In 1490, King John II prepared an expedition against the Moroccan qaid of Chefchaouen Ali Ibn Rashid al-Alam ("Barraxa" in Portuguese), and entrusted command to the son of the Marquis of Vila Real, Dom Fernando de Meneses, who was provided with 50 ships.

[1] Having called at Gibraltar, he messaged the captain of Ceuta Dom António de Meneses [pt] (who was his brother) that he would disembark in that city shortly to attack Chefchaouen, but Dom António dissuaded him from undertaking the campaign, which he considered impractical.

[1] Dom Fernando was instead persuaded to attack the town of Targa, which was a known pirate haven to the south-east of Ceuta.

[1] As soon as the fleet came into sight of Targa, the settlement was evacuated by its inhabitants, leaving ample spoil behind.

[1] The Portuguese disembarked, captured 25 ships, 370 people,[2] weapons including cannons, released a number of Christian POWs and razed the town along with the surrounding agricultural fields.