Mawläy 'Abd al-Mälik Extended Biography
Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik Extended BiographyYou may wish to share this biography with students, or just to read it for your own information.We tend to envision Muslim-Christian relationships in the early modern world through a lens of civilizational conflict. Following the centuries of crusades and the Reconquista in earlier generations, it’s easy to focus on battles between Christians and Muslims, such as the great armada battle at Lepanto and the wars between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. In fact, relationships between Muslims and Christians—even on a political level—were often complex. Politics and economics could make Muslim and Christian rulers friends—even allies—as often as enemies. Morocco in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was an important region along the border between Muslim-majority and Christian-majority regions. Certainly, the Muslim rulers of Morocco had frequent conflicts with Christians. Pope Alexander VI had, in 1494, brokered an agreement that gave western Morocco to Portugal and regions in the east of the country to Spain—if these countries could conquer them. Both Christian powers had attempted to do so, seizing major ports between 1496 and 1510. Most of Morocco remained independent, however. Its rulers both fought and traded with Christian states such as Portugal, Spain, Genoa, and Venice. In 1511, however, a new royal dynasty took over in northern Morocco—the Sa’âdi dynasty. They began to reconquer the whole of Morocco. Meanwhile, the Spanish and Portuguese began to fear the growing power of the Ottoman Empire, which had conquered North Africa as far as Algeria. At the same time, the Sa’âdi ruler also felt threatened by the Ottoman expansion, and for a time turned to Spain for help. As a result, he was assassinated by one of his own officers, who was paid by the Ottomans. His successor encouraged trade with the French and Portuguese as well as the Spanish. But he died in 1574, leaving behind a disputed succession. With the death of the sultan in 1574, both Portugal and the Ottomans looked hungrily at Morocco. The Ottomans supported the eldest of the Sa’âdi princes, Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik. With their help, he took the throne. His ascension to the throne was, however, contested by a relative, al-Mutawakkil. Although Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik was quite old, he had most of the popular support, and al-Mutawakkil was forced to flee and turn to his Portuguese allies. The Portuguese ruler, Don Sebastián, had been feeling pressure for some time to fight the Ottomans. The Portuguese business community and nobles feared that Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik, with his connections to the Ottomans, would give Ottoman ships access to ports on the northwest coast of Africa, and the ability to not only raid the Portuguese coast but also cut off their trade to their growing colony in Brazil. As a result, Sebastián made an alliance with al-Mutawakkil. But Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik didn’t want to fight him. He preferred to grow the trade and prosperity of Morocco. Thus, he wrote a letter to Sebastián, stating: “That which you are preparing to do, that is, to wage war against me in my country, is an injustice and an act of aggression without reason, for I wish you no ill, think no evil of you and have taken no evil action against you. Why then do you venture to deprive me of my rights and to give them to another in exchange for vain promises which he will be unable to keep so long as I am alive? You come to drive me from my kingdom, even though, with all that you possess and all that your states contain, you will be unable to gain your desire. Do not believe that my words spring from cowardice. On the contrary, know that if you do not heed these recommendations you will expose yourself to certain destruction. I am ready to come to an agreement with you in person, at whatever place you choose. I do all
Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik - Extended Biography2this in order to save you from destruction. I add that I am willing to come with you before your court of law, which never takes things away from one person to give them illegally and unjustly to another. And I accept in advance the judgement of that court...”Ignoring the letter, Sebastián landed a huge army in Morocco, including—according to some sources—as many as 18,000 troops, made up of many Portuguese nobles and mercenaries from Germany and Italy. They joined up with an estimated 6,000 troops under Mutawakkil, and on August 4, 1578, they faced Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik’s army of Morocco in what is known as the Battle of the Three Kings. On the day of battle, the European troops and their Muslim allies proved no match for the Moroccan army. Both armies had modern muskets and artillery, but the Moroccan cavalry was superior. They surrounded the Portuguese and al-Mutawakkil. Most of the nobility of Portugal were captured, and Sebastián was killed. Al-Mutawakkil died as well. As for the victor, Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik? He also died that day...from exertion.
Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik - Extended Biography3Sources: El Fasi, M. “Morocco.” In UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. 5: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries, edited by B.A. Ogot, 200-232. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.