The story between Portugal in Morocco in 5 videos
The presence of Portugal in Morocco between the 15th and 18th centuries is the subject of five videos by architect Frederico Mendes Paula available on channel of YouTube video from Instituto Camões.
The project was developed at the initiative of the Embassy of Portugal in Morocco, with funding from Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, IP Videos are available in three languages: Portuguese, Arabic and French.
The president of Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, IP, João Ribeiro de Almeida, considers this project “an important contribution to present a lesser-known aspect of Portuguese maritime expansion, in a medium that can make this information more easily accessible to a young audience.“
For the ambassador of Portugal in Morocco, Bernardo Futscher Pereira, “it is important that the saga of the Portuguese in Morocco, from the conquest of Ceuta in 1415 to the evacuation of the citadel of Mazagon in 1769 and the signing of the Peace Treaty in 1774, is better known“
“The Portuguese presence left in Morocco an impressive architectural legacy of great cultural and tourist interest. Portugal is ready to collaborate with Morocco to enhance this heritage, part of which is classified by UNESCO as a world heritage site,” he added.
For the architect Frederico Mendes Paula, this project is the culmination of work started in 2014 with the creation of the blog “Stories from Portugal in Morocco” and the publication of two books that followed, “Portugal in Morocco, a look at a common heritage”, in 2016, published in Portuguese and French, and “Histórias de Portugal em Morocco” in 2019.
The architect Mendes Paula has developed all the initiatives in the field of promoting Portuguese heritage in Morocco, such as seminars and incentives, with emphasis on two training actions for Moroccan tourist guides, in Marrakesh in 2017 and in El Jadida in 2018 , participation in the SIC report “Marcas que tempo não erased” and the organization of the event “Ephemeris of the 250 Years of Evacuation of Praça de Mazagão”, an initiative of the Portuguese Association of Municipalities with a Historic Center, the latter in 2019 .
The most striking example of Portuguese heritage in the old forts on the Strait of Gibraltar and on the Atlantic coast is the Mazagan fortress in the city of El Jadida, one of the most important works of military architecture in the Portuguese Renaissance.
Using maps, photographs, postcards and old engravings, this set of videos explains and illustrates how the Portuguese established themselves in the coastal cities of Morocco after the conquest of Ceuta in 1415 and intends to portray the entire history between both countries. .
“Wars and Conquests”, “The Military Architecture of the Squares of Morocco”, “Daily life in the squares of Morocco ”, “North Squares and Duquela’s Protectorate“, “From Alcácer Quibir to the Peace Treaty” are the titles of the five videos, each with a duration of 30 minutes.
In 2024, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty will be celebrated, originating from the Battle of Alcácer Quibir.
