Talk:Battle of Alcácer Quibir

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Related task forces... Medieval warfare task force (c. 500–c. 1500)

An event mentioned in this article is a August 4 selected anniversary

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This is an article badly in need of attention. There are not factual details (which exist) beside the legend.

"The Portuguese army was small. According to the battle legend, young King Sebastião promised to his men that the cross would win against the crescent and that they didn't need to fight: He could kill every Moor on Earth by himself. The soldiers ran away from the Plaza of the city, and after a couple of hours, when they came back to Alcacer Quibir, neither their king nor the Moors were there. The battle was won by the Moors." --> this must be part of a legend!

lots of issues | leave me a message 09:21, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV?

I'm not quite certain if this article is quite neutral, or at least very Encylopaedic. I agree that it needs attention.

I agree about NPOV problems. This article shows a bias against the Portuguese- and the mention of "regime change" is completely unnecessary.

As the originator of the basic form this article has had since 11 November 2005 (just look in the history to see what a lamentable state it was in before then) I strongly deny any personal anti-Portuguese bias. Quite the reverse: my partner is half-Portuguese and Portugal is one of my favourite countries of all those I have ever visited. If there is bias in the article it is carried over from my principal English-language source (detailed at the foot of the article); but it does not seem possible to represent the campaign as anything other than unwise, and the battle as a disaster for Portugal. I was surprised that I could not find a viable source for this major battle later than the mid-19th century, and if anyone can contribute better, updated and more detailed information I wish they would do so. Some people have made some valuable additions but I agree that plenty more needs to be done on this entry – especially perhaps from the Moorish side – and I know I am not competent to do it. Re ‘regime change’: the term, as applied to the 16th century, is of course anachronistic, but it seems a useful shorthand description for what Sebastian was trying to do: replace one ruler with another whom he hoped would be more sympathetic or pliable to his cause. If anyone has a better way of expressing this let them do so.Cenedi 13:57, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Name of Battle

shouldnt the name of this battle in this article and the name of this battle in the Campaignbox Reconquista be the same?

Please see:

Reconquista
Covadonga – Roncevaux Pass – Simancas – Atapuerca – Graus – Az-Zallaqah – Ucles – Ourique – Lisbon – Alarcos – Las Navas de Tolosa – Jerez – Granada

Putting this article under "Reconquista" is puzzling, at least. Doesn't the expression mean specifically the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, which ended with the taking of Granada in 1492? And, if Alcácer Quibir was "Reconquista", why not the taking of Ceuta, Tangiers, and many other town during the 15th and 16th centuries? Nuno Gabriel Cabral 18:15, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Completely agree. How can a country reconquest something that was never part of its territory? Joaopais 23:43, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm still reluctant to take matters into my own hands, since I don't who put Alcácer Quibir under Reconquista and why. If in, say, three more days any kind of comment or explanation is not given, I'll correct it. Nuno Gabriel Cabral 09:54, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Without wishing to be too pedantic I am surprised that the article on this battle is in Portuguese. Surely, since the battle was fought on Moroccan soil priority should be given to the Arabic name - Wadi al-Makhazin. The battle is commemorated in Morocco as well as in Portugal with a major square in Casablanca bearing the name (formerly Place Verdun)in recognition of its impotance in resisting Portuguese encroachment on the country.Wildbe 11:57, 1 November 2006 (UTC)