Castelo Real was a Portuguese castle established in Mogador, now Essaouira in Morocco, by the Portuguese in 1506."By 1506, at Mogador, his Castelo Real had risen firm and strong, in spite of opposition from fierce fanatical Berbers" ''The reign of the fortunate king, 1495-1521'' Elaine Sanceau Archon Books, 1970 p.89

Construction (1506)

The Portuguese king Dom Manuel ordered

Diogo de Azambuja Diogo de Azambuja or Diego de Azambuja (1432–1518) was a Portuguese noble and explorer. Soldier He was born at Montemor-o-Velho, and became a knight of the Order of Aviz in the service of the Infante Dom Pedro, son of the Regent Infante ...

, the founder of Castello da Mina, to build a castle on a small island, now called "La Petite Ile", in the Moroccan locality of Mogador. The role of the castle was to serve as a relay on their routes along the Moroccan coast, between Safi, where the Portuguese were established since the end of the 15th century, and

Agadir Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

, which had just been occupied in 1504. The castle could also easily receive supplies from

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. The building of the fortress was strongly opposed by local

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

. Other Portuguese captains commanded the castle: Francisco de Miranda and Dom Pedro de Azevedo. On 12 May 1510, the king named Nicolau de Sousa as perpetual commander, but the castle was soon taken over by the local Berbers, and in December 1510 the castle had to be abandoned and the garrison relocated at Safi. The castle was then occupied sporadically by the local Berbers. The castle appears in various subsequent documents, as late as 1767 with the map of

Théodore Cornut Théodore Cornut, also Cornout, was a French mathematician and military architect of the 18th century, born in Avignon, who worked for the King of Morocco. Cornut initially worked as an architect for military fortifications in Roussillon. ...

. Soon however the fortifications of Essaouira were updated to become what they are today, and all traces of the Castelo Real have disappeared.

Destruction (18th century)

The Castelo Real was totally demolished in the 18th century, following the plans to build the Essaouira city and fortifications by

Mohammed ben Abdallah ''Sidi'' Mohammed ben Abdallah ''al-Khatib'' ( ar, سيدي محمد بن عبد الله الخطيب), known as Mohammed III ( ar, محمد الثالث), born in 1710 in Fes and died on 9 April 1790 in Meknes, was the Sultan of Morocco from 17 ...

. In its place are now 18th-century fortications, called the "Scala del Mar". Nothing remains of the Castelo Real, but judging from old maps, its location was at the end of the Scala del Mar.

Other Portuguese fortresses in Morocco

Altogether, the Portuguese are documented to have seized 6 Moroccan towns, and built 6 stand-alone fortresses on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, between the river Loukos in the north and the river of

Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert ...

in the south. Four of them only had a short duration:

Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese) is referred to as the ''White Island'', the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. The ovular Portuguese island has an area of , a length of and a width ...

(1489), São João da Mamora (1515), Castelo Real of Mogador (1506–10) and Aguz (1520–25). Two of them were to become permanent urban settlements:

Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

(

, founded in 1505-06), and

Mazagan El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the r ...

founded in 1514-17. The Portuguese had to abandon most of their settlements between 1541 and 1550, although they were able to keep

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

and Mazagan.''City walls: the urban enceinte in global perspective'' James D. Tracy p.352
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Notes

{{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire, state=collapsed Former Portuguese colonies Colonial history of Morocco Forts in Morocco Essaouira Buildings and structures completed in 1506 1506 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 1510 disestablishments in the Portuguese Empire Buildings and structures demolished in the 18th century 16th-century establishments in Africa 16th century in Morocco Portuguese colonial architecture in Morocco

Construction (1506)

Destruction (18th century)

Other Portuguese fortresses in Morocco

See also

Notes