Morocco Protectorate

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of approximately 37 million. Islam is both the official and predominant religion, while Arabic and Berber are the official languages. Additionally, French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are widely spoken. The culture of Morocco is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

The region constituting Morocco has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era over 300,000 years ago. The Idrisid dynasty was established by Idris I in 788, and Morocco was subsequently ruled by a series of other independent dynasties, reaching its zenith as a regional power in the 11th and 12th centuries, under the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, when it controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of the region. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with Portugal seizing some territory and the Ottoman Empire encroaching from the east. The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. The 'Alawi dynasty, which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with the Western world. Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest; in 1912, France and Spain divided the country into respective protectorates, reserving an international zone in Tangier. Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956, Morocco regained its independence and reunified.

Since independence, Morocco has remained relatively stable. It has the fifth-largest economy in Africa and wields significant influence in both Africa and the Arab world; it is considered a middle power in global affairs and holds membership in the Arab League, the Arab Maghreb Union, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. Morocco is a unitary semi-constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The executive branch is led by the King of Morocco and the prime minister, while legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament: the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. Judicial power rests with the Constitutional Court, which may review the validity of laws, elections, and referendums. The king holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy and religious affairs; he can issue ''dahirs'', decrees which have the force of law, and he can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the prime minister and the president of the constitutional court.

Morocco claims ownership of the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, which it has designated its Southern Provinces. In 1975, after Spain agreed to decolonise the territory and cede its control to Morocco and Mauritania, a guerrilla war broke out between those powers and some of the local inhabitants. In 1979, Mauritania relinquished its claim to the area, but the war continued to rage. In 1991, a ceasefire agreement was reached, but the issue of sovereignty remained unresolved. Today, Morocco occupies two-thirds of the territory, and efforts to resolve the dispute have thus far failed to break the political deadlock.

Etymology and name

The English ''Morocco'' is an anglicisation of the Spanish name for the country, , derived from the name of the city of Marrakesh, which was the capital of the Almoravid dynasty, the Almohad Caliphate, and the Saadian dynasty. During the Almoravid dynasty, the city of Marrakesh was established under the name of , derived from the city's ancient Berber name of (). In English, the first vowel has been changed, likely influenced by the word "Moor".

Historically, the territory has been part of what Muslim geographers referred to as (, 'the Farthest West f the Islamic world designating roughly the area from Tiaret to the Atlantic) in contrast with neighbouring regions of (, 'the Middle West': Tripoli to Béjaïa) and (, 'the Nearest West': Alexandria to Tripoli).

Morocco's modern Arabic name is (, ), with the Kingdom's official Arabic name being (; ). In Turkish, Morocco is known as , a name derived from its medieval capital of Fes which is derived from the Arabic word ''Faʾs'' (; ), as the city's founder Idris I ibn Abd Allah reputedly used a silver and gold pickaxe to trace the outlines of the city. In other parts of the Islamic world, for example in Egyptian and Middle Eastern Arabic literature before the mid-20th century, Morocco was commonly referred to as (). The term is still used to refer to Morocco today in several Indo-Iranian languages, including Persian, Urdu, and Punjabi.

Morocco has also been referred to politically by a variety of terms denoting the Sharifi heritage of the 'Alawi dynasty, such as (), () and (), rendered in French as and in English as the 'Sharifian Empire'.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

The area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since at least Paleolithic times, beginning sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. A recent publication has suggested that there is evidence for even earlier human habitation of the area: ''Homo sapiens'' fossils that had been discovered in the late 2000s near the Atlantic coast in Jebel Irhoud were recently dated to roughly 315,000 years ago. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, resembling a savanna, in contrast to its modern arid landscape.

DNA studies of Iberomaurusian peoples at Taforalt, Morocco dating to around 15,000 years ago have found them to have a distinctive Maghrebi ancestry formed from a mixture of Near Eastern and African ancestry, which is still found as a part of the genome of modern Northwest Africans. Later during the Neolithic, from around 7,500 years ago onwards, there was a migration into Northwest Africa of European Neolithic Farmers from the Iberian Peninsula (who had originated in Anatolia several thousand years prior), as well as pastoralists from the Levant, both of whom also significantly contributed to the ancestry of modern Northwest Africans. The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late Bronze- and early Iron ages.

