North Africa
Norte de África (Algarve d'Além Mar)
The Moroccan Civil War:
The truce between Portugal and Marrocos that was set into motion with the Peace of Arzila in 1584 was successively renewed during the reign of Duarte II and the first decades of João IV’s reign as neither country was interested in facing the other. This secured the fragile Portuguese possessions in North Africa and allowed the Crown to improve their defences.
In 1603, Sultan Amade Almansor [
Ahmad al-Mansur] the Victor of Alcáser Quibir, who the Portuguese feared and respected, died. The Sultan had expanded his domain down to the Empire of Songai, in sub-Saharan Africa, in hopes of strengthening his treasury strained by military and architectural expenditures. Unfortunately for him, controlling the gold mines of the Songai did not have the intended effect because the Portuguese had rendered the Trans-Saharan Routes unfeasible and the cost to control this vast and far away region proved to be too high for the Sultan since the population constantly revolted, thus, the Songai region was abandoned into dozens of breakaway states all free of Moroccan control one of which being the Kingdom of Dendi which was ruled by members of the Ásquia [
Askiya] Dynasty, the same that ruled Songai for centuries, who refused to submit to Marrocos.
Like many times before, a succession war broke out in Morocco between Almansor’s three sons following his death:
- Zidã Alnasir [Zidan el-Nasir], Almansor’s designated heir who was accepted by a very large portion of the army and controlled the central part of Marrocos including the capital of Marraquexe [Marrakesh],
- Maomé Almamum [Mohammed el-Mamun], controlled the northern part of Marrocos including the outskirts of the Tânjer and Seuta. His base of operations was in Fez,
- Abu Faris Abedalá [Abu Faris Abdallah] did not control any land but had a loyal army following him.
Marrocos after Almansor's death in 1603,
The southern areas of the country were pretty much independent at this point
At the start of the conflict, Zidã seemed to have the upper hand but his brothers agreed to join forces against him and so he suffered many defeats and gradually lost land and supporters. To make things even more chaotic, a brutal plague roamed the country and killed a third of the country’s population during the conflict. After their many victories, Maomé and Abu Faris managed to force Zidã to flee Marraquexe for Agadir and then Safim where they imprisoned him. With their older brother neutralized, the two brothers no longer had a common enemy and as such, they turned against each other with Maomé having Abu Faris assassinated in 1608 though unfortunately for him, his hegemony over Marrocos did not last long because Zidã managed to escape Safim and raised a new army which included many of Abu Faris' supporters.
Maomé Almamum was also not loved by the population, especially at Marraquexe, where he is scorned for his excesses in alcohol, carnal desires and application of punishments. This led many unhappy nobles in the capital to conspire against him and allow Zidã to enter Marraquexe. Their plan involved killing Almamum but he was warned by some loyal servants and fled the city before Zidã could get his hands on him. The situation returned to square zero as Almamum controlled the north of the country and Zidã the south. The instability in Marrocos quickly attracted the interest of the Europeans, particularly the Spanish who looked at the country as an easy target to regain some credibility following the rough wars that the country suffered in Northern Europe. Filipe III authorized the conquest of Larache in 1610 despite the many voices urging him not to.
The Spanish did not have much difficulty in capturing the city especially when Almamum allowed them to, as he saw the Spanish as the support he needed after his forced exile from Marraquexe. João IV de Portugal promptly contested the whole affair because the city was in the Portuguese area of influence according to the Treaty of Sintra of 1509. The Spanish Monarch cited the disaster of Alcáser Quibir as proof that Portugal could not kick the infidels out of Marrocos putting the two countries at odds. Faced with this dire diplomatic situation despite having the Pope in his favour, João IV understood that he had to prove that Portugal was capable of conquering land in Marrocos especially because of the following reasons:
- The Army needed to recover even more prestige and an effective campaign in Marrocos would certainly help in that regard,
- To prevent Espanha from expanding further into the Portuguese area of influence,
- To strengthen the Portuguese diplomatic power in the European scene by proving the might of the country.
During the instability, an Iman from Sijilmasa named Amade Abimahali [
Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli] proclaimed himself Mádi [
Mahdi] and tried to establish his own dynasty on the throne, claiming the Sádi Dynasty was decadent and joining forces with the infidels who they could not kick away. Thus a third pretender appeared.
