Tangier

Tangier (also Tanger, Arabic, Tanjah), city in northern Morocco, in Tangier Province, a seaport on a small bay of the Strait of Gibraltar. The city is a shipping centre and has few other industries apart from tourism. Tangier was taken (1471) from the Arabs by the Portuguese and given to Charles II of England as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza; the English abandoned the city (1684) to the Moors when it became the haunt of pirates. In 1912, together with a surrounding zone of about 363 sq km (140 sq mi), Tangier was declared an international city, and a protocol that was signed (1925) by Great Britain, France, and Spain provided for its permanent security. But in 1929 Spain was given police control, and an international legislative body was established to rule. Spain had full control from 1940 to 1945; international control was resumed at the end of the war. The international status of Tangier Zone was abolished in 1956. Population 703,614 (2007 estimate).