The Portuguese Art of War in Northern Morocco during the 15th Century

Abstract

This paper not only reviews the motives underlying the Portuguese expansionist project in Morocco in the 15th century, but also the political, economic, and particularly the social reasons that were in the basis of the Portuguese art of war in Morocco in that period. During the Iberian Reconquest (Reconquista), warfare was usually practiced by means of cavalcades, raids (razias) and ambushes, alongside with some siege actions. We will try to demonstrate that the Portuguese were forced to adopt a model of restricted territorial occupation and repeat the same technics and tactics of combat in Morocco, chiefly based on guerrilla war (guerra guerreada), as well as on siege and privateering actions, either offshore or onshore, by means of amphibian landings (saltos). We will also approach some of the changes that occurred in the defence systems of the Portuguese strongholds in North Africa, particularly at the turn of the 15th to the 16th centuries, as a result of the need to respond to the new challenges by the Moroccan armies equipped with fire weaponry.

Keywords

• guerrilla war
• maritime war
• northern morocco
• strongholds
• siege war
• fire weaponry