History of Morocco

The history of Morocco spans over twelve centuries – since the establishment of the Moroccan state by the Idrisid dynasty, without taking classical antiquity into consideration.

Archaeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited by hominids at least 400,000 years ago. The recorded history of Morocco begins with the Phoenician colonization of the Moroccan coast between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, although the area was inhabited by indigenous Berbers for some two thousand years before that. In the 5th century BC, the city-state of Carthage extended its hegemony over the coastal areas. They remained there until the late 3rd century BC, while the hinterland was ruled by indigenous monarchs. Indigenous Berber monarchs ruled the territory from the 3rd century BC until 40 BC, when it was annexed to the Roman Empire. In the mid-5th century AD, it was overrun by Vandals, before being recovered by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century.

The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century AD, but broke away from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. Half a century later, the Moroccan state was established by the Idrisid dynasty. Under the Almoravid and the Almohad dynasties, Morocco dominated the Maghreb and Muslim Spain. The Saadi dynasty ruled the country from 1549 to 1659, followed by the Alaouites from 1667 onwards, who have since been the ruling dynasty of Morocco.

In 1912, after the First Moroccan Crisis and the Agadir Crisis, the Treaty of Fez was signed, dividing Morocco into French and Spanish protectorates. In 1956, after 44 years of French rule, Morocco regained independence from France, and shortly afterward regained most of the territories under Spanish control.

Prehistoric Morocco

See also: List of prehistoric sites in Morocco

Archaeological excavations have demonstrated the presence of hominids in Morocco that were ancestral to Homo sapiens, as well as the presence of early human species. The fossilized bones of a 400,000-year-old early human ancestor were discovered in Salé in 1971. The bones of several very early Homo sapiens were discovered at Jebel Irhoud in 1991, that were found to be at least 160,000 years old. In 2007, small perforated seashell beads were discovered in Taforalt that are 82,000 years old, making them the earliest known evidence of personal adornment found anywhere in the world.

In Mesolithic times, between 20,000 and 5000 years ago, the geography of Morocco resembled a savanna more than the present arid landscape. While little is known of settlements in Morocco during that period, excavations elsewhere in the Maghreb region have suggested an abundance of game and forests that would have been hospitable to Mesolithic hunters and gatherers, such as those of the Capsian culture.

In the Neolithic period, which followed the Mesolithic, the savanna was occupied by hunters and herders. The culture of these Neolithic hunters and herders flourished until the region began to desiccate after 5000 BC as a result of climatic changes. The coastal regions of present-day Morocco in the early Neolithic shared in the Cardium Pottery culture that was common to the entire Mediterranean region. Archaeological excavations have suggested that the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of crops both occurred in the region during that period. In the Chalcolithic period, or the copper age, the Beaker culture reached the north coast of Morocco.

Early history

Phoenicians and Carthaginians (c. 800 – c. 300 BC)

Phoenician plate with red slip, 7th century BCE, excavated on Mogador Island, Essaouira. Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum.

The arrival of Phoenicians on the Moroccan coast heralded many centuries of rule by foreign powers in the north of Morocco. Phoenician traders penetrated the western Mediterranean before the 8th century BC, and soon after set up depots for salt and ore along the coast and up the rivers of the territory of present-day Morocco. Major early settlements of the Phoenicians included those at Chellah, Lixus and Mogador. Mogador is known to have been a Phoenician colony by the early 6th century BC.

By the 5th century BC, the state of Carthage had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa. Carthage developed commercial relations with the Berber tribes of the interior, and paid them an annual tribute to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials.

Roman and sub-Roman Morocco (c. 300 BC – c. 430 AD)

Further information: Mauretania and Mauretania Tingitana

Roman coins excavated in Essaouira, 3rd century.

Mauretania was an independent tribal Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa corresponding to northern modern-day Morocco from about the 3rd century BC. The earliest known king of Mauretania was Bocchus I, who ruled from 110 BC to 81 BC. Some of its earliest recorded history relates to Phoenician and Carthaginian settlements such as Lixus and Chellah. The Berber kings ruled inland territories overshadowing the coastal outposts of Carthage and Rome, often as satellites, allowing Roman rule to exist. It became a client of the Roman empire in 33 BC, then a full province after the fall of Carthage and the death of Ptolemy of Mauretania in AD 40.