In the early part of Classical Antiquity, Northwest Africa and Morocco were slowly drawn into the wider emerging Mediterranean world by the Phoenicians, who established trading colonies and settlements there, the most substantial of which were Chellah, Lixus, and Mogador. Mogador was established as a Phoenician colony as early as the 6th century BC.

Morocco later became a realm of the Northwest African civilisation of ancient Carthage, and part of the Carthaginian empire. The earliest known independent Moroccan state was the Berber kingdom of Mauretania, under King Baga. This ancient kingdom (not to be confused with the modern state of Mauritania) flourished around 225 BC or earlier. Mauretania became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire in 33 BC. Emperor Claudius annexed Mauretania directly in 44 AD, making it a Roman province ruled by an imperial governor (either a ''procurator Augusti'', or a ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'').

Christianity in Morocco appeared during the Roman times, when it was practiced by Berber Christians in Roman Mauretania Tingitana. During the Crisis of the Third Century, parts of Mauretania were reconquered by Berbers. By the late 3rd century, direct Roman rule had become confined to a few coastal cities, such as Septum (Ceuta) in Mauretania Tingitana and Cherchell in Mauretania Caesariensis. When, in 429 AD, the area was devastated by the Vandals, the Roman Empire lost its remaining possessions in Mauretania, and local Mauro-Roman kings assumed control of them. In the 530s, the Eastern Roman Empire, under Byzantine control, re-established direct imperial rule of Septum and Tingi, fortified Tingis and erected a church.

Foundation and dynasties

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb that had begun during the mid-7th century was completed under the Umayyad Caliphate by 709. The caliphate introduced both Islam and the Arabic language to the area; this period also saw the beginning of a trend of Arab migration to the Maghreb which would last for centuries and effect a demographic shift in the region. While constituting part of the larger empire, Morocco was initially organised as a subsidiary province of Ifriqiya, with the local governors appointed by the Muslim governor in Kairouan.

The indigenous Berber tribes adopted Islam, but retained their customary laws. They also paid taxes and tribute to the new Muslim administration. The first independent Muslim state in the area of modern Morocco was the Kingdom of Nekor, an emirate in the Rif Mountains. It was founded by Salih I ibn Mansur in 710, as a client state to the Umayyad Caliphate. After the outbreak of the Berber Revolt in 739, the Berbers formed other independent states such as the Miknasa of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata.

The founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the great-grandson of Hasan ibn Ali, Idris ibn Abdallah, had fled to Morocco after the massacre of his family by the Abbasids in the Hejaz. He convinced the Awraba Berber tribes to break their allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs and he founded the Idrisid dynasty in 788. The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major regional power. The Idrisids were ousted in 927 by the Fatimid Caliphate and their Miknasa allies. After Miknasa broke off relations with the Fatimids in 932, they were removed from power by the Maghrawa of Sijilmasa in 980.

From the 11th century onward, a series of Berber dynasties arose. Under the Sanhaja Almoravid dynasty and the Masmuda Almohad dynasty, Morocco dominated the Maghreb, al-Andalus in Iberia, and the western Mediterranean region. From the 13th century onward the country saw a massive migration of the Banu Hilal Arab tribes. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Zenata Berber Marinids held power in Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the Almohads through military campaigns in Algeria and Spain. They were followed by the Wattasids. In the 15th century, the Reconquista ended Muslim rule in Iberia and many Muslims and Jews fled to Morocco. Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic sea trade in the 15th century did not greatly affect the interior of Morocco even though they managed to control some possessions on the Moroccan coast but not venturing further afield inland.

In 1549, the region fell to successive Arab dynasties claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad: first the Saadi dynasty who ruled from 1549 to 1659, and then the Alawi dynasty, who have remained in power since the 17th century. Morocco faced aggression from Spain in the north, and the Ottoman Empire's allies pressing westward.

Under the Saadis, the sultanate ended the Portuguese Aviz dynasty in 1578 at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. The reign of Ahmad al-Mansur brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a large expedition to West Africa inflicted a crushing defeat on the Songhay Empire in 1591. However, managing the territories across the Sahara proved too difficult.. Upon the death of al-Mansur, the country was divided among his sons.