Portugal’s Campaign in the Pilares de Hércules:
It was the King himself who designed the project to occupy the Pilares de Hércules [
Pillars of Hercules] on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, north of the Montanhas do Arrife [
Rif Mountains], after many meetings in Lisboa with North African veterans known as fronteiros and his spies. The project’s main objectives were:
- To revitalize the region’s agriculture capacity to levels similar to those it had before the Portuguese conquests in hopes of reducing the costly grain supplies to feed Tânjer and Seuta,
- Increase the security of the before mentioned cities to boost their economic potential. The newly conquered territory would serve as a buffer zone against Muslim incursions coming from the south,
- Increase the tax base of the Crown by promoting an efficient colonization of the region.
Effectively, controlling the Pilares de Hércules was a better war goal than expanding around Mazagão which had far more agricultural potential. The Pilares de Hércules had an enormous strategic value, they were attractive to the Italian merchants, had two sizable cities in Portuguese hold and most importantly, it was far closer to Portugal which would allow a relief army to be sent at the first notice of danger. It was with this ambitious project that João IV proposed to solve the centenary problem of Portuguese North Africa, something that surprised the nobility who were not expecting the well-known supporter of peace King to suddenly wish to go fight in Marrocos of all places.
Despite the area in question not being excessively large and being well in Portugal’s capabilities, there were still many uncertainties regarding the expedition because Alcáser Quibir still loomed in the nobility’s minds. Nevertheless, it was Duke Teodózio de Bragansa, who partook in the unfortunate battle when he was but ten years old, who managed to convince the remaining nobles with a fervent speech on how they should avenge the death of the late King Sebastião and all the good men who lost their lives in North Africa but also the honour that Portugal lost in the battle, one step at a time to not face yet another disaster. After the Duke finished his speech, he knelt in front of his cousin and asked to be given the command of the expedition so he could avenge the fallen ones and his dead cousin. João Duarte promptly did so and everyone clapped, moved by the display. Or so the chronicles say…
Duke Teodózio II de Bragansa, the Condestável de Portugal
Two irregular Tersos were raised for the expedition, each had 2 000 soldiers. The Terso do Norte was under the command of Luíz de Portugal, Count of Vimiozo and the Terso of the South was under the command of Manuel do Crato, Count of Crato, the recently pardoned Count. The Terso Real composed of 3 000 veterans from King Henrique’s War, Portugal’s best troops was under the direct command of Teodózio. The Royal Cavalry was once again under the command of the Marquis of Vila Real and was composed of 250 horsemen with an extra 100 fronteiros for a total of 350 horsemen.
Grand Duke Cosme II da Toscânia sent an expeditionary force composed of 2 000 soldiers after his wife, Grand Duchess Leonor Izabel, daughter of the Portuguese King, convinced him to build a permanent army in Florensa from the veterans of this conflict. There were also about 1 000 mercenaries mainly Italians from outside of Toscânia and Spanish. In total, the expedition had 10 000 soldiers but if things were to turn south, more men could be sent to reinforce the army making it the largest since Alcáser Quibir.
Teodózio landed in Tânjer on March 4, 1612, at the command of the Terso Real and there he waited for the rest of the forces to arrive, exercising his men and inspecting the city’s defences, making small incursions into the Moorish territory to have his troops used to the terrain. The Tuscan expeditionary force arrived on March 9 at Seuta under the command of Alessio Petrucci, a patrician from Florensa. Between March 12 and March 20, the remaining soldiers arrived in either Tânjer or Seuta.
Finally, on March 24, Teodózio led his men to Seuta to meet Petrucci and begin the conquest. On his way there, he occupied all the villages, including Alcáser Seguer which once belonged to Portugal. Petrucci’s men joined the arriving Portuguese Army on March 30. They quickly organized themselves and left the city on April 1st, southwards towards Tetuão [
Tetouan], a famous pirate’s nest where Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote was held prisoner for some time. The pirates panicked as soon as they heard of a great Christian army approaching…many took their ships and fled to Ottoman ports before the Portuguese support fleet could arrive and surround the harbour. Others however remained and tried to resist as best as they could since they did not wish to leave their possessions and power behind. They closed the old city walls and prepared themselves for a siege.
The Pirates of Tetuão leaving the harbour
Teodózio arrived on April 10, a rainy day, which forced him to hold the siege until the conditions were more favourable. He did however send half his men to the mouth of the River Martil which was already under the bombardment of five Portuguese galleons. After less than an hour, the port of Tetuão was under Teodózio’ control and all the ships that remained were confiscated.
