Why didn't the reconquest of lost ground take place in North Africa? Although some Castilian kings in the Middle Ages dreamed of conquering the Muslim lands of North Africa and thus rebuilding the ancient Roman province of Spain

Why didn't the reconquest of lost ground take place in North Africa?

Although some Castilian kings in the Middle Ages dreamed of continuing their war against the Muslims by conquering muslim lands in North Africa and thus rebuilding the ancient Roman province of Spain, they only dreamed and never reached the stage of planning for a rapid or final preparation.

After the conquest of Granada, the center of gravity of the Kingdom of Spain changed. Catholic Ferdinand focused all his attention on the war in Italy after the death of his wife Isabella, and Charles V was so embroiled in the battle between France and Germany that he shelved any conflict in North Africa, as was his son Philip II, who was more worried about the Dutch War of Independence.

However, after the conquest of Granada, the looting of Spanish coastal cities by Muslim pirates with the assistance of the Morriscos became so problematic that part of the Castilian/Aragonese Navy decided to conquer some Muslim ports in North Africa to control it. By the beginning of the 16th century, Aragon or Castile controlled the most important coastal cities in North Africa, as shown in the figure.

They never intended to conquer any territory in Africa, only to control piracy by occupying the most important pirate bases. Some of these cities, such as Melilla, still belong to Spain today, some have remained Spain for centuries as Oran, and others were lost by the Ottomans in the following years or centuries.