Volta
Conflict21 August 1415

Portuguese Conquest of Ceuta

Also called: Capture of Ceuta

John I of Portugal seized Ceuta, a Muslim port across the Strait of Gibraltar — often counted as the first step in Europe’s overseas expansion.

The Portuguese princes at Ceuta — illustration from a 19th-century History of Portugal
The Portuguese princes at Ceuta — illustration from a 19th-century History of Portugal

Roque Gameiro · Public domain · Source

On 21 August 1415 a Portuguese fleet led by John I and his sons, including Prince Henry, took the Marinid (Moroccan) port of Ceuta in a single day. Ceuta was an entrepôt for trans-Saharan gold, slaves and spices; there Henry is said to have heard of the gold trade of the African interior and turned his interest to the West African coast. Religious motives — continuing the war against Islam (the Reconquista) — went hand in hand with the hope of commercial gain.

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States at the time
Portugal · conqueror
Marinid Sultanate · conquered
Places
Ceuta

People

  • John I of Portugal1357 – 1433

    monarch · Founder of Portugal’s House of Aviz, who led the expedition to Ceuta in 1415

  • Prince Henry the Navigator1394 – 1460

    participant · Portuguese prince, son of John I, whose sponsorship of voyages down the West African coast opened the Age of Discovery

Before and after

Earlier
1325 Travels of Ibn Battuta
Later
1418 Voyages of Henry the Navigator

Themes that include this event

  • The Age of Discovery1415 – 1600

    From Ceuta to the Manila galleons — two centuries in which European ships crossed the oceans and bound the world together by sea