Their historical context ties in with the Portuguese conquests and expansion of North Africa, begun by King John I and continued by his grandson, Alfonso V. The tapestries have undergone extensive restoration after natural damage by moths.

[7] Documentation reveals that the tapestries were held in the palace of dukes of El Infantando in Guadalajara, Spain in 1628; they were seen by Sousa, written in his Epitome de las Historias Portuguesas.

[5][6] Later in 1664, the son of the prince of Eboli, Rui Gomes da Silva, donated the tapestries to the Colegiada de Pastrana Museum.

At the top, there is a large inscription describing the landing and creating a narrative focused on King Alfonso V's journey to the shore.

[5] Many of the soldiers are seen on the large fleet placed in the center foreground of the tapestry, and the remaining ships can be seen surrounding the outskirts of the town.

[5][6] This is due to the fact that the creators were not familiar with the actual layout of Asilah, leading them to base it off of Northern Europe architecture of high roofs and pointed spires.

[8] Another inscription is written on the top of the tapestry, this one describing the army's breakthrough into the wall of the city, launching a full attack.

In contrast to the previous tapestries, the soldiers appear less aggressive and walking at a steady pace, due to the city already having been signed over.

[8] The people are depicted with their children holding their hands as they exit their homes, their expressions solemn, and with their bags of belongings on their backs as they leave to the right of the tapestry.

[5][6][8] In a restoration completed in the 1950s, the tapestries were given newer freshly woven silk, making it prey to moths who ate holes through them.

[5][9] Their method consisted of depriving the insects of oxygen; this process required them to put the tapestries into a receptacle sealed with aluminum laminates.

With the dust gone, the tapestries were then cleaned with water and a small amount of detergent, employed in a technique called aerosol suction, another specialty of the Royal Manufacturers De Wit.

A mild detergent was added to aid with the cleaning process, and the fabric got rinsed with just the aerosol mixture of air and water afterwards.