Portuguese Tangier
Tânger Portuguesa (Portuguese)
طنجة البرتغالية (Arabic)
1471–1661
Flag of Tangier
Portuguese Tangier depicted in Civitates Orbis Terrarum, 1572.
Portuguese Tangier depicted in Civitates Orbis Terrarum, 1572.
StatusTerritory of the Portuguese Empire
CapitalTânger
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Sunni Islam (Majority)
GovernmentColonial administration
King 
• 1471–1477 (first)
Afonso V
• 1656–1661 (last)
Afonso VI
Captain 
• 1471–1484 (first)
Rodrigo Afonso de Melo
• 1661–1662 (last)
Luis de Almeida
Historical eraEarly modern period
1471
• First siege of Tangier
1501
23 June 1661
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Wattasid Sultanate
English Tangier
Today part ofMorocco

Portuguese Tangier (Arabic: طنجة البرتغالية; Portuguese: 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

Portuguese-era portal of Dar Niaba in the medina of Tangier (16th or 17th century)

After the Portuguese started their expansion by taking Ceuta in retribution for its piracy in 1415, Tangier became a major goal.[1][2] 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.[3][4]

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.[5] The original garrison of Tangier in 1471 numbered 40 horsemen; 470 infantry, of which 130 were crossbowmen; 10 gunners, 6 scouts.[6]

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.[7] In addition to the cathedral, the Portuguese raised European-style houses and Franciscan and Dominican chapels and monasteries.[2]

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.[8]

Later history

Leonardo de Ferrari's plan of the Portuguese fortifications at Tangier, c. 1655.

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.[9] He carved a formidable reputation as a military leader in numerous engagements around Tangier.[9]

The Sultan of Fez Abu Abd Allah al-Burtuqali Muhammad ibn Muhammad laid siege to Tangier in 1511.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10]

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.[11]"

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.[12]

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.[13][14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[3][18]

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.[19]

Dom Duarte de Meneses as Viceroy of India.
Aires de Saldanha.

List of governors

Tenure Incumbent Notes
28 August 1471–1484Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, 1st Count of Olivença Took possession following the Conquest of Asilah.
1484–1486Manuel de Melo, Count of Olivença
1486–1489João de Meneses, 1st Count of TaroucaFirst term.
1487–1489Fernão Martins Mascarenhas Interim.
1489–1490Manuel Pessanha Interim.
1490–1501Lopo Vaz de Azevedo
1501–1508João de Meneses, 1st Count of TaroucaSecond term.
1508–1521Duarte de MenezesFirst term.
1521–1522Henrique de Meneses
1522–1533Duarte de Meneses, from Évora
1533–1536Gonçalo Mendes Sacoto
1536–1539Duarte de MenezesSecond term.
1539–1546João de Meneses
1546–1548Francisco Botelho
1548–1550Pedro de Meneses
1550–1552João Álvares de Azevedo
1552–1553Luís de Loureiro
1553Fernando de Menezes
1553–1554Luís da Silva de Meneses
1554–1564Bernardim de Carvalho
1564–1566Lourenço de Távora
15 July 1566–1 August 1572João de Meneses
1572–1573Rui de Carvalho
1573–1574Diogo Lopes da Franca
1574–15 August 1574António of Portugal
1574–1578Duarte de Meneses, Viceroy of Portuguese India
1578–September 1578Pedro da Silva
7 September 1578–25 July 1581Jorge de Mendonça Last captain nominated by the Portuguese Crown before the Iberian Union.
25 July 1581–1590Francisco de Almeida
1590–June 1591Belchior da França and Simão Lopes de Mendonça
17 June 1591–24 August 1599Aires de Saldanha
24 August 1599–22 September 1605António Pereira Lopes de Berredo
22 September 1605–March 1610Nuno de Mendonça
March 1610–June 1614Afonso de Noronha
June 1614–October 1614Luís de Meneses, 2nd Count of Tarouca
October 1614– August 1615Luís de Noronha
August 1615–22 December 1616João Coutinho, 5th Count of Redondo
22 December 1616–1 July 1617André Dias da França
1 July 1617–1621Pedro Manuel
1621–13 March 1622André Dias da França
13 March 1622–July 1624Jorge de Mascarenhas, Marquis of Montalvão
July 1624–14 May 1628Miguel de Noronha, 4th Count of Linhares
14 May 1628–18 June 1628Galaaz Fernandes da Silveira
18 June 1628–1637Fernando de Mascarenhas, Count of Torre
15 April 1637–24 August 1643Rodrigo Lobo da Silveira
1643–16 April 1645André Dias da França
16 April 1645–20 November 1649Caetano Coutinho
20 November 1649–January 1653Luís Lobo, Baron of Alvito
January 1653–7 March 1656Rodrigo de Lencastre
7 March 1656–1661Fernando de Meneses, 2nd Count of Ericeira
1661–29 January 1662Luís de Almeida, 1st Count of Avintes

See also

References

  1. ↑ B. W. Diffie, Prelude to Empire, Portugal Overseas before Henry the Navigator, University of Nebraska Press, Ann Arbor, 1960, pp. 83–90.
  2. 1 2 Finlayson (1992), p. 26.
  3. 1 2 Lévi-Provençal (1936), p. 651.
  4. ↑ Elbl (2013), p. 10.
  5. ↑ Ignacio da Costa Quintella: Annaes da Marinha Portugueza Book I, Lisbon, Typographia da Academia de Lisboa, 1839.
  6. ↑ Dom Fernando de Menezes, conde de la Ericeira, etc: História de Tânger Durante La Dominacion Portuguesa, traduccion del R. P. Buanaventura Diaz, O.F.M., Misionero del Vicariato apostólico de Marruecos. Lisboa Occidental. Imprenta Ferreiriana. 1732. p. 51.
  7. ↑ Lévi-Provençal (1936), p. 650.
  8. ↑ Dom Fernando de Menezes, História de Tânger Durante La Dominacion Portuguesa, 1732.
  9. 1 2 Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. (1997). The career and legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 287. ISBN 0-521-47072-2. OCLC 34990029.
  10. 1 2 3 Luis Coelho de Barbuda: Empresas militares de Lusitanos, 1624, p.170.
  11. ↑ Pedro de Mariz: Diálogos de Vária história. Coimbra, Officina de António de Mariz, 1598 edition, p. 303-305. 1674 edition, p. 379.
  12. ↑ Dom Fernando de Meneses, 1732, p. 75-76.
  13. ↑ Martin Malcolm Elbl, (Re)claiming Walls: The Fortified Médina of Tangier under Portuguese Rule (1471–1661) and as a Modern Heritage Artefact,, Portuguese Studies Review 15 (1–2) (2007; publ. 2009): p.103–192.
  14. ↑ Elbl, 2013, pp.637-688
  15. ↑ Henry Morse Stephens: Portugal, Putnam, 1891, p. 253.
  16. ↑ Morse Stephens, 1891, p.254
  17. ↑ Dom Fernando de Menezes, 1732. p.97.
  18. ↑ Cath. Enc. (1913).
  19. ↑ Morse Stephens, 1891, p.330.

Sources

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