The conquest and the destruction of Anafé (Casablanca) by the infant D.Fernando (1468) – Considerations on a little known amphibian operation

Abstract

Portuguese amphibian operations acquired their cursus honorum during the fourteen hundreds namely through the experience accumulated from the attacks on various positions in North Africa. This know how, transferred to the Orient seas in the following century, was strengthened by ventures that marked the fifteenth century Portuguese Expansion, such as the conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, or the conquest of Arzila, in 1471. However, other not so famous actions are of particular interest, in that they reflect the adoption of different strategies in order to achieve different objectives. This is why 550 years since the conquest and destruction of Anafé (Casablanca) by the infante D. Fernando, it is pertinent to analyse this military enterprise in the context of the fifteenth century amphibian operations, identifying the reasons that led to such operation and bearing in mind the social and military profile of D. Fernando, according to the portuguese expansionist political aims in the 15th century.