Portuguese Asilah () covers the period of Portuguese rule over Asilah, today a city in Morocco. The territory was ruled by the Kingdom of Portugal from 1471 to 1550 and again between 1577 and 1589.
History
In 1471 the Portuguese captured Asilah. The Portuguese were commanded by King Afonso V personally, at the head of an army that numbered 30,000 men and 400 vessels of various sizes. The episode is illustrated in the Pastrana Tapestries.
The Count of Viana do Alentejo Dom Henrique de Meneses was appointed first captain of Asilah. He was killed in action by the Moroccans in 1480.
During the tenure of captain Álvaro de Faria, in 1488, the Count of Borba Dom Vasco Coutinho distinguished himself in combat ahead of 70 horsemen against the qaid of Ksar el-Kebir, whom he personally fought and captured, despite having been ambushed. The qaid was later ransomed in exchange for 15 000 gold dobras, 15 Christian s, 20 horses, 18 hostages, the qaids suit of chain mail and a truce. He was later further rewarded by king John II, who promoted him to the post of captain of Asilah in 1490.
Like Portuguese Tangier, Portuguese Asilah received Spanish Jewish families after 1490, after they had fled from Spain into Portugal. The city was then governed by the Count of Borba Dom Vasco Coutinho, who granted asylum to many. Many Jews sought baptism out of fear of the Muslims, while others stuck to Judaism or moved to Portugal later.
Dom Vasco was recalled to Portugal to stand trial in 1495, and his nephew Dom Rodrigo Coutinho briefly replaced him as captain until he was killed later that year in a skirmish against the qaids of Chefchaouen and Tetouan. He was replaced by João de Meneses until being replaced by Dom Vasco who returned still in 1495.
A temporary truce was agreed upon with the Sultan of Fez, and while peace lasted, the villages in the vicinity of Asilah developed and cattle could be raised in safety. The governor of Asilah, Count of Borba Dom Vasco Coutinho earned the respect of both Christians and Muslims alike as a fair governor, hence in 1498 he was selected by King Manuel of Portugal to negotiate with the Sultan of Fez Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya an extension of the truce. Talks however floundered, because Dom Vasco was outraged at the envoy the Sultan had selected and insulted him as inept.
In 1505, Dom Vasco Coutinho succeeded his brother-in-law Dom João de Meneses as captain of Asilah for a second term. In 1507 Meneses would lead a flotilla of three caravels to recon the harbours of Azemmour, Mamora, Salé and Larache accompanied by Duarte D'Armas, who produced sketches in preparation for future attacks. The following year, Dom João de Meneses led a force of 2400 men and caravels against Azemmour though he failed to capture the city upon landing and fighting its garrison on land.
First siege of Asilah 1508
Aware of the attack being prepared against Azemmour, the Sultan of Fez Abu Abd Allah al-Burtuqali Muhammad ibn Muhammad gathered an army to defend Azemmour and siege Asilah so as to pressure the Portuguese. Dom Vasco got word of the impending siege, and dispatched requests for reinforcements to the Portuguese fortresses of Ceuta, Portuguese Tangier and Alcácer-Ceguer.
The city was besieged by the Sultan of Fez on October 15, 1508. He commanded a large army and was accompanied by the qaid of Chefchaouen Ali ibn Musa ibn Rashid Al-Alam ("Barraxe" in Portuguese) and the qaid of Tétouan Cid Al-Mandri II ("Almandarim" in Portuguese). As almost all the guns in the fortress were inactive, the Moroccoans managed to breach into the city on the second day of the siege, wound captain Dom Vasco with an arrow and force the Portuguese to seek refuge in to the citadel.
The first of Dom João de Meneses' ships arrived on October 17 by midnight but most of it only arrived the following day by mid-day, but after gathering a war-council with the forts officer, landed only on Thursday on Dom Vascos requests. Dom Vascos son-in-law Dom João Mascarenhas landed with a force of 300 men, who managed to secure a beachhead for the landing of further reinforcements. The Portuguese were assisted by Castillians, who dispatched a number of reinforcements to their aid aboard galleys. Warned of the heavy siege on Asilah, King Manuel I moved to Tavira in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve, to oversee the organization of reinforcements more closely, while many residents of Algarve volunteered to sail out in the aid of the beleaguered fortress. Seeing no way to overcome Portuguese defences and gradually accosted by an increasing number of Portuguese attacks on his camp, the Sultan of Fez lifted the siege and withdrew with his army.