Bombardment of Mogador The Bombardment of Mogador took place in August 1844 , when French Navy forces under the Prince de Joinville attacked the Moroccan city of Mogador , modern Essaouira , and the island facing the city , Mogador island . The campaign was part of the First Franco - Moroccan War . Background . The bombardment was a consequence of Morocco ' s alliance with Algeria ' s Abd - El - Kader against France . Following several incident at the border between Algeria and Morocco , and the refusal of Morocco to abandon its support to Algeria . The bombardment of Mogador was preceded by the Bombardment of Tangiers by the same fleet on 6 August 1844 , and the Battle of Isly by Maréchal Bugeaud on 14 August 1844 . Mogador was an important harbour , the first seaport of Morocco , with constant relations with Europe , and had about 15 , 000 inhabitants , 4 , 000 of whom were Jews , and 50 Christian traders . Bombardment . The French fleet consisted of 15 ships , including 3 ships of the line ( " Suffren " , " Jemmapes " . . . ) , 3 frigates ( " Belle Poule " , " Groenland " . . . ) , 4 bricks ( " Argus " , " Volage " , " Rubis " , " Cassard " ) , 3 corvettes ( " Pluton " , " Vestte " . . ) , 2 avisos ( " Phare " , " Pandour " ) . The fleet included a large proportion of steam paddleships , but most of the firepower came from traditional ships of the line . Mogador was defended by 40 guns at the northern " Scala da la Kasbah " , 24 guns at the harbourside " Scala de la Marine " . Mogador island however was defended by 5 batteries , armed with between 6 and 70 English bombards . The French fleet arrived in the Bay of Mogador on August 11 , 1844 , but the weather was so bad that they had to wait , breaking their anchors and unable to communicate even between themselves . Once the weather abated , the French Navy first took up firing positions on 15 August . They were fired upon by the Moroccan batteries first upon taking their positions . After one hour , the French batteries responded , and exchanges lasted for about 3 hours . The batteries of the city were silenced one by one , but the batteries on Mogador island remained active , requiring a landing to clear them out . Occupation of Mogador island . The French , numbering 500 men under the orders of Duquesne and Bouet , occupied Mogador island , which was barely populated and only built with a mosque , a prison and a few forts . All the batteries were taken and 400 Moroccans were captured in the Mosque of the island after heavy fighting , led by their commander Larbi Torrés . The French were able to release about 50 to 60 state prisoners . The French landing force had 14 killed and 64 wounded in the action . The city of Mogador was further bombarded from Mogador island , which was only 1 . 5 kilometers away . Altogether , the city was bombarded for 26 hours . A large proportion of the houses were destroyed by the bombardment . Entering the city of Mogador . On 16 August , 600 troops were able to enter the harbour and city of Mogador , where they spiked the guns , destroyed the powder , sunk the ships in the harbour , and demolished the last defenses of the city with no resistance . They did not however proceed to the center of the city , as it was considered unnecessary . The city had been evacuated by its inhabitants . Chiadma and Haha populations from the countryside seized the opportunity to invade the city and loot it for 40 days . Joinville reported that the city was under fire , that the Berbers had routed Imperial troops , and that they had taken possession of the city . On August 17 , 1844 , Joinville sent the following dispatch to the Ministry of the Navy : Conclusion . On 17 August , the English Consul William Willshire was evacuated in exchange for the Moroccan prisoners that were wounded ( the French Consul had already left a month before ) . The English Consul and his family were immediately transferred to the ship " Warspite " , which had been accompanying the French fleet . On the same day , the " Véloce " was dispatched to Maréchal Bugeaud with the healthy Moroccan prisoners , as well as with the flags taken to the Moroccans , which were deposited with great ceremony at the Invalides on 2 September 1844 . The war was formally ended September 10 , 1844 , with the signing of the Treaty of Tangiers , in which Morocco agreed to arrest and outlaw Abd al - Qādir , reduce the size of its garrison at Oujda , and establish a commission to demarcate the border . The French forces evacuated Mogador on September 16 , 1844 . The border , which is essentially the modern border between Morocco and Algeria , was agreed in the Treaty of Lalla Maghnia . Following the signature of the treaty , on 4 July 1845 , the " Véloce " brought back the 123 Moroccan prisoners , and remitted them . The conflict increased tensions between France and the United Kingdom , which were considered by some to be on the brink of war .