On April 12, when it stopped raining and there was little mud left on the ground, the Duke of Bragansa ordered the bombing of the wall with approximately 16 artillery pieces before he ordered the confiscated ship cannons to be used as well. The old wall, undermanned as it was and not made to withstand land attacks, didn’t last more than two hours when a sizable hole opened the way for the Portuguese pioneers to enter the city and take control of part of the wall so the bulk of the army could enter and take the city.
When the Portuguese troops entered the city, the Berber and Andalusian pirates fought fiercely but their numbers and the quality of the equipment were no match for the disciplined Portuguese troops. By early afternoon, the Portuguese flag was raised in the castle of the city. Portugal lost about 638 soldiers during the assault which was a very unusual low number for a siege during this time period. This was made possible by the inferiority of equipment, discipline and defences of the pirates.
The Portuguese were shocked when they found out that the number of prisoners in Tetuão, 3 000, far exceeded the free population of the city, more than half of these prisoners were Christian women turned into sex slaves. All prisoners were promptly released and allowed to return to their countries or start a new life in Portuguese-held Tetuão. Teodózio had dozens of pirates executed while his army rested before the campaign continued.
The two competing Sultans quickly learned of the Portuguese Army’s sudden campaign, Almamum sent a small host while the Portuguese were marching by the mountains towards Arzila but these men were all captured. Neither of the Sultans was in a position to oppose the Europeans because they were occupied fighting for the throne and their resentment towards each other was too great for them to ally against the foreign invaders. Besides the encounter with Almamum’s troops, the Portuguese march to Arzila was rather uneventful considering the rising temperatures as the summer approached. They reached the town by May 1st. Teodózio initiated the siege as soon as he was able to deploy his men and artillery. He took a cautious approach and had his cavalry scout the army’s southern flank in case the Moroccans came to meet them in battle.
The defences of Arzila were weakened because a Portuguese fleet of seven ships had been bombarding the town for more than a week and because the Portuguese had extensive information about the city’s defences. To make the situation even worse for the town, the mayor was found dead in his house presumably murdered by Portuguese spies on May 5, and on that same day, when the moon was rising, the garrison surrendered to Teodózio. With the planned borders occupied and secured, the Constable of Portugal sent half his men to occupy and extend the Crown’s control to the countryside while he waited for the Sultans to contest the Portuguese conquests, something that never came to be. And while he waited, he and his engineers began planning the defensive fortresses along the new borderline.
The End of the Civil War, the Sultan-Makers:
Months passed and no attack was made against the Portuguese, boosting the troops' morale. By September however, an emissary sent by Zidã arrived at Arzila and asked to meet Teodózio. In this meeting, the man made it known that Zidã wanted to get Portugal’s support to fight his opponents and in return, he would give them some concessions. The terms were sent to Lisboa where João IV read them and was quick to gain interest in them, still, he was not sure if it was a good idea to march south of Arzila as his deceased cousin had done. In his official reply, the Portuguese King imposed two terms upon Zidã, first he wanted the Sultan to recognize his control over the Pilares de Hércules and secondly, he wanted Zidã to march as close to Fez as it was possible so the two armies could join and attack the capital of Almamum.
The emissary left Arzila by early October and no response came from Zidã. The Sultan was not against marching north to join the Portuguese but was more than reluctant to recognize Portuguese control over the occupied territory. Because no response was given and no attack was made, João IV dismissed the troops and mercenaries and divided the Terso Real into two new Tersos once he recruited more dismissed troops. One of these Tersos was stationed in Lisboa and the other in Tânjer.
Amade Abimahali became a major threat when his army was able to defeat Zidã and conquer Tafilete and the basin of the River Drá before marching on Marraquexe and beating Zidã in a bloody battle which gave him control of the Moroccan capital. After yet again fleeing to Safim, Zidã accepted João IV's terms for he had no other choice but now the Portuguese were not so keen to support him considering his precarious position. Abimahali humiliated Zidã further by marrying his mother Lala Aixa [
Lalla Aisha] and getting her pregnant and the enraged Sultan made it a personal vendetta to kill Abimahali and got the support of Iáiá Abedalá [
Yahya ben Abdallah], a military man living in the Altos Atlas [
High Atlas Mountains] who brought with him a huge contingent of musketeers and laid siege to Marraquexe on 22 October 1613 and a few days later Zidã appeared with his own army.
