The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid sultanate at the North African city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell under Portuguese control after a carefully prepared attack, and the successful capture of the city marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. Ceuta remained under Portuguese control until being transferred to Spain in 1668.
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Conquest of Ceuta in the context of Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa and various islands in Asia and Oceania. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, while at its greatest extent in 1820, covering 5.5 million square km (2.1 million square miles), making it among the largest empires in history. Composed of colonies, factories, and later overseas territories, it was the longest-lived colonial empire in history, from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 to the handover of Macau to China in 1999.
The power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across the globe. In the wake of the Reconquista, Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418–1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography, and maritime technology such as the caravel, with the aim of finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral, while on a voyage to India, reached what would later be Brazil.
Conquest of Ceuta in the context of Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami
Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Moussa ibn Rashid al-Alami (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي بن موسى بن راشد العلمي, romanized: Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Ali ibn Mūsā ibn Rāshid al-‘Alamī), also known as Sherif Moulay Ali Ben Rachid, was the founder of the city of Chefchaouen, Morocco. He was an Idrisid and descendant of Sufi saint Abd as-Salam ibn Mashish al-Alami. He was also the father of Sayyida al-Hurra, governor of Tetouan.
He founded the city of Chefchaouen in 1471 as a base from which to attack the Portuguese who had conquered Ceuta in 1415.