Mohammed ben Abdallah, then Sultan of Morocco, invaded Melilla in December 1774 with a large army of Royal Moroccan soldiers and Algerian mercenaries.

In the city, there was a scarce garrison, which consisted of the fixed regiment of Melilla, with the companies commanded by the captains Antonio Manso and Vicente de Alva, and detachments for the handling of the old iron artillery pieces.

[3] With the promise of British subsidies[6] and material aid for a war against Spain, Mohammed ben Abdallah assembled an army of 30,000 to 40,000 men and powerful artillery in 1774 and began a bombardment of Melilla.

Two Spanish squads, commanded by Antonio Barceló and José Hidalgo de Cisneros, blocked the Strait of Gibraltar to prevent Great Britain from supplying weapons and ammunition to the Muslim troops.

There was a meeting between Juan Sherlock and the diplomat Hamed al-Gazel, where he told him that the Sultan wanted to maintain friendly relations and resume trade under more advantageous conditions than in the previous treaty.