Rome controlled the vast, ill-defined territory through alliances with the tribes rather than through military occupation, expanding its authority only to those areas that were economically useful or that could be defended without additional manpower. Hence, Roman administration never extended outside the restricted area of the northern coastal plain and valleys. This strategic region formed part of the Roman Empire, governed as Mauretania Tingitana, with the city of Volubilis as its capital.

Roman remains of Volubilis

During the time of the Roman emperor Augustus, Mauretania was a vassal state, and its rulers, such as Juba II, controlled all the areas south of Volubilis. But the effective control of Roman legionaries reached as far as the area of Sala Colonia (the castra "Exploratio Ad Mercurios" south of Sala is the southernmost discovered up to now). Some historians believe the Roman frontier reached present-day Casablanca, known then as Anfa, which had been settled by the Romans as a port.

During the reign of Juba II, the Augustus founded three colonies, with Roman citizens, in Mauretania close to the Atlantic coast: Iulia Constantia Zilil, Iulia Valentia Banasa. Augustus would eventually found twelve colonies in the region. and Iulia Campestris Babba. During that period the area controlled by Rome experienced significant economic development, aided by the construction of Roman roads. The area was initially not completely under the control of Rome, and only in the mid-2nd century was a limes built south of Sala extending to Volubilis. Around 278 AD the Romans moved their regional capital to Tangier and Volubilis started to lose importance.

Christianity was introduced to the region in the 2nd century AD, and gained converts in the towns and among slaves as well as among Berber farmers. By the end of the 4th century, the Romanized areas had been Christianized, and inroads had been made among the Berber tribes, who sometimes converted en masse. Schismatic and heretical movements also developed, usually as forms of political protest. The area had a substantial Jewish population as well.

Vandals, Visigoths and Byzantines (c. 430 – c. 700 AD)

The region remained a part of the Roman Empire until 429 AD, when the Vandals overran the area. It was then briefly conquered by the Visigoths, before being recovered by the Byzantine Empire. During this time, however, the high mountains that make up most of modern Morocco remained unsubdued, and remained in the hands of their Berber inhabitants.

Early Islamic Morocco (c. 700 – c. 1060)

The Maghreb after the Berber Revolt

The school of Al-Karaouine in Fes, established by the Idrisids in the 9th century

Muslim conquest (c. 700)

Main article: Muslim conquest of the Maghreb

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, that started in the middle of the 7th century AD, was achieved in the early 8th century. It brought both Arab civilization and Islam to the area. Although part of the larger Islamic Empire, Morocco was initially organized as a subsidiary province of Ifriqiya, with the local governors appointed by the Arab governor in Kairouan.

The Arabs converted the indigenous Berber population to Islam, but Berber tribes retained their customary laws. Muslim rulers imposed taxes and tribute demands upon Berber populations.

Berber Revolt (739 – 743)

Main article: Berber Revolt

In 740 AD, spurred by puritanical Kharijite agitators, the native Berber population revolted against Arab rule. The rebellion began among the Berber tribes of western Morocco, and spread quickly across the region. Although the rebellion petered out in 742 AD before it reached the gates of Kairouan, neither the Umayyad rulers in Damascus nor their Abbasid successors managed to re-impose Arab rule on the areas west of Ifriqiya. Morocco passed out of Arab control, and fragmented into a collection of small, independent Berber states such as Berghwata, Sijilmassa and Nekor, in addition to Tlemcen and Tahert in what is now western Algeria. The Berbers went on to shape their own version of Islam. Some, like the Banu Ifran, retained their connection with radical puritan Islamic sects, while others, like the Berghwata, constructed a new syncretic faith.

Idrisid dynasty (789 – 974)

Main article: Idrisid dynasty

Since it was on the fringes of the Islamic world, Morocco quickly became a refuge for many dissidents, rebels and refugees from the eastern caliphate. Among these was Idris ibn Abdallah, who with the help of the local Awraba Berbers founded the Idrisid Dynasty in 789 AD. His son Idris II erected an elaborate new capital at Fes, and transformed Morocco into a center of learning and a major power. Another significant arrival around this time were the puritan Miknasa Berber rebels from Ifriqiya, who went on to establish the settlement of Sijilmassa (in southeast Morocco) and open trade across the Sahara desert with the gold-producing Ghana Empire of west Africa. Although the Midrarids of Sijilmassa and the Idrisids of Fes were frequently at odds politically and religiously, the Trans-Saharan trade route made them economically inter-dependent.

