The Moroccans ultimately failed to breach the defenses of the city, and in the face of continuous Portuguese reinforcements and vigorous defence were forced to withdraw after a two and a half month long siege.

During the next few decades the Sa'dids rose to power and began expelling the Portuguese from their coastal fortresses, with the most significant event being their expulsion from Santa Cruz (present-day Agadir) in 1541.

His son, Abdallah al-Ghalib succeeded him on the throne in 1557, and in 1559 began planning to capture the heavily fortified Portuguese city of Mazagan on the western Moroccan coast.

[2] He then dispatched a ship with a distress call to Portugal, then ruled by the regent Dona Catarina, warning of the impending siege and that the towns garrison and residents would not be able to hold out without aid.

[2] News of the siege on Mazagan provoked a wave of patriotic sentiment across Portugal as soon as they reached the country, and before Dona Catarina had made any decision with regards to relieving the fort, a large number of volunteers among nobles, commoners and clergymen took the initiative of arming themselves and sailing out in the aid of the beleaguered fortress.

[2] Some town halls in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve, such as Tavira, covered the costs of transporting volunteers across the Atlantic onto Morocco, while townsmen would provide their own vessels for the purpose.

[2] A relief force of 1565 volunteers funded at their personal expenses the voyage to Mazagan, which they reached on 26 March after a six day journey from Lisbon, carrying plentiful supplies.