Morocco

A

Muslim Conquest

Byzantine rule was ended by the Arabs, who invaded Morocco in 682 in the course of their drive to expand the power of Islam. Except for the Jews, the inhabitants of Morocco, both Christian and pagan, soon accepted the religion of their conquerors. Berber troops were used extensively by the Arabs in their subsequent subjugation of Spain.

The first Arab rulers of the whole of Morocco, the Idrisid dynasty, held power from 789 to 926. The Idrisids were succeeded by other dynasties, both Arab and Berber. Among the most notable were the dynasties of the Almoravids, from 1062 to 1147, and the Almohads, from 1147 to 1258. Under the latter, Morocco became the centre of an empire that embraced modern-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and large areas of Spain and Portugal.

The Almohad Empire began to disintegrate after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, in which the Spanish defeated the Moroccans. By mid-century its power was gone. A period of disorder and almost incessant civil war between Berbers and Arabs followed. Rulers of various dynasties reigned briefly and ineffectually over parts of the country. In 1415 Portugal captured the port of Ceuta. This intrusion initiated a period of gradual extension of Portuguese and Spanish power over the Moroccan coastal region.

Morocco experienced a revival under the Saadians, known as the first Sharifian dynasty (1554-1660). The Moroccans inflicted a severe defeat on the Portuguese in 1578, and by the end of the 17th century they had regained control of most of their coastal cities. The reign (1579-1603) of Ahmed I al-Man-sur is regarded as the golden age of Morocco. The country benefited enormously from the influx of nearly a million Moors and Jews who were expelled from Spain after 1492. It was unified and relatively prosperous; its native arts and architecture flourished.

The Saadians were succeeded by the second Sharifian dynasty, who have ruled since 1660. This dynasty reached its peak in the reign of Ismail al-Hasani (reigned 1672-1727). Al-Hasani’s reign was followed by a long period of disorder, which was punctuated with brief interludes of relative peace and prosperity.

B

European Dominance

In the 18th and early 19th centuries pirates from Morocco and other so-called Barbary coast states of North Africa preyed on the shipping that plied the Mediterranean Sea. Because of the depredations of the Barbary pirates and because Morocco shared control of the Strait of Gibraltar with Spain, the country featured with increasing prominence in the diplomacy of the European maritime powers, particularly Spain, Great Britain, and France. Spain invaded Morocco in 1859-1860 and acquired Tetouan.

In April 1904, in return for receiving a free hand in Egypt from France, Great Britain recognized Morocco as a French sphere of interest. Later that year France and Spain divided Morocco into zones of influence, with Spain receiving the much smaller part as a sub-lessee of France. Imperial Germany soon disputed these arrangements, and a conference of major powers, including the United States, met in Algeciras, Spain, in January 1906 to conclude an agreement. The resultant Act of Algeciras guaranteed equality of economic rights for every nation in Morocco.

In July 1911 the Germans sent a gunboat to the Moroccan port city of Agadir, in a move designed to encourage native resistance to French dominance. This incident provoked French mobilization and brought Europe to the brink of war, but in later negotiations Germany agreed to a French protectorate over Morocco in return for French territorial concessions elsewhere in Africa.

In March 1912 the sultan recognized the protectorate. Later that year the French, under a revision of the 1904 convention with Spain, obtained a larger share of Moroccan territory.

C

Fight for Independence

The Spanish experienced even greater difficulties in Spanish Morocco. Abd-el-Krim, a leader of Rif tribes, organized a revolt against Spanish rule in 1920. By 1924 he had driven the Spanish forces from most of their Moroccan territory. He then turned upon the French. France and Spain agreed in 1925 to cooperate against Abd-el-Krim. More than 200,000 troops under the French Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain were used in the campaign, which ended victoriously in 1926. The country was not fully pacified, however, until the end of 1934.

Following Germany’s defeat of France in 1940, the collaborationist government of Vichy France allowed Morocco to support the German war effort. In November 1942 American troops landed and occupied Morocco. During the rest of World War II, the country was a major Allied supply base. Casablanca was the site of a meeting of the heads of government of the Allies in 1943.

In 1944 Moroccan nationalists formed the Istiqlal Party, which soon won the support of Sultan Muhammad V and the majority of Arabs. It was opposed by most of the Berber tribes, however. The French rejected the plea by the sultan in 1950 for self-government. The sultan was deposed in August 1953, but in October 1955 the French permitted him to return to the throne.

D

Unification

The French recognized Moroccan independence in March 1956. In April the Spanish government recognized in principle the independence of Spanish Morocco and the unity of the sultanate, although it retained certain cities and territories. Tangier was incorporated into Morocco in October 1956. Ifni was returned to Morocco in January 1969.

Sultan Muhammad V assumed the title of king in August 1957. At his death in 1961, the throne passed to his son Hassan II. A royal charter was implemented by Hassan, whereby a constitutional monarchy was established on the approval by referendum of a constitution in December 1962. The nation’s first general elections were held in 1963. In June 1965, however, the king temporarily suspended parliament and assumed full executive and legislative power, serving as his own prime minister for two years. Hassan gave strong support to the Arab cause in the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel and made subsequent attempts to secure Arab unity. Nevertheless, he was deemed too moderate by extremist elements, and attempts were made on his life in 1971 and 1972.

E

Saharan War

During 1974-1975 Morocco exerted much pressure on Spain to relinquish the Spanish Sahara. When the Spanish left, in 1976, they ceded the northern two thirds of the colony to Morocco, while Mauritania received the southern third. This disposal of the phosphate-rich territory was disputed by the Polisario Front, a Saharan nationalist movement, which sought to bring about the establishment of the independent nation of Western Sahara. Although burdened by the ensuing guerrilla warfare, Morocco annexed the whole region when Mauritania decided to withdraw from the conflict and surrender its portion in 1979.

Faced with mounting international opposition, King Hassan nevertheless committed additional troops and resources to the effort to protect the phosphate mines and major towns from Polisario harassment. In 1984 Morocco left the Organization of African Unity to protest against its seating of a Polisario delegation. Efforts by the UN to mediate the dispute continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s; a 1988 peace plan collapsed over disagreement on terms for a referendum on Western Sahara’s future.