Fatimids, Umayyads and Zenata warlords (c. 900 – c. 1060)

This equilibrium was upset in the early 900s, when yet another group of religious refugees from the east, the Fatimids, arrived in the Maghreb. Not long after seizing power in Ifriqiya, the Fatimids invaded Morocco, conquering both Fez and Sijilmassa. Morocco was fragmented in the aftermath, with Fatimid governors, Idrisid loyalists, new puritan groups and interventionists from Umayyad al-Andalus all fighting over the region. Opportunistic local governors sold and re-sold their support to the highest bidder. In 965, the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz invaded Morocco one last time and succeeded in establishing some order. Soon after, however, the Fatimids shifted their empire eastward to Egypt, with a new capital in Cairo.

The Fatimids had assigned the Zirids, a Zenaga Berber clan centered in Ifriqiya, to watch their western dominions. The Zirids, however, were unable to prevent Morocco from spinning out of their control and crumbling into the hands of a collection of local Zenata Berber chieftains, most of them clients of the Caliph of Cordoba, such as the Maghrawa in the region of Fez and itinerant rivals, the Banu Ifran to the east.

Berber dynasties (c. 1060 – 1549)

The Hassan Tower, an incomplete minaret in Rabat begun during the Almohad dynasty

Morocco was at its most powerful under a series of Berber dynasties, which rose to power south of the Atlas Mountains and expanded their rule northward, replacing local rulers. The 11th and 12th centuries witnessed the founding of several significant Berber dynasties led by religious reformers, each dynasty based on a tribal confederation that dominated the Maghreb and Al-Andalus for more than 200 years. The Berber dynasties of the (Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and Wattasids gave the Berber people some measure of collective identity and political unity under a native regime for the first time in their history. The dynasties created the idea of an “imperial Maghreb” under Berber aegis, an idea that survived in some form from another.

Almoravid dynasty (c. 1060 – 1147)

Main article: Almoravid dynasty

The Almoravids (c.1060-1147) originated among the Lamtuna nomadic tribes of the Sahara. They succeeded in unifying Morocco after it has been divided among several Zenata principalities in the late 10th century, and annexed the Emirate of Sijilmasa and the Tamesna to their realm.

Under Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the Almoravids were invited by the Muslim taifa princes of Al-Andalus to defend their territories from the Christian kingdoms. Their involvement was crucial in preventing the fall of Al-Andalus. After having succeeded in repelling Christian forces in 1086, Yusuf returned to Iberia in 1090 and annexed most of the major taifas.

Almoravid power began to decline in the first half of the 12th century, weakened after their defeat at the battle of Ourique and because of the agitation of the Almohads.

The conquest of the city of Marrakech by the Almohads in 1147 marked the fall of the dynasty, though fragments of the Almoravids (the Banu Ghaniya), continued to struggle in the Balearic Islands and in Tunisia.

Almohad dynasty (1147 – 1248)

Main article: Almohad dynasty

Marinid dynasty (1248 – 1465)

Main article: Marinid dynasty

Idrisid interlude (1465 – 1471)

Main articles: Idrisid dynasty and 1465 Moroccan revolt

Wattasid dynasty (1471 – 1549)

Main article: Wattasid dynasty

Sharifian dynasties (since 1549)

The city of Aït Benhaddou photographed in the evening

Beginning in 1549, the region was ruled by successive Arab dynasties known as the Sharifian dynasties, who claimed descent from the prophet Muhammad. The Saadi dynasty ruled Morocco from 1549 to 1659, followed by the Alaouite dynasty, who retained power from the 17th century until Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates in 1912.

Saadi dynasty (1549 – 1659)

Main article: Saadi dynasty

Dila'i interlude (1659 – 1663)

Main article: Mohammed al-Hajj ibn Abu Bakr al-Dila'i

Alaouite dynasty (since 1666)

Main article: Alaouite dynasty

The Alaouite dynasty is the name of the current Moroccan royal family. The name Alaouite derives from ʿAlī, the name of its founder Moulay Ali Cherif, who became prince of Tafilalt in 1631. His son Mulay r-Rshid (1664–1672) was able to unite most of present-day Morocco into a stable state. The Alaouite family claims descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through the line of Fāṭimah az-Zahrah, Muhammad's daughter, and her husband, the fourth Caliph ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.

