history of Morocco

This discussion focuses on Morocco since the 16th century. For a more-detailed treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional context, see North Africa.

those of Algeria and Morocco in 1963–64 and Kenya and Somalia in 1965–67. It monitored events in South Africa and advocated international economic sanctions against that country as long as the official policy of apartheid was in place. In 1993 the OAU created a

…of French special interests in Morocco. France’s attempt to implement the agreement by presenting the Moroccan sultan with a program of economic and police “reforms” brought the indignant German emperor William II to Tangier in March 1905. William challenged French intentions by affirming the sovereignty of the Sultan and demanding…

…to grant full independence to Morocco and Tunisia and to concentrate on retaining “French Algeria.” The Moroccan sultan and Premier Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, hoping to find an acceptable solution to the Algerian problem, prepared to hold a meeting in Tunis with some important Algerian leaders (including Ben Bella, Boudiaf,…

Relations with neighbouring Morocco have often been strained. A short border war that broke out in the fall of 1963 (the area in dispute being rich in deposits of iron ore) was resolved through the intervention of the Organization of African Unity. A rapprochement achieved in 1969–70 broke…

…Egypt and to France in Morocco (with the proviso that France’s eventual dispositions for Morocco include reasonable allowance for Spain’s interests there). At the same time, Great Britain ceded the Los Islands (off French Guinea) to France, defined the frontier of Nigeria in France’s favour, and agreed to French control…

…troubles to pressure France in Morocco. Bülow believed he had much to gain—at best he might force a breakup of the Anglo-French entente, at worst he might provoke a French retreat and secure German rights in Morocco. But at the Algeciras Conference in 1906, called to settle the Morocco dispute,…

France, maneuvering for possession of Morocco, which bordered on her Algerian colony, tried to obtain the acquiescence of the other powers by both secret and open treaties granting Italy a free hand in Libya, allotting to Spain a sphere of influence, and acknowledging Britain’s paramountcy in Egypt. France had, however,…

…with a new crisis in Morocco, where the French were again driving toward a protectorate against German objections. When the Germans sent a gunboat to Morocco, Caillaux made an effort at appeasement, handing over to Germany a slice of the Congo region as compensation. French patriots were outraged; the Caillaux…

spread to Tunisia and Morocco led the French to make drastic concessions there; in 1956 both of these protectorates became sovereign states.

Protests erupted in Morocco on September 27, 2025. They took place under the aegis of the youth movement GenZ212 (named after the country’s international dialing code) and demanded more funding for public health and education, as well as an end to corruption. One of the catalysts for Morocco’s…

…over the French penetration of Morocco. In each case the British and Russians stood firm, and, even though Germany gained concessions, the Triple Entente remained solid. At home, the political system that Bismarck had created was in serious trouble, in part because neither his successors nor the unstable young emperor,…

…support and military aid from Morocco. Moroccan recruits caused the kingdom to undergo an intense process of arabization, to cut itself off from all Castilian influences, and to develop an absolute form of government based on military support. The central government’s economic resources depended mainly on the silk industry and…

After Spain withdrew and Morocco and Mauritania partitioned Western Sahara between themselves in 1976, the Polisario Front relocated to Algeria, which henceforth provided the organization with bases and military aid. Mauritania made peace with the Polisario Front in 1979, but Morocco then unilaterally annexed Mauritania’s portion of Western Sahara.…

The sultan of Morocco, by contrast, was trapped between the European demands for free trade, conceded in 1856, and an unruly tribal population that resisted the imposition of a central government. Although defeated by France at the Battle of Isly in 1844 and by Spain at Tetuan (Tétouan)…

…a mountainous region of northern Morocco. The war was the last and perhaps the most significant of many confrontations over the centuries between the Rif—the Berber peoples inhabiting the region—and the Spanish.

…which is presently occupied by Morocco. The independence of the SADR has been recognized at various points by some 80 countries, although, beginning in the mid-1990s, a number of them withdrew or suspended their recognition.

…from the Saʿdī dynasty of Morocco. An expeditionary force of some 4,000 soldiers was sent across the Sahara and took the important cities of Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne. The Moroccans had firearms, but their success against the much larger numbers of the Songhai army was also facilitated by the internal…

In 1591 a Moroccan army of 4,000 men armed with muskets succeeded in crossing the Sahara and easily defeated the Songhai, who did not have firearms. With the destruction of Songhai hegemony, political chaos ensued, resulting in a disruption of trade.

…had obtained a protectorate in Morocco in 1912. In an effort to pacify Morocco, economizing politicians were ready for compromise with tribal leaders, but the generals saw conquest as the only solution. A bid by General Fernández Silvestre, reputedly backed by Alfonso XIII, for a crowning victory ended in the…

… administration in the south and Moroccan occupation in the north. The presence of both countries was contested by guerrillas of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario Front). In 1979 the Mauritanian government abandoned any claim to the area, and it was then…

…the territory was claimed by Morocco, which itself had just reached independence the previous year. Spanish troops succeeded in repelling Moroccan military incursions into the territory, and in 1958 Spain formally united Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra into a Spanish province known as Spanish Sahara. However, the situation was…

The Moroccan occupation of the Niger Bend in 1591 meant that the domination of the western Sudan by Mande or Mande-inspired empires—Ghana, Mali, Songhai—which had persisted for at least five centuries, was at last ended. The Songhai kings were pushed southeast into their original homeland of…

… on the Atlantic coast of Morocco and on beaches near Oran and near Algiers itself on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria. The amphibious landings would involve a total of about 110,000 troops, most of them Americans.