45,000 men Unknown | Dates 21 Aug 1415 – 22 Aug 1415 | |
 | ||
8 men killed Several thousands killed or taken prisoners1 cannon captured Similar 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum, Battle of Aljubarrota, Battle of Alcácer Quibir, Battle of Alfarrobeira, Umayyad conquest of Hispania | ||
Europa universalis iv portugal 4 conquest of ceuta
The conquest of Ceuta ([ˈθeuta]) by the Portuguese on 21 August 1415 marks an important step in the beginning of the Portuguese Empire in Africa. The conquest also marks a starting point on European colonization, which would last for five more centuries.
Contents
- Europa universalis iv portugal 4 conquest of ceuta
- Conquest of ceuta
- History
- In popular culture
- References
Conquest of ceuta
History
Ceuta had served as a staging ground in the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711, but it 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 remained under the rule of the Almoravids and Almohades as well as various Andalusian Taifas. Prior to its capture by the Portuguese, Ceuta had seen a period of political instability in previous decades, under competing interests from the Marinid Empire and the Kingdom of Granada.
The chief promoter of the Ceuta expedition was João Afonso, royal overseer of finance. 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.
The attack on Ceuta also offered the younger nobility an opportunity to win wealth and glory. On the morning of 21 August 1415, John I of Portugal led his sons and their assembled forces in a surprise assault on Ceuta. The battle itself was almost anti-climactic, because the 45,000 men who traveled on 200 Portuguese ships caught the defenders of Ceuta off guard. By nightfall the town was captured. John's son Henry distinguished himself in the battle, being wounded during the conquest. The looting of the city proved to be less profitable than expected for John I; he ultimately decided to keep the city, in order to pursue further enterprises in the area.
Under King John's son, Duarte, the colony at 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. In 1437, Duarte's brothers Henry and Ferdinand persuaded him to launch an attack on the Marinid sultanate. The resulting attack on Tangier, led by Henry, was a debacle. In the resulting treaty, Henry 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 Magreb, where there was grain, cattle, sugar, and textiles, as well as fish, hides, wax, and honey.
In popular culture
Arkan Simaan's L'Écuyer d'Henri le Navigateur (2007) is a fictionalization of the conquest of Ceuta based on Zurara’s chronicles.