Abd al-Hafid of Morocco

Abdelhafid of Morocco ( ar, عبد الحفيظ بن الحسن العلوي) or Moulay Abdelhafid (24 February 1875 – 4 April 1937) ( ar, عبد الحفيظ, links=no) was the Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alaouite Dynasty. His younger brother, Abdelaziz of Morocco, preceded him. While Mulai Abdelhafid initially opposed his brother for giving some concessions to foreign powers, he himself became increasingly backed by the French and finally signed the protectorate treaty giving ''de facto'' control of the country to France.

Hafidiya

After his brother Abdelaziz appointed him as caliph of Marrakesh, Abdelhafid sought to have him overthrown by fomenting distrust over Abdelaziz's European ties. Abdelhafid was aided by Madani al-Glaoui, older brother of T'hami, one of the Caids of the Atlas. He was assisted in the training of his troops by Andrew Belton (Kaid), a British officer and veteran of the Second Boer War. In February 1908, Abdelhafid was proclaimed the Sultan of Fes. For a brief period, Abdelaziz reigned from Rabat while Abdelhafid reigned in Marrakesh and Fes. In August 1908 Abdelaziz was defeated in battle. In 1909, Abdelhafid became the recognized leader of Morocco.

Writing contemporaneously about his rule in 1909, George Frederick Andrews says that Abdelhafid "must play a very shrewd game. To maintain his authority over the tribes he must continue to appear decidedly anti-European in his feelings and his policy. On the other hand he must have money and the money must come from Europe. Also he knows that Morocco must submit to such reforms as have been decreed by the conference of the powers."

Treaty of Fes

In 1911, rebellion broke out against the Sultan. This led to the Agadir Crisis, also known as the Second Moroccan Crisis. These events led Abdelhafid to abdicate after signing the Treaty of Fes on 30 March 1912,W. Harris, "Morocco That Was", which made Morocco a French protectorate. He signed his abdication only when on the quay in Rabat, with the ship that would take him to France already waiting. After an extended visit to France, where he received a great deal of attention from the press, he returned to Morocco and was exiled to the Dar el Makhzen (Sultanate Palace) in Tangier.

His brother Yusef was proclaimed Sultan by the French administration several months later (13 August 1912). Yusef was chosen by some dignitaries of Rabat which wasn't the capital of Morocco at the time.

Despotism

Muhammad al-Kattani, the influential Sufi poet and activist of Fes, was captured, tortured, and beaten to death in front of his wives and children in 1909.

In 1910, Lalla Batoul, a Fesi aristocrat and the wife of a former governor of Fes and supporter of Abdelaziz, was tortured. She was chained to the wall in a crucifixion position, completely naked with her breasts seized in a vice, and whipped and interrogated about the whereabouts of her husband's fortune under the direct supervision of Abdelhafid. Walter Burton Harris reported on the incident in an article published in the '' Times of Morocco''.

Retirement

Following the Treaty of Fes and the establishment of the French protectorate in Morocco, Hubert Lyautey persuaded Abd al-Hafid to abdicate against the payment of a massive pension. While his successor Yusef escaped the instability in Fez and relocated to the Dar al-Makhzen palace in Rabat, Abd al-Hafid chose to live in Tangier where he used part of his pension to build an opulent mansion, the Moulay Hafid Palace, completed in 1914. The complex was later purchased by Italian interest and is now also known as the "Palace of Italian Institutions" (french: palais des institutions italiennes).

Marriages and children

By marriage Moulay Abd al-Hafid is so far recorded to have had six children. He wedded three women:

# Lalla Rabia bint Madani el Glaoui, they married around 1905 and she died in 1924. together they had two sons and two daughters, among them:
#* Moulay Idriss (b. 1905).
#* Lalla Amina, in her first marriage she married Moulay Mohammed al-Hassan ben Yusef and in her second marriage she wedded Moulay Lafchar el Alaoui.
# Lalla Rabaha bint Mohammed el Zayyani, they married in December 1907. Whether they issued children is not stated.
# Lalla Ruqiya bint Mohammed al-Moqri, they married in July 1910. Together they had:
#* Moulay Slimane Hafidi;
#* Sidi Mohammed (b. 1917).

Death

Abd al-Hafid died in Enghien-les-Bains, France, on 4 April 1937. His body was transported to Fez, where he was buried in the royal necropolis of the Moulay Abdallah Mosque.

Honors

* Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur of France (1909)

See also

* List of Kings of Morocco
* History of Morocco

References

External links

Morocco Alaoui dynasty


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelhafid Of Morocco
1873 births
1937 deaths
19th-century Arabs
19th-century Moroccan people
'Alawi dynasty
Monarchs who abdicated
Moroccan people of Arab descent
People from Fez, Morocco
People from Marrakesh
Sultans of Morocco