[4] Large parts of northern Morocco were controlled by Khadir Ghaïlan (or al-Khadr Ghaylan[5]) a warlord who had previously harassed the English and defeated them in 1664.

[6][7] In 1666, Ghaïlan's priorities were different and, in return for a supply of gunpowder, he allowed the Tangier garrison to occupy a large strip of land around the city to meet their food needs, on the condition that they did not fortify it.

Differing accounts of the time claimed that the Moroccan army mustered against the city numbered either 15,000 or 7000 men, outnumbering, in any case, the English garrison.

[15] As the treaty neared its end and the possibility of renewed conflict loomed, the English king, Charles II, decided to evacuate and demolish Tangier in 1684.

[16] Various factors motivated this decision, including: the difficulties wrought by the siege,[17] the mounting costs of maintaining the English garrison and of making the port viable,[17][18] and domestic skepticism in England over the colony's value.