Sack of Targa and Comice
Part ofMoroccan–Portuguese conflicts
Morocco in the late 15th early 16th century.
Date 1490[1] Location Targa Result Portuguese victory[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal	Wattasid Morocco
Commanders and leaders
Dom Fernando de Meneses[1]	Unknown.
Strength
130 horse, 1,870 foot[1]. 50 ships.[1]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
40 dead.[2]	Several hundreds captured.

The PortugueseTarga expedition took place in 1490 when a Portuguese fleet commanded byDom Fernando de Meneses [pt] plundered the town of Targa, a known pirate haven in Morocco. On the same occasion, Dom Fernando sacked the Moroccan mountain town of Comice.

The Portuguese occupied Ceuta in 1415 at theConquest of Ceuta. In 1490,King John II prepared an expedition against the Moroccanqaid ofChefchaouen Ali Ibn Rashid al-Alam ("Barraxa" in Portuguese), and entrusted command to the son of theMarquis of Vila Real, Dom Fernando de Meneses, who was provided with 50 ships.^[1] Having called at Gibraltar, he messaged the captain ofCeutaDom António de Meneses [pt] (who was his brother) that he would disembark in that city shortly to attack Chefchaouen, but Dom António dissuaded him from undertaking the campaign, which he considered impractical.^[1] Dom Fernando was instead persuaded to attack the town of Targa, which was a known pirate haven to the south-east of Ceuta.^[3][1] Having been joined by some Spanish volunteers, the expedition ultimately numbered 130 horse and 1870 foot.^[1]

As soon as the fleet came into sight of Targa, the settlement was evacuated by its inhabitants, leaving ample spoil behind.^[1] The Portuguese disembarked, captured 25 ships, 370 people,^[2] weapons including cannons, released a number of ChristianPOWs and razed the town along with the surrounding agricultural fields.^[1]

Unsatisfied with the attack on Targa, Dom Fernando later that year joined forces with the captains ofPortuguese Tangier andAlcácer-Ceguer to sack a town on theRif mountains the Portuguese identified asComice.^[1] With an army then numbering 400 horses and 1200 feet the Portuguese sacked the town and captured ample spoil, including 100^[1] or 1000^[2][4] persons, cattle and horses.^[1] 40 Portuguese died in the action.^[2]

• Portuguese conquest of Ceuta
• Portuguese conquest of Ksar es-Seghir
• Anfa expedition (1468)
• Portuguese conquest of Asilah
• Chaouia expedition
• Portuguese Asilah
• Portuguese Tangier

• Conflicts in 1490
• Battles involving the Wattasid dynasty
• Battles involving Portugal
• 15th century in Morocco
• Morocco–Portugal military relations

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata