Portuguese Tangier

Portuguese Tangier (طنجة البرتغالية; Tânger Portuguesa) covers the period of Portuguese rule over Tangier, today a city in Morocco. The territory was ruled by the Kingdom of Portugal from 1471 to 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, 1458, and 1464 but only succeeded in 28 August 1471 after its population abandoned the city following the Portuguese conquest of Asilah.

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 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 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 assaulted Tangier in 1508, 1511, and 1515 but without success.

In 1508, future Portuguese of India Duarte de Menezes succeeded his father as captain of Tangier, 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 advancing in urban combat, and the Sultan lifted the siege shortly afterwards.

On April 4, 1512, the qaid of Chefchaouen 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. "

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 strengthen its garrison.

King Sebastian entered Tangier on July 6, 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, who had appealed to Sebastian for help recovering his throne after having been deposed by his uncle Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi. Sebastian then moved his army to Asilah, and from there marched out for the fatal Battle of Alcácer Quibir, 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 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 Iberian Union but maintained its strictly Portuguese garrison and administration.

In 1661, Tangier was given to England as dowry of Charles II of England when he married Catherine of Braganza, along with the island of Bombay and 800,000 pounds sterling.