The Portuguese conquest of Tangier (

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 ...

: ''Conquista de Tânger'') from the

Wattasid dynasty The Wattasid dynasty (, ''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 recruited many viziers from the Wattasids. T ...

, was a campaign that took place on 28 August 1471 by Portuguese forces under the order of

King Afonso V Afonso V (; 15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

, surnamed ''the African''.

Background

The

began their overseas expansion with the

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, Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell unde ...

in 1415. Since then, they had conquered more cities in North Africa, such as, Ksar es-Seghir (1458), Anfa (1471) and Asilah (1471). These conquests, allowed Portugal to go further into Muslim territory, sacking and raiding villages, which brought much profit. Long before 1471, the Portuguese already intended to take Tangier, having previously launched some attacks in an attempt to conquer the city. The famous disaster of Tangier, in 1437, was one of these attempts led by Prince Henry, the same man who began the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...

. On the other hand,

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

was under serious political and internal conflicts, which made it harder to fight the Portuguese threat.

The Conquest

Shortly after the conquest of Asilah by the Portuguese, Afonso V ordered Dom João, who was probably the son of the Duke of Bragança, to take Tangier. The citizens of Tangier believed support from Muhammad al-Shaikh, the governor of Asilah, would come to assist in repelling the invading

Portuguese army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

. However, involved in his ongoing conflict with the governor of Fez, al-Shaikh opted to sign a treaty with the Portuguese, allowing them to enter Tangier unopposed. Fall of Tangier

Fearing the same fate as Asilah, where 2,000 residents were killed and more 5,000 sold into captivity,Diffie, Shafer, Winius "On August 24 the Portuguese captured the city killing some 2000 "infidels" and taking 5000 captives." p.145 the civilians of Tangier fled the city.

Aftermath

Dom João nominated the first captain of Tangier to be Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, who took office with a garrison after the Marquis had left with the remainder of his troops. The number of Portuguese soldiers in Tangier in 1471 numbered 40 horsemen; 470 infantry, of which 130 were crossbowmen; 10 gunners, 6 scouts. Over the next decades, the Portuguese would continue to attack other strategic cities, conquering many. The next generations of Muslim leaders would unsuccessfully assault Portuguese Tangier multiple times. Portuguese rule over Tangier would last until 1661, when they transferred it to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.Morse Stephens, 1891, p.330.

References

{{reflist 1471 in the Portuguese Empire 15th century in Morocco Conflicts in 1471 Morocco–Portugal military relations Battles involving Portugal Battles involving the Wattasid dynasty Military history of Tangier

Background

The Conquest

Aftermath

See also

References