Admiral Abdelkader Perez was sent by Ismail Ibn Sharif as an ambassador to England in 1723.

The Alaouites entered Morocco at the end of the 13th century, when Al Hassan Addakhil, who then lived in the town of Yanbu in the Hedjaz, was brought to Morocco by the inhabitants of Tafilalet to be their imām, or cleric. This was done in the hope that, as Addakhil claimed to be descended from Mohammed, his presence would help improve their date palm crops thanks to his barakah or "blessing". His descendants began to increase their power in southern Morocco after the death of the Saʻdī ruler Ahmad al-Mansur (1578–1603).

In 1659, the last Saʻdī sultan was overthrown in the conquest of Marrakesh by Mulay r-Rshid (1664–1672). After his victory over the zāwiya of Dila, who controlled northern Morocco, he was able to create a united, stable state through much of the country.

The kingdom was consolidated by Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727), who began to create a unified state in the face of opposition from local tribes . Since the Alaouites, in contrast to previous dynasties, did not have the support of a single Berber or Bedouin tribe, Isma'īl controlled Morocco through an army of black slaves. With these soldiers he drove the English from Tangiers (1684) and the Spanish from Larache in 1689. However, the unity of Morocco did not survive his death — in the ensuing power struggles the tribes became a political and military force once again, and it was only with Muhammad III (1757–1790) that the kingdom was unified again.The idea of centralization was abandoned and the tribes allowed to preserve their autonomy. On 20 December 1777, Morocco became the very first state to recognize the sovereignty of a newly independent United States.

Under Abderrahmane (1822–1859), Morocco came under the influence of the European powers. When Morocco supported the movement for Algerian independence from France led by the Emir Abd al-Qadir, it suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the French in 1844, and forced to abandon its support.

During the reigns of Muhammad IV (1859–1873) and Hassan I (1873–1894), the Alaouites tried to foster trade links, especially with European countries and the United States. The army and administration were also modernized to consolidate control over the Berber and Bedouin tribes. In 1859, Morocco went to war with Spain, and although the independence of Morocco was guaranteed at the Conference of Madrid in 1880, the French gained significant influence over the country. Germany attempted to counter this growing influence, leading to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905–1906, and the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911. Eventually Morocco was forced to recognize a French Protectorate through the Treaty of Fez, signed on December 3, 1912. At the same time the Rif area of northern Morocco submitted to Spain.

European influence (c. 1830 – 1956)

The successful Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic coast in the 15th century did not affect the interior of Morocco. After the Napoleonic Wars, North Africa became increasingly ungovernable from Istanbul by the Ottoman Empire. As a result, it became the resort of pirates under local beys. The Maghreb also had far greater known wealth than the rest of Africa, and its location near the entrance to the Mediterranean gave it strategic importance. France showed a strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830.

The Maghreb in the second half of the 19th century

Morocco Fez Embroidery Horse Cover

The Alaouite dynasty succeeded in maintaining the independence of Morocco in the 18th and 19th centuries, while other states in the region succumbed to Ottoman, French, or British domination. In the latter part of the 19th century Morocco's instability resulted in European countries intervening to protect investments and to demand economic concessions. The first years of the 20th century saw major diplomatic efforts by European powers, especially France, to further its interests in the region.

In the 1890s, the French administration and military in Algiers called for the annexation of the Touat, the Gourara and the Tidikelt, a complex that had been part of the Moroccan Empire for many centuries prior to the arrival of the French in Algeria.

An armed conflict opposed French 19th Corps Oran and Algiers divisions to the Aït Khabbash, a fraction of the Aït Ounbgui khams of the Aït Atta confederation. The conflict ended by the annexation of the Touat-Gourara-Tidikelt complex by France in 1901.

Recognition by the United Kingdom of France's "sphere of influence" in Morocco in the 1904 Entente Cordiale provoked a German reaction; the "crisis" of 1905–1906 was resolved at the Algeciras Conference (1906), which formalized France's "special position" and entrusted policing of Morocco jointly to France and Spain.

