Moroccan–Portuguese Conflict (1489)

Timeline

1. 1489Loucos River · MoroccoJoão II continued his father Afonso V's expansion policy in Morocco, sending Gaspar Jusarte with an expedition to build Graciosa Fortress near the mouth of the Loucos River, intending to penetrate inland and secure maritime supply. Diogo Fernandes de Almeida became fortress governor.
2. 1489Graciosa Fortress · MoroccoMuhammad ben Yahya personally led some four thousand cavalry and large infantry forces to the siege. Moroccan tribal militia surrounded the fortress from the hills and harassed it continuously, while artillery and shipboard guns exchanged fire day and night amid mounting casualties. The fortress sat in a marshy river bend, already a poor defensive position.
3. 1489Lower Loucos River · MoroccoThe sultan, following converts' advice, felled oaks and sank them in the Loucos River two miles downstream to block the channel, trapping Portuguese ships and cutting off maritime supply. The Portuguese were forced to surrender; on August 27 both sides signed the Treaty of Chames, agreeing to a ten-year truce, with the Portuguese withdrawing with all their supplies. The Moroccans later founded Larache at the river mouth.