Morocco

Morocco’s early inhabitants were Berber-speaking nomads; many of these became followers of Christianity and Judaism, which were introduced during a brief period of Roman rule. In the 16th century, Ottoman invaders from Algeria attempted to add Morocco to their empire, thus threatening the country’s independence. They, too, were thwarted, leaving Morocco virtually the only Arab country never to experience Ottoman rule. This decisive battle, claimed as a Moroccan victory, put an end to European incursions onto Moroccan soil for three centuries.

The 17th century saw the rise of the ‘Alawite dynasty of sharifs, who still rule Morocco today. This dynasty fostered trade and cultural relations with sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and the Arab lands, though religious tensions between Islam and Christendom often threatened the peace. Morocco was also unique among the North African countries in possessing a coast on the Atlantic.

By the early 20th century, Europe’s influence in Morocco was formalised with the 1912 Treaty of Fez, making Moroco an official protectorate of France, and to a lesser extent Spain. The negligible role that the Moroccan government (makhzan) actually played during this periond can be seen by the fact that Muhammad al-Moqri, the grand vizier when the protectorate was installed, held the same post when Morocco recovered its independence 44 years later; he was by then more than 100 years old. As in Tunisia, country districts were administered by contrôleurs civils, except in certain areas such as Fez, where it was felt that officers of the rank of general should supervise the administration. In the south certain Berber chiefs qa’ids, of which the best known was Thami al-Glaoui, were allowed to remain semi-independent.

In 1956, the Spanish authorities were taken by surprise when the French decided to grant independence to Morocco. A corresponding agreement with the Spanish was nevertheless reached on April 7, 1956, and was marked by a visit of the sultan to Spain. The Spanish protectorate was thus brought to an end without the troubles that marked the termination of French control. With the end of the Spanish protectorate and the withdrawal of the Spanish high commissioner, the Moroccan khalifah, and other officials from Tétouan, the city again became a quiet, provincial capital. The southern protectorate area of Tarfaya was handed back to Morocco in 1958, while the Spanish unconditionally gave up Ifni in 1970, hoping to gain recognition of their rights to Melilla and Ceuta. Ceuta, on the Strait of Gibraltar, and Melilla, farther east on the Mediterranean coast, continue to be Spanish presidios on Moroccan soil, both with overwhelmingly Spanish populations. In October 1978 the United States turned over to Morocco a military base, its last in Africa, at Kenitra.