Portuguese conquest of Ceuta

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 Emirate 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 Islamics dynasties throughout the centuries, most recently the Marinids, and with a high number of gates which could prove difficult to defend. 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. 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. By order of the King, the Constable expressed his vote in favor of the expedition first, the council then voting unanimously in favour too. By that point, rumours of the preparations being carried out in Portugal against a secret objective spread to many neighbouring realms and their rulers. 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. 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 [her] mortal illness… that he could neither eat nor sleep". 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 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. 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 livestock 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. 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. King John then held a Council of war with his command while anchored off Punta Carnero, Spain, but he rejected the opinion of those who suggested calling off the attack. On the night of August 20 the Portuguese fleet set out again, and anchored in the harbour of Ceuta, with the landing scheduled for the following day. Assault of Ceuta On the morning of 21 August 1415, John I of Portugal gave out the orders for the landing of the troops and a general assault on the city. As the king boarded a longboat to be taken ashore however, he was wounded in a leg. Princes Henry, Peter and Edward gathered a council and decided to storm the citadel the following morning. Ceuta was entirely in Portuguese hands and fighting ceased. Most of Ceutas residents fled the city, though a considerable number was killed in the action, and a few women, children and elderly unable to flee or take up arms could still be found in their houses. John's son Henry the Navigator distinguished himself in the battle, being wounded during the conquest. ==Aftermath==

On the 21st of August the Portuguese consecrated the main mosque into the city's cathedral. That night was spent in careful watchfulness, and the morning of 22 of August was stormy with rain and hail. The Count of Barcelos Dom Afonso plundered more than 600 columns of marble and alabaster from the palace of Salah ben Salah and other buildings, along with an entire vaulted roof built with elaborate gilt work from a town square, for his residence in Portugal. The father of Dom Pedro had sided with Castile against King John during the 1383–1385 Civil War, which may explain why Dom Pedro so eagerly sought the distinction. The king ordered nearly 3000 men to stay behind as a garrison. Some willingly settled in the city as militia, such as craftsmen. Later history c. 1450. King John left with the majority of the force in September 2 1415. As soon as the Portuguese fleet returned home with most of the army, the residents of Ceuta who had sought refuge in the surrounding hills and orchards attempted to recover the city numerous times, however they were easily fought back by the garrison in almost daily skirmishes. Dom Pedro had the houses, towers, orchards and groves around the city pulled down and ditches filled up so as to clear the line of sight around the city, and prevent ambushes. After the conquest of Ceuta, the Casa de Ceuta was established in Portugal, being a royal institution with clerks, treasurers, warehouse officials and factors and numerous offices in Lisbon, Porto, Santarém and elsewhere, in charge of overseeing the supply of the city. In 1419, the Marinid Sultan Abu Said Uthman III laid siege to Ceuta with the help of the Nasrid Emir of Granada Muhammad VIII in an attempt to recover it, however the Portuguese successfully repulsed the attack under the able command of Dom Pedro de Meneses. Blamed for losing Ceuta, the sultan was later assassinated when a coup took place in Fez in 1420, leaving only a child as his heir. The Marinid sultanate descended into anarchic chaos as rival pretenders vied for the throne and local governors carved out regional fiefs for themselves, selling their support to the highest bidder. The political crisis released the pressure on Ceuta for the next few years. In time, Ceuta became a formidable military base, and one of the main havens for Christian privateering in the western Mediterranean, and the main base from which Portuguese ships raided hostile Muslim shipping from Salé to Granada and Tunis, an activity which yielded the captain of Ceuta Dom Pedro de Meneses and King John I valuable profits. On the other hand, Christian navigation in the Strait of Gibraltar became safer. Prince Henry distinguished himself at Ceuta as a daring commander. Later, Henry V of England, Pope Martin V, Emperor Sigismund and King John II of Castile all offered Prince Henry the command of their armies upon hearing of his reputation; however, Henry turned down these offers. Under King John's son, Duarte, the stronghold of Ceuta rapidly became a drain on the Portuguese treasury. Trans-Sahara caravans journeyed instead to Tangier. It was soon realised that without the city of Tangier, possession of Ceuta was worthless. After Edward succeeded king John on the throne of Portugal, in 1437 Henry and Ferdinand persuaded him to launch a new attack on the Marinid sultanate. The resulting attack on Tangier, led by Henry, was a debacle. In the resulting treaty, Henry handed his brother Ferdinand to the Marinids as a hostage and promised to deliver Ceuta back to the Marinids in return for allowing the Portuguese army to depart unmolested. Possession of Ceuta would indirectly lead to further Portuguese expansion. The main area of Portuguese expansion, at this time, was the coast of Morocco, where there was grain, cattle, sugar, and textiles, as well as fish, hides, wax, and honey. Ceuta had to endure alone for 43 years, until the position of the city was consolidated with the taking of Ksar es-Seghir (1458), Arzila and Tangier (1471). The city was recognized as a Portuguese possession by the Treaty of Alcáçovas (1479) and by the Treaty of Tordesilhas (1494). Ceuta was transferred to Spain under the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668 after the Restoration War. == See also ==