to import wheat, reduce taxes, and distribute food and funds to locals and tribal leaders in order to alleviate the suffering. By now, however, the improved authority of the sultan allowed the central government to weather these difficulties and crises. He was interested in scholarly pursuits and also cultivated a productive relationship with the ulama, or Muslim religious scholars, who supported some of his initiatives and reforms. Construction The present city of al-Ṣawīra was developed by Sidi Mohammed in 1769, with an estimated population of about 12,000. It was developed as the principal port for external trade to strengthen central authority to limit the intervention of Europeans. Rabat was also built to become an imperial city during Sidi Mohammed's reign, including the Dar al-Makhzen palace and the As-Sunna Mosque even though both have been much altered since then. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 which destroyed most of Casablanca led to the Portuguese evacuating it. Sidi Mohammed rebuilt the town and renamed it al-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ (الدار البيضاء). Abdallah Laroui described him as "the architect of modern Morocco". Conflicts with the Europeans On 25 June 1765, a French fleet of 16 warships and several vessels arrived in front of Larache, however due to heavy seas and conditions, the attack was delayed until the next day. The next day, the French fleet bombarded Moroccan fortifications and batteries which could not retaliate. The bombardments continued throughout the next day, however by 28 June, several Moroccan vessels encircled the French fleet and inflicted heavy losses upon it, defeating the French expedition. The Moroccans only had casualties of 30 men, while the French had casualties of 200 killed, 49 captured, and 300 lost.In 1769, threatened by an invasion by Sidi Mohammed, the Portuguese governor of Mazagan received orders from Lisbon to immediately evacuate the city. The city was renamed al-Jadīda (الجديدة; "the new") soon after. The later sultan Abd al-Rahman (1822–1859) restored the city. On 9 December 1774, Sidi Mohammed assembled an army of 30,000 to 40,000 men and powerful artillery and began a bombardment of Melilla. Spanish reinforcements disembarked in Melilla, and 117 new guns and mortars were installed. Part of the civilian population of Melilla was escorted on 16 December by a French ship which brought reinforcements from Iberia. With Britain's promise of subsidies, two Spanish squads blocked the Strait of Gibraltar to prevent any British support from aiding the Moroccan troops. In 1775,