Anglo-Moroccan alliance
Commercial agreements had been reached by Queen Elizabeth I of England and the Moroccan Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur on the basis of a common enmity to Philip II of Spain.
[3] European trade with Morocco had been at the command of Spain, Portugal and the Republic of Genoa,[4] but in 1541 the Portuguese suffered the loss of Safi and Agadir, loosening their grip on the area.
[6][7] Sugar, ostrich feathers and saltpeter from Morocco were typically exchanged for English fabrics and firearms, in spite of the protests of Spain and Portugal.
[9] Contacts however soon developed into a political alliance as a result of further diplomatic exchanges between Elizabeth I and Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, after the defeat of Portugal at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578.
[3] In her letters to Al-Mansur, Elizabeth, over a period of 25 years, continually described the relationship between the two countries as "La buena amistad y confederación que hay entre nuestras coronas" ("The great friendship and cooperation that exists between our Crowns"), and presented herself as "Vuestra hermana y pariente según ley de corona y ceptro" ("Your sister and relative according to the law of the Crown and the Scepter").
[10] In January 1589, Al-Mansur through his ambassador to the Queen,[11] Marzuq Rais (Mushac Reyz),[12] requested the supply of oars, carpenters and shipwrights, as well as transportation on English ships, in exchange for his contribution of 150,000 ducats and his military help for an Anglo-Moroccan expedition against Spain in favour of the Portuguese claimant.
[14] Only the Moroccan ambassador Marzuq Rais was accompanying the expedition, on board the flagship of Dom António, disguised as a Portuguese nobleman, and stayed until summer 1589.
[17] In 1600, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, the principal secretary to the Moroccan ruler Mulai Ahmad al-Mansur, visited England as an ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth I.
[20][21] The Moroccan ruler wanted the help of an English fleet to invade Spain, Elizabeth refused, but welcomed the embassy as a sign of insurance, and instead accepted to establish commercial agreements.
Elizabeth "agreed to sell munitions supplies to Morocco, and she and Mulai Ahmad al-Mansur talked on and off about mounting a joint operation against the Spanish".
[2] On 10 May 1627, England passed an agreement with one of these local warlords, the Mujahidin leader Sidi Al-Ayyashi to obtain his help in releasing English captives, in exchanges for the supply of provisions and arms.
