Lat: 33.256833333333000, Long: -8.502500000000000

El Jadida [Mazagan]

North Africa, Marocco

Historical Background and Urbanism

Among the places occupied by the Portuguese on the coast of North Africa, the town/fortress of Mazagan (present day El Jadida) stands out, being a remarkable example of military and city architecture along Renaissance lines during the Portuguese expansion. Now part of the city of El Jadida, the ensemble is the vital element of its urban structure and identity.
Four essential periods in its history can be considered. The first, from the late 15th century to 1514, corresponds to the period in which the Portuguese started to frequent the place as a port of trade and shipment of cereals, dependent on Azemmour. In the second, between 1514 and 1541, El Jadida took on the character of a small castellated town, still connected to Azemmour, but gradually achieving importance and independence. The third, between 1541 and 1769, began with the construction of the bastion-like fortress and corresponding urban structure, and extends over two centuries of Portuguese presence until the moment of withdrawal by which time it was significantly destroyed. The fourth period, from 1769 up to the present, corresponds to the occupation, use and transformation of the ensemble by its new inhabitants, according to their needs and the specificities of their culture.
From a methodological point of view – considering the particular historical evolution of the ensemble and the restrictions of the existing documentation – the approach to this city is based on an architectural analysis of the built structures that still exist, complemented by the written and graphic sources of which we have knowledge. From the graphic sources, we must highlight two documents due to their accuracy and relevance of the information: the Planta (plan) from 1611, now held at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Farinha, 1987) and the Planta (plan) from c.1720, by Simão dos Santos, held by the Instituto Português de Cartografia e Cadastro (Farinha, 1970).
Situated in Doukkala, around 15 km to the south-west of Azemmour, the region of El Jadida started to be used by the Portuguese in the late 15th century as a place for trading and wheat shipment. Contrary to Azemmour – which had the disadvantage of having difficult access through the silted and difficult to pass mouth of the Umme Arrebia River – the region of El Jadida, opening on to a wide bay and with easy access to the sea, had the right characteristics to make a good port. In 1513 Azemmour and El Jadida were conquered by Jaime, duke of Braganza. After this, Jaime wrote to King Manuel, informing him of the need to build a fortress in order to ensure the maritime relations of Azemmour. Besides the advantage of reinforcing the protection of the bay and the access to the city of Azemmour, the development of commercial connections in the region of El Jadida made it desirable to erect a fortification that would enable the safe use of the port.
Between 1514 and 1541, El Jadida was a small town, composed of the Manueline castle, near which – between the southwest and northwest – was located a small cluster of buildings which must have developed over the years to absorb the significant increase of the population of the settlement.
The plans of Benedetto da Ravena for the fortified structure had certainly intended to include the urban structure, but there was no detailed design of the urban fabric (cf. letter of King João III to Luís Loureiro). The planning of the urban fabric might have been executed by Miguel de Arruda, taking into account the indications left by Benedetto da Ravena, and would then have been subject to adaptations during construction. The first ideal city of the Renaissance outside Europe, as it is defined by Rafael Moreira, was conceived as a whole, in a modern and innovative process. In this sense there are similarities with the idealized Renaissance city along the lines of Alberti. In addition to issues strictly connected to military defense, the structure of the town was subjected to rational planning in response to specific issues of urban conception, such as accesses, the structure of interior circulation, the connections between the fortified perimeter and urban fabric, the definition of urban spaces, the separation between functional areas, the location and scale of the representative public buildings, the morphology of the city blocks and the definition of infrastructures. The plan of the whole also ensured an indispensable level of self-sustainability regarding the outside world – reflected, for example, in the size of the cistern.
Few elements of urban fabric were built after the conclusion of the bastion-like perimeter. Besides the existing built structure, which has undergone significant transformations over the past two centuries, we have graphic sources, although they were made after construction was begun. The polygon that borders the urban fabric, which extends slightly over five hectares, corresponds to the fortified perimeter itself. The rationality of the ensemble begins in the decision to incorporate the pre-existent castle in the central area of the new urban structure, with a balanced plan in which the fortified perimeter is set relatively closer to the sea. The castle, converted into the cistern building, started to be the fulcral and structuring element of the urban fabric, which was then organized around it. About half of the structure was built out beyond the coastline, in the sea, with the resulting difficulties in building the bases of walls – resting directly on the rock – and the landfill of a large area, within the perimeter, which had previously been under water. The urban fabric is connected and adapted to the shape of the perimeter (photo from c. 1920). The organization of streets and blocks starts with an orthogonal grid parallel to the cistern building, connected in parallel and perpendicular to the fortified perimeter itself. We can find several structuring geometric patterns in the urban grid. As with the longitudinal and transversal axis of Rua (street) da Carreira and Rua Direita; with the meeting of the angled break in the southern curtain wall and the end of Rua dos Celeiros by the cistern building. In terms of distribution according to function, there is a central concentration of a representative public buildings around the parade ground, and a network of city blocks with essentially residential buildings scattered across the remaining grid.
Nonetheless, this idealized urban structure, based on a regular and geometric organization of spaces, seems to have been partially subject to the decision to preserve and incorporate elements from a pre-existent, unplanned urban grid. Some houses were demolished around January 1542, for the construction of the fortified wall, which leads us to believe that others might have been preserved within the perimeter – probably near the Holy Spirit Bastion – at least in an initial period. The blocks to the northwest of the building of the cistern, in the area that continued to the well, and to the southwest near the Holy Spirit Bastion were somewhat irregular, which could be indicative of pre-existing elements. On the other hand, the morphology of the northeast and southeast blocks in an area of landfill reclaimed from the sea is more regular. It seems likely that part of the small existing unplanned urban structure has been incorporated into the new grid. The regularity of the plan also seems to have been disturbed by the process of construction which must have dragged on for years. Despite the strong structuring intentions it seems that there was a certain flexibility on the rules for practical and particular issues.
The entry to the town from the land side through the Governor’s Bastion led directly to the yard that formed the parade ground. To the left was the Governor’s Palace, the symbol of the royal power; to the right was the Parish Church and in front, included in the cistern building, was the Misericórdia, a charitable institution that was given a prominent location. According to Rafael Moreira, in the trapezoidal shape of the market square perspective is used as a means of accentuating the illusion of depth. It was possible to walk the extent of the fortified perimeter along the rampart, with the connections to the urban grid always in the middle of each façade. All the buildings in the town were lower in height than the wall, in order to avoid enemy artillery.
The first reconstruction works, in 1821, when a Jewish community settled in the town marked the start of a process of transformation of the urban structure by the new inhabitants. In a process of appropriation characteristic of Muslim culture, many streets were changed, and some were partially occupied by private buildings, while others were converted into alleys. Some residential units were grouped together while others were divided. There was the addition of higher floors in many houses and the execution of bridge-like constructions at first floor level. The urban grid lost part of its regularity, adopting the somewhat labyrinthine nature which we associate with the typical structure of a medina. The Governors’ Palace disappeared and a mosque – which extends partly along the former square – was built in its place. The Misericórdia building was destroyed and the wall that corresponds to the former southeast curtain of the castle was exposed. The town assumed a new character, connected to the culture and lifestyle of its new inhabitants.

João Barros Matos

Military Architecture

Religious Architecture

Equipment and Infrastructures

Governor’s Palace

Housing

Housing