After a period of political fragmentation and conflict during the decline of the Saadi dynasty, Morocco was finally reunited by the Alawi sultan al-Rashid in the late 1660s, who took Fez in 1666 and Marrakesh in 1668. The 'Alawis succeeded in stabilising their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. Against the opposition of local tribes Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727) began to create a unified state. With his Riffian army, he re-occupied Tangier from the English who had abandoned it in 1684 and drove the Spanish from Larache in 1689. The Portuguese abandoned Mazagão, their last territory in Morocco, in 1769. However, the siege of Melilla against the Spanish ended in defeat in 1775.

Morocco was the first nation to recognise the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777. In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attacks by other fleets. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The 1786 Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship stands as the United States' oldest unbroken friendship treaty.

French and Spanish protectorates

As Europe industrialised, Northwest Africa was increasingly prized for its potential for colonisation. France showed a strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830, not only to protect the border of its Algerian territory, but also because of the strategic position of Morocco with coasts on the Mediterranean and the open Atlantic. In 1860, a dispute over Spain's Ceuta enclave led Spain to declare war. Victorious Spain won a further enclave and an enlarged Ceuta in the settlement. In 1884, Spain created a protectorate in the coastal areas of Morocco.

In 1904, France and Spain carved out zones of influence in Morocco. Recognition by the United Kingdom of France's sphere of influence provoked a strong reaction from the German Empire; and a crisis loomed in 1905. The matter was resolved at the Algeciras Conference in 1906. The Agadir Crisis of 1911 increased tensions between European powers. The 1912 Treaty of Fez made Morocco a protectorate of France, and triggered the 1912 Fez riots. Spain continued to operate its coastal protectorate. By the same treaty, Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern coastal and southern Saharan zones.

Tens of thousands of colonists entered Morocco. Some bought up large amounts of rich agricultural land, while others organised the exploitation and modernisation of mines and harbours. Interest groups that formed among these elements continually pressured France to increase its control over Morocco – with some Moroccan tribes allying with the French against other competing tribes from early on in its conquest. The French colonial administrator, Governor general Marshal Hubert Lyautey, sincerely admired Moroccan culture and succeeded in imposing a joint Moroccan-French administration, while creating a modern school system. Several divisions of Moroccan soldiers ( Goumiers or regular troops and officers) served in the French army in both World War I and World War II, and in the Spanish Nationalist Army in the Spanish Civil War and after (''Regulares''). The institution of slavery was abolished in 1925.

Between 1921 and 1926, an uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by Abd el-Krim, led to the establishment of the Republic of the Rif. The Spanish used anti-civilian bombing raids and mustard gas to prevent the Rif republic from gaining independence. They lost more than 13,000 soldiers at Annual in July–August 1921 alone. The Riffi were eventually suppressed by 1927 by the Franco-Spanish military. The casualties on the Spanish-French side were 52,000 and from the Riffi 10,000 died.

In 1943, the Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) was founded to press for independence, with discreet US support. Moroccan nationalists drew heavily on transnational activist networks for lobbying to end colonial rule, primarily at the United Nations. The Istiqlal Party subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement.

France's exile of Sultan Mohammed V in 1953 to Madagascar and his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa sparked active opposition to the French and Spanish protectorates. The most notable violence occurred in Oujda where Moroccans attacked French and other European residents in the streets. France allowed Mohammed V to return in 1955, and the negotiations that led to Moroccan independence began the following year. In March 1956 Morocco regained its independence from France as the Kingdom of Morocco. A month later Spain forsook its protectorate in Northern Morocco to the new state but kept its two coastal enclaves (Ceuta and Melilla) on the Mediterranean coast which dated from earlier conquests, but over which Morocco still claims sovereignty to this day.

Post-independence

Sultan Mohammed became King in 1957. Upon the death of Mohammed V, Hassan II became King of Morocco on 3 March 1961. Morocco held its first general elections in 1963. However, Hassan declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament in 1965. In 1971 and 1972, there were two failed attempts to depose the king and establish a republic. A truth commission set up in 2005 to investigate human rights abuses during his reign confirmed nearly 10,000 cases, ranging from death in detention to forced exile. Some 592 people were recorded killed during Hassan's rule according to the truth commission.

In 1963, the Sand War was fought between Algerian and Moroccan troops over Moroccan claims to parts of Algerian territory. A formal peace agreement was signed in February 1964; however, relations remained strained between the two countries following the conflict. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south was returned to Morocco in 1969.

