferdinand I that the objective of the expedition was rumoured to be either Ceuta or Gibraltar.

Itinerary of the Portuguese fleet

From the mouth of the Tagus River, the Portuguese fleet sailed south along the south-western coast of Portugal and rounded the Cape St. Vincent on July 26, and that night anchored at Lagos.

Lagos

The king disembarked at Lagos the day after arriving to hear Sunday mass, at the cathedral of Lagos by the royal chaplain the Franciscan João de Xira, who on the occasion read to the royal family and commanders the Crusade bull issued by the Pope in favour of all who would participate in the attack against Ceuta.

Faro

On 30 July the fleet weighted anchor to Faro, and as the wind blew weak, the fleet remained by that city till August 7, when they got on their way again. By late afternoon the Portuguese sighted Cape Espartel and turned out to sea, that night entered the Strait of Gibraltar and anchored by the Castilian town of Tarifa. Many members of the expedition were at that point convinced the ultimate goal of the fleet was to attack Sicily.

Tarifa

The settlement was then governed by the Portuguese Martim Fernandes Porto-Carreiro, who offered the king supplies and lifestock as refreshments. Since the fleet was well provided, King John refused the gift, but Porto-Carreiro was so offended by such rejection that he had the animals slaughtered and abandoned on the beach. As a compensation for this spirited act, the King and the royal princes gifted Porto-Carreiro rich jewels and 1000 ''dobras''.

Algeciras

From Tarifa, the fleet next anchored at Algeciras, then belonging to the Emirate of Granada, subject to the Marinids of Morocco. King John ordered the attack on Ceuta from Tarifa on August 12, but when they moved out strong currents and contrary winds blew the Portuguese carracks east almost as far as Málaga, while the oarships proceeded to Ceuta and anchored in its harbour.

Attack on Ceuta

After the Portuguese galleys were in the harbour, the Marinid governor of Ceuta Salah ben Salah evacuated many of the women and children to the surrounding lands and was reinforced by the tribal inhabitants of the region, voluntarily led by religious leaders. So many took up arms in the defense of Ceuta that the Portuguese would later claim no less than 100,000 had reinforced it. Ceuta received no aid whatsoever from the Sultan Abu Said Uthman III of Fez, either because the Marinid dynasty was too embroiled in internal disputes to be able to organize relief or because Salah ben Salah had been acting in an independent manner in recent years.

The first engagements between the Portuguese and the defenders of Ceuta then took place, with the Portuguese galleys being shot at from the walls, the vessel of the Admiral Carlos Pessanha being damaged the worst, as it was the closest to shore. Despite the separation of the fleet, Pessanha landed a detachment of men to skirmish with the Moroccans ashore.

Having gathered the armada in front of Ceuta on the 16th, King John determined to assault the city the following day, but heavy winds then scattered the Portuguese fleet once more, forcing the king to seek refuge in the bay of Algeciras with the oarships, while the carracks were blown further east.

Seeing the Portuguese fleet scatter and believing the attack would not longer take place, many of the undisciplined warriors and militias that had gathered in the city for its defense withdrew to their lands, while governor Salah ben Salah took the fatal decision of demobilizing the rest of the volunteers to prevent further conflict, leaving nothing but the usual garrison.

Interlude

From Algeciras, Prince Henry was instructed to bring back all the scattered carracks in tow of the galleys. Plague broke out among the fleet and ravaged the crews. King John then held a Council of war

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