Knowing that the city would not starve for him, Abimahali decided to face Zidã and Iáiá Abedelá head-on but while doing so, he was shot and died and since his invincibility was disproven, his troops either fled or surrendered. Zidã had Abimahali's body quarter and was displayed in the city's ramparts for 12 years while his half-brother was killed after birth. Zidã's victory and tenacity convinced the Portuguese to provide him with help to beat Almamum with Teodózio being commissioned to make the Portuguese campaign a success. Zidã met with the Portuguese at Salé on May 17, 1614, and with them, decided the best strategy to proceed before they left for Fez.
Sultan Zidã Alnasir de Marrocos [Zidan el-Nasir]
Almamum asked Espanha for diplomatic support but did not receive any. Filipe III was not willing to escalate tensions with Portugal because of Marrocos when he had much more pressing concerns to worry about. Some of the Spanish King’s bolder courtiers began pondering that if Portugal was able to conquer the other side of the Straits of Gibraltar then perhaps Espanha could try and conquer its own piece of Morocco and the juiciest part of it was on Almamum’s side but this never went anywhere.
Despite every pressure and setback, Almamum refused to call the help of the Otomanos fearing they would instead try to take his throne. This paranoia towards the Ottomans was due to his father, Almansor’s advice to not trust the Turks. Instead, thanks to his spies he knew he had a slight advantage over his brother and called a jihad against him and the Portuguese. Zidã as a response appealed to his compatriots against the excesses of Almamum. Since none of the Sultans wanted to give up on the throne, confrontation was inevitable, thus the Battle of Maquenás [
Meknes] occurred.
Battle of Maquenás, 1614
The opposing armies met by June 3 when the heat was becoming unbearable and since none of the armies was in a condition to commit to a fight, they made camp and nervously awaited for anyone to begin the carnage. Almamum commanded an army of 30 000 soldiers, close to 6 000 of which were on horse and his infantry was organized in three lines of 8 000 men each, the green-boys at the front and the veterans at the back. Zidã had 4 000 Berber horsemen at his disposal which were mixed with the Portuguese Royal Cavalry and were divided into two groups with roughly the same numbers positioned at both sides of the army. The heart of the army was organized around the Portuguese Tersos with the Zidã placing his veterans and best soldiers on both sides of the Portuguese. The rest were organized in a crescent moon formation behind the main force, giving it consistency and protection.
The formations of the Infantry,
The Portuguese Tersos are the three middle blue squares at the front
Artillery was almost non-existent on both sides which combined with the absurd number of horsemen present on the battlefield, despite them having little more than leather armour, made it have little influence on the combat. When dawn arrived on June 4, Almamum ordered his cavalry to advance in a single thrust. Witnessing this, Zidã ordered both cavalry forces to intercept his brother’s cavalry and the brutal battle began. The fact that the Zidã’s forces attacked by two sides gave them a huge advantage over the opponent’s force, the Portuguese’s heavy cavalry proved itself in the battle and after an hour and a half of conflict, Almamum’s commanders ordered the retreat and were chased by Zidã’s forces. The truth was that both forces suffered about the same number of casualties but it didn’t seem that way during the dust of the battle.
Almamum shuddered when his cavalry retreated from the battlefield and he began hesitating too much. His brother quickly saw this and with Teodózio’s agreement, they advanced against the Sultan of Fez’s before he could compose himself. As the two sides collided the better-trained and cohesive Portuguese Tersos together with Zidã’s veterans quickly began breaking Almamum’s front line forcing the latter to send in his second line of troops.
Zidã's gamble and the incoming cavalry charge
Zidã seeing that he had the advantage sent in his reserves trying to encircle his brother’s army which forced Almamum to divide his third line in two to prevent encirclement. This coincided with the return of the winning cavalry to the battlefield, the Marquis of Vila Real and some Moroccan commanders saw the huge hole in Almamum’s defences and attacked his rearguard. With the bulk of the army pressed from two sides, the battle’s outcome was dictated. Almamum was slain in combat and so were his eldest sons together with close to 7 000 soldiers. Those who were not killed fled the battlefield or were captured. Zidã and the Portuguese suffered close to 4 000 casualties together with almost as many injured. Teodózio lost a hand in combat and almost died from the injuries and extreme heat that followed the battle, he went as far as to dictate his will and ask for the last sacraments but managed to heal up to full health.
