Editing Afonso V of Portugal (section)

===Invasion of Morocco===
{{further|Moroccan–Portuguese conflicts}}
[[File:Landing at Asilah.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Conquest of Arzila]] in 1471]]

Afonso V's interest in Africa was sparked by a desire to support Papal efforts against Islam, especially after the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453.{{sfn|Marques|1976|p=207}} A large crusade was desired but the Papacy struggled to rally the necessary forces and Afonso, having already made war preparations in Portugal, saw an opportunity to pursue military campaigns in Africa.{{sfn|Livermore|1947|p=204}}

In 1458, Afonso V, leading an expeditionary force of 25,000 men, assaulted and captured the town of [[Alcácer Ceguer]].{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=65}}{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|pages=501-502}} After the conquest, he gave himself the title "king of Portugal and the Algarves", where the plural form of Algarve was meant to refer to both the original [[Kingdom of the Algarve]] in southern Portuguese as well as the new territories in Africa.{{sfn|Marques|1976|pages=207-208}}{{sfn |Sousa |1998 |page=641}} For the next two decades, the Portuguese nobility and crown concentrated their efforts primarily on Morocco.{{sfn|Newitt|2005|p=30}} Between November 1463 and April 1464, Afonso made multiple unsuccessful attempts to seize [[Tangier]]s from the [[Marinid dynasty|Marinids]].{{sfn|Livermore|1947|p=205}} In August 1471, he launched another campaign with the intention of capturing the city, but his fleet was diverted by a storm to the port of [[Arzila]].{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=505}} After a fierce battle, [[Conquest of Asilah|Arzila was captured]].{{sfn|Newitt|2005|p=36}} Subsequently, the nearby population of Tangiers fled and the city fell into Portuguese control.{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=66}} His victories earned the king the nickname of ''the African'' or {{Lang|pt|O Africano}}.{{sfn|Newitt|2005|p=37}}