The French conquest of Algeria started in 1830 and affected France's relationship with nearby countries, such as Morocco. Towards the end of 1831 King Louis Phillipe sent a diplomatic party to Morocco in order to establish friendly relations and negotiate a treaty with the Sultan. He assigned the young diplomat Charles de Mornay. At that time it was common to take artists along, in order to visually document the journey. Delacroix joined the diplomatic party by chance through social connections. Previously, when Delacroix was studying under Pierre Guérin, he had become friends with a fellow student, Henri Duponchel, who had recently become director of scenic design at the Paris Opera (and would later become its managing director). Duponchel was in the social circle of Mornay's mistress, the actress Mademoiselle Mars, and recommended Delacroix for this assignment.