The reasons for Zidã’s victory are not consensual, most believe it was the unique combination of Portuguese Tersos and the Sultan’s veterans that faced green boys, while others point out Almamum’s indecision and Zidã’s gambling move to try and encircle his brother’s army and others claim it was the early win of Zidã’s cavalry that won him the battle. What was certain was that the Portuguese did play a relevant role in the outcome of the Battle of Maquenás.
Zidã entered Fez in triumph and without opposition as Almamum’s wives tried to crown their children as Sultans but they couldn’t agree on which one and conflicts between them and their factions soon followed. To avoid further succession problems and consolidate his rule, Zidã had most of Almamum’s male children killed while the girls were made prisoners to later be married and the mothers given to his most loyal commanders as wives or concubines.
On July 1st, Zidã and the injured Teodózio signed the Treaty of Fez in which:
- Zidã recognized the Pilares de Hércules and Mazagão as Portuguese territory but Portugal could not expand further,
- Portugal would pay a tribute to Zidã for holding these territories,
- All piracy and Corsair activities between both countries would cease,
- The truce of the Peace of Arzila would be extended for ten more years.
Sultan Zidã was finally free of his opponents and was able to rule unopposed, allowing the country to rebuild itself after the Civil War that lasted a decade (1603-1613) and the devastating plagues. It wasn’t an easy rebuild however, the country’s population was severely reduced, the lands were abandoned and local warlords roamed the lands and did not obey the Sádis and were willing to depose them if the opportunity arose. The Sultan also lacked the money to make lasting reforms since what was left of his father’s treasury was wasted in the conflict, thus the tribute that the Portuguese were to pay him, despite being a very small and insignificant amount was much needed.
It wasn’t Zidã’s objective to let the Portuguese and the Spanish roam freely and expand further at his expense. Even after he signed the Treaty of Fez, he began planning the recovery of the lost lands starting with Larache and Melilha, both Spanish possessions. However, these plans were not to be conducted in the near future as the country was not ready for such expensive campaigns.
Portuguese Administration of the Pilares de Hércules:
After the conquered territory was subdued, King João IV appointed his cousin Teodózio as Vise-Rei dos Algarves as a reward for the service he provided to the country and with it, a sizable extra pension. At this point, no one could deny that Teodózio was the second most powerful person in Portugal, even more powerful than Prince Filipe or the Queen. He was also the most powerful noble in the entire Peninsula thanks to all of his offices (Constable of Portugal, Grand Master of the Order of Christ, Vise-Rei dos Algarves, Duke of Bragansa and member of the Conselho de Guerra [
Council of War] and the Conselho de Estado [
Council of State]), but also his wealth.
He was a widow, his wife Ana de Velasco e Jirão [
Ana de Velasco e Girón], daughter of the Spanish Duke of Friás died in 1607 after giving him three surviving sons but because of his power and wealth, many offered their daughters to him in hopes he would marry them, even Sultan Zidã offered him some of his nieces but the Bragansa refused them all. Before the Portuguese involvement in the Moroccan Civil War, João IV sent a new group of statutes to his cousin and these were quick to be implemented in the conquered region so as to promote peace and prosperity. According to the regiment, the Jews and Muslims would not be persecuted in the conquered land unless they were firm opponents of the Portuguese authority and sabotaged the peace settlement. They would also have to pay a yearly per capita tax based on the jizya which King John called pária, mandatory for every non-Christian.
The Judeus Sefarditas [Sephardi Jews] of Tetuão in a festivel after the Conquest
In population terms, the entire area controlled by Portugal lost thousands of inhabitants who refused to live under Portuguese and Christian rule. In 1613, Tânjer would have almost 5 000 people, Ceuta, the center of the region’s Diocese would be around the same numbers. Alcáser Seguer would not even reach 1 000 people, Tetuão would have about 2 000 people, most of which soldiers, which would also be the case of Arzila. In total, there would be perhaps 20 000 to 25 000 people in the whole territory by 1615, which was an extremely low number and insufficient for its defence or to develop the economy, as intended.
To face this major concern and fault in his plan, João IV issued a Royal Decree where he called for settlers of Catholic confession. The bulk of these settlers were Portuguese, mostly from Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Estremadura, the Beiras and Madeira but there were also Galicians, Christian Andalusians and Italians from the widest variety of origins. Protestants were allowed to settle in as well but they had to live by the mainland’s rules meaning they couldn’t practice their faith outside of the designated areas, their houses. Many exiled Sephardi Jews from Northern Europe settled in the region without being persecuted.
