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Kingdom of Morocco (Al Mamlaka al-Maghrebiya)
Capital: Rabat
Largest city: Casablanca
Official language: Arabic
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
King Mohammed VI
Prime Minister Driss Jettou
Area total 446,550 km² (56th biggest country in the world)
Population (2005 est.) 32,725,847 (36th most populated country in the
world)
GDP (PPP) $4,444 (110th)
Currency: Dirham (MAD;DH) 100 Dirhams about 10 Euros
Calling code +212
Morocco stands for one of the best travel destinations. Its variety of
scenarios, amazing people, tasty food and safe ambiance makes it a
great travel destination. Morocco gives you the choice of getting to
know a whole different culture. Morocco blends quite a few distinct
cultures: from Roman, to Amazigh, to Arabic, Turkish, European,
African, Saharan, etc, Morocco is indeed the place to travel!
Roman and sub-Roman Morocco
The arrival of Phoenicians heralded many centuries of rule by foreign
powers for the north of Morocco, as this strategic region formed part
of the Roman Empire, governed as Mauritania Tingitana. In the 5th
century the region fell to the Vandals, Visigoths, and then Byzantine
Greeks in rapid succession. During this time, however, the high
mountains of most of modern Morocco remained unsubdued, and stayed in
the hands of their Berber inhabitants.
Early Islamic Morocco
Arabs conquered Morocco in the seventh century, bringing their
civilization and Islam, to which most of the Berbers converted,
forming states such as the Kingdom of Nekor. The country soon broke
away from the control of the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad under
Idris ibn Salih who founded the Idrisid Dynasty. Morocco became a
centre of learning and a major power.
Morocco would reach its height under a series of Berber dynasties that
would replace the Arab Idrisids. First the Almoravid, then the Almohad
would see rule most of Northwest Africa, as well as large sections of
Spain. The smaller states of the region, such as the Berghouata and
Banu Isam, were conquered.The empire collapsed, however, with a long
running series of civil wars.
Morocco 1664-1912
Muhammad I, Sultan of Tafilalt [1631-1635]
Muhammad II, Sultan of Tafilalt [1635-1664]
Ar-Rashid [1664-1672] Proclaimed as Sultan of Morocco at Fez, 22nd
October 1664. Conquered and secured Marrakesh, 7th September 1668
The Alaouite Dynasty eventually gained control. Morocco was facing
aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire that was sweeping
westward. The Alaouites succeeded in stabilizing their position, and
while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region it
remained quite wealthy. In 1684 they annexed Tangier.
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledgling United States
as an independent nation in 1777. The Moroccan-American Treaty of
Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty.
Signed by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, it has been in continuous
effect since 1783. The United States legation (consulate) in Tangier
is the first property the American government ever owned abroad. The
building now houses the Tangier American Legation Museum.
1769 conquest El Jadida to Portugal.
1895 buy Cape Juby to British Empire
European influence
The successful Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic coast in the
15th century did not affect the Mediterranean heart of Morocco. After
the Napoleonic Wars, Egypt and the North African maghreb became
increasingly ungovernable from Constantinople, the resort of pirates
under local beys, and as Europe industrialized, an increasingly prized
potential for colonization. The Maghreb had far greater proven wealth
than the unknown rest of Africa and a location of strategic importance
affecting the exit from the Mediterranean. For the first time, Morocco
became a state of some import to the European Powers. France showed a
strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830. Recognition by the United
Kingdom in 1904 of France's "sphere of influence" in Morocco provoked
a German reaction; the "crisis" of 1905-6 was resolved at the
Algeciras Conference (1906), which formalized France's "special
position" and entrusted policing of Morocco jointly to France and
Spain. A second "Moroccan crisis" provoked by Berlin, increased
European Great Power tensions, but the Treaty of Fez (signed on March
30, 1912) made Morocco a protectorate of France. By the same treaty,
Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern and
southern (Ifnin) zones on November 27 that year.
France's exile of the highly respected Sultan Mohammed V in 1953 and
his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa, whose reign was
perceived as illegitimate, sparked active opposition to the French
protectorate. France allowed Mohammed V to return in 1955, and the
negotiations that led to Moroccan independence began the following
year.
Independence
The Kingdom of Morocco recovered its political independence from
France on March 2, 1956 and on April 7 of that year France officially
relinquished its protectorate in Morocco. Through agreements with
Spain in 1956 and 1958, Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled
areas was restored.
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