French and Spanish protectorate (1912 – 1956)

Main articles: French protectorate in Morocco and Spanish Protectorate in Morocco

The French artillery at Rabat in 1911

A second "Moroccan crisis" increased tensions among the powerful European countries, and resulted in the Treaty of Fez (signed on March 30, 1912), which made Morocco a protectorate of France. By a second treaty signed by the French and Spanish heads of state, Spain was granted a Zone of influence in northern and southern Morocco on November 27, 1912. The northern part became the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, while the southern part was ruled from El Aiun as a buffer zone between the Spanish Colony of Rio de Oro and Morocco. By the Tangier Protocol signed in December 1923, Tangier received special status and became an international zone. The treaty of Fez triggered the 1912 Fez riots.

The treaties did not legally deprive Morocco of its status as a sovereign state, and the sultan remained the country's leader. In practice, the sultan had no real power and the country was ruled by a colonial administration.

Under the protectorate, French civil servants allied themselves with the French settlers and with their supporters in France to prevent any moves in the direction of Moroccan autonomy. As pacification proceeded, the French government focused on the exploitation of Morocco's mineral wealth, the creation of a modern transportation system, and the development of a modern agricultural sector geared to the French market. Tens of thousands of colons, or colonists, entered Morocco and acquired large tracts of the rich agricultural land.

Opposition to European control

See also: French Morocco

Morocco riots overrun Casablanca due to discontent with French rule. Universal Newsreel, 21 July 1955

The separatist Republic of the Rif was declared on 18 September 1921, by the people of the Rif. It was dissolved by Spanish and French forces on 27 May 1926.

In December 1934, a small group of nationalists, members of the newly formed Comité d'Action Marocaine, or Moroccan Action Committee (CAM), proposed a Plan of Reforms that called for a return to indirect rule as envisaged by the Treaty of Fez, admission of Moroccans to government positions, and establishment of representative councils. CAM used petitions, newspaper editorials, and personal appeals to French officials to further its cause, but these proved inadequate, and the tensions created in the CAM by the failure of the plan caused it to split. The CAM was reconstituted as a nationalist political party to gain mass support for more radical demands, but the French suppressed the party in 1937.

Nationalist political parties, which subsequently arose under the French protectorate, based their arguments for Moroccan independence on declarations such as the Atlantic Charter, a joint United States-British statement that set forth, among other things, the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live. The French regime also faced the opposition of the tribes — when the Berber were required to come under the jurisdiction of French courts in 1930, it increased support for the independence movement.

Many Moroccan Goumiere, or indigenous soldiers in the French army, assisted the Allies in both World War I and World War II. During World War II, the badly divided nationalist movement became more cohesive. However, the nationalists belief that an Allied victory would pave the way for independence was disappointed. In January 1944, the Istiqlal (Independence) Party, which subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement, released a manifesto demanding full independence, national reunification, and a democratic constitution. The Sultan Muhammad V (1927–1961) had approved the manifesto before its submission to the French resident general, who answered that no basic change in the protectorate status was being considered. The general sympathy of the sultan for the nationalists became evident by the end of the war, although he still hoped to see complete independence achieved gradually. By contrast, the residency, supported by French economic interests and vigorously backed by most of the colons, adamantly refused to consider even reforms short of independence.

In December 1952, a riot broke out in Casablanca over the murder of a Tunisian labor leader; this event marked a watershed in relations between Moroccan political parties and French authorities. In the aftermath of the rioting, the residency outlawed the new Moroccan Communist Party and the Istiqlal.

France's exile of the highly respected Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar in 1953 and his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa, sparked active opposition to the French protectorate both from nationalists and those who saw the sultan as a religious leader. Two years later, faced with a united Moroccan demand for the sultan's return and rising violence in Morocco, as well as a deteriorating situation in Algeria, the French government brought Mohammed V back to Morocco, and the following year began the negotiations that led to Moroccan independence.

