How
the Portugese Took Safi:
Leo's 'entry'
on Safi is quite long, as he relates episodes of the life of Yahia Ibn
Tafouft (Follow Leo through the Atlas trip to learn more about this
historical personnage). About the town itself, he writes:
"Asafi
was built by the ancient Africans [pre-islamic Berbers] along the coast.
It has about 4000 homes. There is a high population density, but the
people are mostlt uneducated. In the past Azafi was home to many craftsmen
and has 100 Jewish homes. The nearby lands are very fertile, but the
locals are not intelligent enough to cultivate these lands, or even
plant vines.They do have a few vegetable gardens though. When the power
of the Sultans of Marrakech started to decline, the Farhon family took
hold of Asafi. In my days it was ruled by the valorous lord Habdurrhaman
who had killed his uncle to seize power"
[Due
to conflict between this lord and Yahia Ibn Tafouft, a local war lord],
a few Portugese merchants- there were many in Azafi- convincent the
King of Portugual to take control of the town. The King agreed to intervene
when he heard that the people of Azafi were divided in different factions,
and that he had secured the support of one of these factions, through
numerous gifts [Yahia's faction]. The Portuguese convinced Yahia to
let them build a big fortified house on the coast, telling all the other
inhabitants that they needed it to safely story all their merchandise.
Secretely, they shipped in arms hidden amongst their goods- the locals
did not check, as they always paid the tax.
When
the Portuguese had amassed enough arms they started provoking the Moores.
The triggering event occured when a Portuguese valet started a fight
with a butcher and stabbed him to death. The murderer fled and hid in
the Portuguese fortified home. The population was outraged and they
ran to the Portuguese house, ready to raid it. As the masses approached,
the Portuguese pulled out their arms. More than one hundred Moors died
in the attack. They nonetheless maintained the siege for a couple days.
At
that time, the fleet arrived from Lisbon. It was heavily armed and stocked
with enough food for a long battle. It transported five thousand footmen
and two hundred horsemen. Seeing this, the Moores panicked and abandonned
the city, fleeing into the mountains. Only Yahia stayed behind. When
the Portuguese captain seized the town, he called Yahia and promised
him a good income and twenty servants. Later, the King of Portugal sent
him into the coutryside, to govern on his behalf" [for more on
this, go to the Atlas Trip].