By 1624 when the Census was conducted, the population had increased to about 64 536 souls, 47% of which were Portuguese and 20% of the total population was already born there. Italian and New Christian Portuguese merchants energized the commerce and trade in the North African cities especially Tânjer and Seuta which were transforming back to their former selves now that they were finally away from the bulk of the raids. Missionaries made their way into the countryside and managed to convert a substantial amount of Muslims but overall the interior contrasted with the coastal towns for it kept its Moroccan Muslim identity.
The fields began to be worked in 1613 with cereals such as wheat and maize but also with traditional fruits. Since the lands were left abandoned thanks to the many wars and raids that began in 1415, the Crown acquired them without wasting money, and thus it could grant them to new settlers. These large plots of land quickly produced a huge quantity of cereals that allowed the territory to be self-sufficient and to even begin exporting the little surplus to Lisboa so it could be distributed in the country and to Mazagão. This worked wonderfully for the Crown because it reduced the expenses in the grain trade.
The sites where the defensive border of forts would be erected were quickly chosen by Teodózio, his commanders and the Dutch fort engineers whom the Portuguese King hired as they were in his mind the best fort builders of the time, thanks to the Eighty Years War, then in a state of truce. The engineers quickly faced the obstacles of the sandy soil, the harsh climate and lack of water to build efficient pits and moats. Various solutions were proposed, Dirque Gósens [
Dirk Goosens] from Groninga [
Groningen] suggested building deep pits with wooden spears and piles together with upturned boulders while another Dutchman named Stans Niêuquerque [
Stans Nieuwkerk] from Roterdão suggested diverting the nearby by water streams to fill the moats. The Portuguese chose the Gósens’ plan as they feared that diverting the course of the streams would deprive Arzila of the much-needed water to survive a prolonged siege.
Seven provisional forts were built from Arzila on the coast to the Montanhas do Arrife [
Rif Mountains], but due to the high costs and necessary materials, only two were turned into polish limestone forts during Teodózio’ tenure which ended in 1617, the Forte São João and the Forte Santa Izabel, named after the Royal Couple. These were built in the shape of a star and were equipped with various artillery pieces, they also covered a wide field of vision and were as advanced as the best forts of Europe. The city walls of Arzila were also improved as the city was also on the defensive line.
The Pilares de Hércules after Teodózio' tenure
As already mentioned, Teodózio forsook his office as Vise-Rei in 1617 on his own accord despite the King wanting him to continue. He was 49 years old at the time and starting to have mental problems. He was replaced by the Prince of Portugal, Filipe Duarte de Aviz-Guimarães then fourteen years old with João IV intending that his son acquired the necessary experience in the art of ruling. Unlike Teodózio, the Prince did not spend most of the year in North Africa as he preferred Lisboa and the court. He did go there on monthly campaigns to inspect the defences and oversee improvements in the cities. Two more forts were completed during his tenure, Forte Teodózio and Forte São Filipe with only three forts to be built. By this time however only a large-scale invasion would cause problems, therefore the other forts were not fully upgraded.
The population of the Pilares de Hércules, however, seemed to love the Prince as he promoted local feasts and danced with the locals during them. His jovial personality went as far as to seduce the Jews and Muslims promoting peace between all three religions. Prince Filipe would remain in the position until his father’s death and because he spent more than a decade as Vise-Rei, João IV changed the name of the heir’s title to Prínsipe dos Algarves [
Prince of the Algarves] in a similar fashion to what was done in other countries and for then on, the heir to the throne of Portugal would have this title.
Overall, the campaign was a success, fulfilling the proposed objectives but it also had its negative consequences…the defensive costs were not reduced as the defensive border was expensive to maintain even when the Portuguese treasury was full. Furthermore, the Moroccans could at any time launch a campaign to recover the lost lands. Only time would tell how things would go…
The Empire in Africa in 1628
And I'm finally finished with Africa. Next, it will be Asia. I would like to hear your thoughts on this expansion in Morocco, if it's too out of reach, I think it seems feasible considering the situation in Morocco.
I would also like to ask to those who are still reading, if you guys would prefer the situation in the Empire to be addressed first or the European developments like the situation in other countries? As I'm already doing the Empire first, Europe second for King John IV, I will not change it for him but I can certainly do it with the latter Kings if you guys want.
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