Independent Morocco (since 1956)

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat

In late 1955, Sultan Mohammed V successfully negotiated the gradual restoration of Moroccan independence within a framework of French-Moroccan interdependence. The sultan agreed to institute reforms that would transform Morocco into a constitutional monarchy with a democratic form of government. In February 1956, Morocco acquired limited home rule. Further negotiations for full independence culminated in the French-Moroccan Agreement signed in Paris on March 2, 1956. On April 7 of that year, France officially relinquished its protectorate in Morocco, and the internationalized city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956. The abolition of the Spanish protectorate and the recognition of Moroccan independence by Spain were negotiated separately and made final in the Joint Declaration of April 1956. Through this agreement with Spain in 1956 and another in 1958, Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled areas was restored, though attempts to claim other Spanish possessions through military action were less successful.

In the months that followed independence, Mohammed V proceeded to build a modern governmental structure under a constitutional monarchy in which the sultan would exercise an active political role. He acted cautiously, intent on preventing the Istiqlal from consolidating its control and establishing a one-party state. He assumed the monarchy in 1957.

Reign of Hassan II (1961 – 1999)

Hassan II became King of Morocco on March 3, 1961. His rule saw significant political unrest, and the ruthless government response earned the period the name "the years of lead". Hassan took personal control of the government as prime minister, and named a new cabinet. Aided by an advisory council, he drew up a new constitution, which was approved overwhelmingly in a December 1962 referendum. Under its provisions, the king remained the central figure in the executive branch of the government, but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, and an independent judiciary was guaranteed. In May 1963, legislative elections took place for the first time, and the royalist coalition secured a small plurality of seats. However, following a period of political upheaval in June 1965, Hassan II assumed full legislative and executive powers under a "state of exception," which remained in effect until 1970.Subsequently, a reform constitution was approved, restoring limited parliamentary government, and new elections were held. However, dissent remained, revolving around complaints of widespread corruption and malfeasance in government. In July 1971 and again in August 1972, the regime was challenged by two attempted military coups.

After neighbouring Algeria's 1962 independence from France, border skirmishes in the Tindouf area of south-western Algeria escalated in 1963 into what is known as the Sand War. The conflict ended after Organisation of African Unity mediation, with no territorial changes.

The patriotism engendered by Morocco’s participation in the Middle East conflict and by the events in Western Sahara contributed to Hassan’s popularity. The king had dispatched Moroccan troops to the Sinai front after the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War in October 1973. Although they arrived too late to engage in hostilities, the action won Morocco goodwill among other Arab states. Soon after, the attention of the government turned to the acquisition of Western Sahara from Spain, an issue on which all major domestic parties agreed.

Western Sahara conflict (1974 – 1991)

Main article: History of Western Sahara

The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south became part of the new state of Morocco in 1969, but other Spanish possessions in the north, including Ceuta, Melilla and Plaza de soberanía, remained under Spanish control, with Morocco viewing them as occupied territory.

In August 1974, Spain formally acknowledged the 1966 United Nations (UN) resolution calling for a referendum on the future status of the Western Sahara, and requested that a plebiscite be conducted under UN supervision. A UN visiting mission reported in October 1975 that an overwhelming majority of the Saharan people desired independence. Morocco protested the proposed referendum and took its case to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which ruled that despite historical “ties of allegiance” between Morocco and the tribes of Western Sahara, there was no legal justification for departing from the UN position on self-determination. Spain, meanwhile, had declared that even in the absence of a referendum, it intended to surrender political control of Western Sahara, and Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania convened a tripartite conference to resolve the territory’s future. Spain also announced that it was opening independence talks with the Algerian-backed Saharan independence movement known as the Polisario Front.

In early 1976, Spain ceded the administration of the Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. Morocco assumed control over the northern two-thirds of the territory, and conceded the remaining portion in the south to Mauritania. An assembly of Saharan tribal leaders duly acknowledged Moroccan sovereignty. However, buoyed by the increasing defection of tribal chiefs to its cause, the Polisario drew up a constitution, and announced the formation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and itself formed government-in-exile.

The Moroccan government eventually sent a large portion of its combat forces into Western Sahara to confront the Polisario’s forces, which were relatively small but well-equipped, highly mobile, and resourceful. The Polisario used Algerian bases for quick strikes against targets deep inside Morocco and Mauritania, as well as for operations in Western Sahara. In August 1979, after suffering military losses, Mauritania renounced its claim to Western Sahara and signed a peace treaty with the Polisario. Morocco then annexed the entire territory and, in 1985, built a 2,500-kilometer sand berm around three-quarters of it. In 1988, Morocco and the Polisario Front finally agreed on a United Nations (UN) peace plan, and a cease-fire and settlement plan went into effect in 1991. Even though the UN Security Council created a peacekeeping force to implement a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara, it has yet to be held, periodic negotiations have failed, and the status of the territory remains unresolved.