The Polisario movement was formed in 1973, with the aim of establishing an independent state in the Spanish Sahara. On 6 November 1975, King Hassan asked for volunteers to cross into the Spanish Sahara. Some 350,000 civilians were reported as being involved in the " Green March". A month later, Spain agreed to leave the Spanish Sahara, soon to become Western Sahara, and to transfer it to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control, despite the objections and threats of military intervention by Algeria. Moroccan forces occupied the territory.

Moroccan and Algerian troops soon clashed in Western Sahara. Morocco and Mauritania divided up Western Sahara. Fighting between the Moroccan military and Polisario forces continued for many years. The prolonged war was a considerable financial drain on Morocco. In 1983, Hassan cancelled planned elections amid political unrest and economic crisis. In 1984, Morocco left the Organisation of African Unity in protest at the SADR's admission to the body. Polisario claimed to have killed more than 5,000 Moroccan soldiers between 1982 and 1985. Algerian authorities have estimated the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria to be 165,000. Diplomatic relations with Algeria were restored in 1988. In 1991, a UN-monitored ceasefire began in Western Sahara, but the territory's status remains undecided and ceasefire violations are reported. The following decade saw much wrangling over a proposed referendum on the future of the territory but the deadlock was not broken.

Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature with Morocco's first opposition-led government coming to power. King Hassan II died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI. He is a cautious moderniser who has introduced some economic and social liberalisation. Mohammed VI paid a controversial visit to the Western Sahara in 2002. Morocco unveiled an autonomy blueprint for Western Sahara to the United Nations in 2007. The Polisario rejected the plan and put forward its own proposal. Morocco and the Polisario Front held UN-sponsored talks in New York City but failed to come to any agreement. In 2010, security forces stormed a protest camp in the Western Sahara, triggering violent demonstrations in the regional capital El Aaiún.

In 2002, Morocco and Spain agreed to a US-brokered resolution over the disputed island of Perejil. Spanish troops had taken the normally uninhabited island after Moroccan soldiers landed on it and set up tents and a flag. There were renewed tensions in 2005, as dozens of African migrants stormed the borders of the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta. In response, Spain deported dozens of the illegal migrants to Morocco from Melilla. In 2006, the Spanish Premier Zapatero visited Spanish enclaves. He was the first Spanish leader in 25 years to make an official visit to the territories. The following year, Spanish King Juan Carlos I visited Ceuta and Melilla, further angering Morocco which demanded control of the enclaves.

During the 2011–2012 Moroccan protests, thousands of people rallied in Rabat and other cities calling for political reform and a new constitution curbing the powers of the king. In July 2011, the King won a landslide victory in a referendum on a reformed constitution he had proposed to placate the Arab Spring protests. In the first general elections that followed, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party won a plurality of seats, with Abdelilah Benkirane being designated as head of government per the new constitution. Despite the reforms made by Mohammed VI, demonstrators continued to call for deeper reforms. Hundreds took part in a trade union rally in Casablanca in May 2012. Participants accused the government of failing to deliver on reforms.

On 24 August 2021, neighbouring Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing Morocco of supporting a separatist group and hostile actions against Algeria. Morocco called the decision unjustified. Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra accused Morocco of using Pegasus spyware against its officials. Amnesty International found that two phones of Sahraoui human rights defender Aminatou Haidar were infected in November 2021.

On 8 September 2023, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco killing more than 2,800 people and injuring thousands. The epicentre of the quake was around 70 km southwest of city of Marrakech.

On 10 December 2020, the Israel–Morocco normalisation agreement was announced, and Morocco announced its intention to resume diplomatic relations with Israel. Joint Declaration of the Kingdom of Morocco, the United States of America and the State of Israel was signed on 22 December 2020. The agreement was met with criticism due to the October 2023 Gaza war. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita argues that maintaining relations does not signify endorsement of Israeli government actions.

Geography

Morocco has a coast by the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Western Sahara to the south. Since Morocco controls most of Western Sahara, its ''de facto'' southern boundary is with Mauritania. The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara desert. Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara. It is one of only three nations (along with Spain and France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.

A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the centre and the south of the country. The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people. Its total area is about . Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast, though the border between the two countries has been closed since 1994. The internationally recognised borders of the country lie between latitudes 27° and 36°N, and longitudes 1° and 14°W. Morocco's capital city is Rabat, a city that is beside the Oued Bou Regreg River; its largest city is its main port, Casablanca. Other cities recording a population over 500,000 in the 2014 Moroccan census

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