Building as propaganda: a palimpsest of faith and power in the Maghreb

[Excerpt] Portugal held overseas possessions in Africa, South America and Asia from the beginning of the fifteenth century till very recently. This empire was the result of conquests of cities that belonged to other kingdoms, such as in the Maghreb or India, the establishment of commercial outposts in key points of the maritime routes along the Atlantic and Indian oceans coasts, or the creation of colonies in newfound lands, such as some Atlantic archipelagos or Brazil. The Moroccan project was a fundamental part of this overseas expansion.1 Amidst several motivations, the Crusader spirit was certainly one of the most important drives for the Portuguese to assault Northern Africa from the early 1400s to 1500s. The Portuguese presence in the region lasted from 1415, when King João i (1385–1433) started what would become a series of conquests, to 1769. This last date represents the epilogue of a political, military, and commercial investment in the Maghreb, when the evacuation of the last stronghold was decided in Lisbon. For more than three and a half centuries, the Portuguese main expression of its territorial expansion consisted in isolated enclaves along the Strait of Gibraltar and Atlantic coasts, which corresponds today to a long seashore stretch in the Kingdom of Morocco, with exception of the Spanish city of Ceuta. This territory was never understood as a full colony by the Crown, with autonomous jurisdiction. It was rather based on the conquest and occupation of pre-existing Arab and Muslim cities, resulting in a network of isolated possessions directly ruled by the king through local captains and governors. [...](undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structures marchandes du début du XVIème siècle en Afrique du Nord: la ville portugaise de Safim

In 1415 Portugal initiated its Overseas Expansion. The conquest of Ceuta began a settling process that comprised several towns in Northern Africa which would last until 1769. Late 15th century brought three suzerainties in the southern stretch of Moroccan coastline to the Portuguese crown in exchange for the establishment of a factory in those Muslim towns. Soon, the increasing commercial advantages lead to the conquest of Azamor (Azemmour) and Safim (Safi) by Manuel I. These early 16th century conquests undertook an occupational praxis over pre-existent Islamic fabrics and implied a re-evaluation of the mercantile structures. New buildings were erected to respond to this developing market of exchanges between Portugal, the Northern African reigns and the Sahara caravans. First of all, it is important to determine graphically the exact localisation of the custom house, the exchequer or the mint, either through coeval iconography engraved by Braun or local letters to the crown. However, for Safim, it is possible to extend the study. New evidence based on a recently discovered sketch suggests a complete display of all three structures around a patio in a two store construction close to the main street and the Sea Gate. This paper attempts the reconstitution of the building, relying on both written and visual data, thus throwing some light on the architectural aspect of these central spaces of the Portuguese Expansion in North Africa. Moreover, it helps to stand out the beginning of the 16th century as the most important period of urban and military activity. Since all the physical traces of the mercantile headquarters have been erased from former Portuguese possessions waterfronts in this territory, the rescue of Safim custom house complex allows us to picture a possible model applied since Ceuta

Early 16th century mercantile structures in Northern Africa: the portuguese city of Safim

In 1415 Portugal initiated its Overseas Expansion. The conquest of Ceuta began a settling process that comprised several towns in Northern Africa which would last until 1769. Late 15th century brought three suzerainties in the southern stretch of Moroccan coastline to the Portuguese crown in exchange for the establishment of a factory in those Muslim towns. Soon, the increasing commercial advantages lead to the conquest of Azamor (Azemmour) and Safim (Safi) by Manuel I. These early 16th century conquests undertook an occupational praxis over pre-existent Islamic fabrics and implied a re-evaluation of the mercantile structures. New buildings were erected to respond to this developing market of exchanges between Portugal, the Northern African reigns and the Sahara caravans. First of all, it is important to determine graphically the exact localisation of the custom house, the exchequer or the mint, either through coeval iconography engraved by Braun or local letters to the crown. However, for Safim, it is possible to extend the study. New evidence based on a recently discovered sketch suggests a complete display of all three structures around a patio in a two store construction close to the main street and the Sea Gate. This paper attempts the reconstitution of the building, relying on both written and visual data, thus throwing some light on the architectural aspect of these central spaces of the Portuguese Expansion in North Africa. Moreover, it helps to stand out the beginning of the 16th century as the most important period of urban and military activity. Since all the physical traces of the mercantile headquarters have been erased from former Portuguese possessions waterfronts in this territory, the rescue of Safim custom house complex allows us to picture a possible model applied since Ceuta

Ciudades portuguesas en el Norte de África : una metamorfosis urbana en los siglos XV y XVI

El asunto que nos proponemos a tratar es amplio y no limitado en el alcance de las líneas que siguen. De hecho, es parte de una investigación más larga que venimos llevando a cabo para el norte de África. Por lo tanto, iremos sólo contextualizar y poner de relieve algunos aspectos que se relacionan con el tema del "encuentro" y/o "colisión" como un proceso y método en la historia de la ciudad. Para la geografía y la cronología en cuestión, este aspecto se asocia inevitablemente à la evolución experimental de arquitectura militar

Ceuta, Tangier and El Jadida: Muslim cities “interrupted”

Colonial history in Atlantic Northern Africa, which corresponds today to the Kingdom of Morocco, has introduced decisive urban factors. Ceuta, Tangier and El Jadida present three different case studies of how the urban morphology has been conducted by the political changes. This paper wishes to analyze the urban strata of these cities in order to point out traces of continuity and rupture between Muslim and Christian rule. Ceuta, once an important Muslim commercial city during medieval times, suffered a process of downsizing when the Portuguese conquered it in 1415, due to sustainability issues. The course of the city was confined to those limits for more than two centuries, when the Spanish took over in 1640. After resisting Muley Ismail long siege, Ceuta began to expand beyond its walls, in a process that reoccupied the ancient Islamic domains. Tangier offers a typical case of interruption of the Muslim rule over the city. Held by the Portuguese between 1471 and 1661, it suffered a radical reduction of its perimeter and a redirection towards the port. This fortified shape was maintained by the brief British occupation and present day medina retrains itself to that boundary, although recent population boom has pushed the urban assemblage way beyond. Finally, El Jadida allows us to go back to a non-Muslim origin. Its name - the new - reflects the political situation since the 19th Muslim occupation over a Portuguese foundation of the mid 500s, subverting the orthogonality of the original grid layout within a modern bastioned contour. Three different urban processes where the Muslim stratum, either present, interrupted or suspended, has been the longest. This paper relies on both historical cartography and new drawn proposition to present this parallel evolution