The war against the Polisario guerrillas put severe strains on the economy, and Morocco found itself increasingly isolated diplomatically. Gradual political reforms in the 1990s culminated in the constitutional reform of 1996, which created a new bicameral legislature with expanded, although still limited, powers. Elections for the Chamber of Representatives were held in 1997, reportedly marred by irregularities.

Reign of Mohammed VI (since 1999)

With the death of King Hassan II of Morocco in 1999, the more liberal Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed took the throne, assuming the title Mohammed VI. He enacted successive reforms to modernize Morocco, and human-rights record of the country improved markedly. One of the new king’s first acts was to free approximately 8,000 political prisoners and reduce the sentences of another 30,000. He also established a commission to compensate families of missing political activists and others subjected to arbitrary detention. In September 2002, new legislative elections were held, and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) won a plurality. International observers regarded the elections as free and fair, noting the absence of the irregularities that had plagued the 1997 elections. In May 2003, in honor of the birth of a son, the king ordered the release of 9,000 prisoners and the reduction of 38,000 sentences. Also in 2003, Berber-language instruction was introduced in primary schools, prior to introducing it at all educational levels.

In March 2000, women's groups organized demonstrations in Rabat proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. 200,000 to 300,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy, and the introduction of civil divorce law. Although a counter-demonstration attracted 200,000 to 400,000 participants, the movement was influential on King Mohammed, and he enacted a new Mudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.

In July 2002, a crisis broke out with Spain over a small, uninhabited island lying just less than 200 meters from the Moroccan coast, named Toura or Leila by Moroccans and Perejil by Spain. After mediation by the United States, both Morocco and Spain agreed to return to the status quo, under which the island remains deserted.

Internationally, Morocco has maintained strong ties to the West. It was one of the first Arab and Islamic states to denounce the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

In May 2003, Islamist suicide bombers simultaneously struck a series of sites in Casablanca, killing 45 and injuring more than 100 others. The Moroccan government responded with a crackdown against Islamist extremists, ultimately arresting several thousand, prosecuting 1,200, and sentencing about 900. Additional arrests followed in June 2004. That same month, the United States designated Morocco a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, stating that it was in recognition of its efforts to thwart international terrorism. On January 1, 2006, a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Morocco took effect. The agreement had been signed in 2004 along, with a similar agreement with the European Union, Morocco's main trade partner.

See also

• History of North Africa
• Imperial cities of Morocco
• List of Kings of Morocco
• Politics of Morocco
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
• Timeline of Casablanca
• Timeline of Fes
• Timeline of Marrakesh
• Timeline of Rabat
• Timeline of Tangier

Notes

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/arts-of-the-islamic-world-l09723/lot.178.html

"Arts De Maroc,https://books.google.fr/books?id=Smb7NrqX-7UC&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=cheval+maroc+selles&source=bl&ots=qQb_NMRtAh&sig=UXgwYyl2a_ZFj86k95DhYdQIAa0&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=D3B8VMOUCo35aM6mgZgM#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bibliography

• David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, Éd. du Lys, 2010. ISBN 2-922505-14-6.
• Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period, Cambridge University Press, 1987. ISBN 9780521337670.
• Henri Terrasse, History of Morocco, Éd. Atlantides, 1952.
• C. R. Pennell, Morocco Since 1830: A History, New York University Press, 2000. ISBN 9780814766774
• C. R. Pennell, Morocco: From Empire to Independence, Oneworld Publications, 2013. ISBN 9781780744551 (preview)
• Bernard Lugan, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2000. ISBN 2-262-01644-5
• Michel Abitbol, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2009. ISBN 9782262023881

External links

• A short history of Morocco
• Morocco timeline from Worldstatesmen
• Early Twentiethth Century Timelines: Moroccan crises, 1903–1914
• The History of Morocco
• Historical map of Morocco – c. 1600
• Z. Brakez et al. "Human mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in the Moroccan population of the Souss area"