Last updated Genoese Tabarka fort, built in the Middle Ages
The European enclaves in North Africa (technically 'semi-enclaves') were towns, fortifications and trading posts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western North Africa (sometimes called also "Maghreb"), obtained by various European powers in the period before they had the military capacity to occupy the interior (i.e. before the French conquest of Algeria in 1830). The earliest medieval enclaves were established in the 11th century CE by the Italian Kingdom of Sicily and Maritime republics; Spain and Portugal were the main European powers involved; both France and, briefly, England also had a presence. Most of these enclaves had been evacuated by the late 18th century, and today only the Spanish possessions of Ceuta, Melilla, and the Plazas de soberanía remain.
The Norman Kingdom of Africa in the 12th centuryThe Genoese island of Tabarka in the 18th century
Around the year 1000, small colonies of merchants began to appear in North Africa from the Republic of Amalfi and the Republic of Pisa. In 1133, Pisa negotiated a commercial treaty with the Almoravids, as did Genoa some five years later.[1] As Almoravid power weakened, the Maritime Republics grew bolder and Pisa attempted to seize the Balearic Islands in 1114[2] In 1134, just one year after signing a commercial treaty with Bejaia, Genoa attacked the city before sending a combined fleet with Pisa to seize Annaba in 1136. The Pisans themselves raided Tabarka in 1140.[1] These Italian initiatives were particularly focused on gaining control of the lucrative coral trade. There are records of the coastal area of Marsacares (today El Kala)[3] being under the jurisdiction, at various times, of Pisa[4] and later, Genoa.[5]
The arrival of the Normans in Italy led to the Christian reconquest of Sicily (1061 – 1091).[6]Roger II of Sicily expanded his domains by taking Djerba in 1135.[7] There followed the seizure of a number of Tunisian coastal cities, leading to the formation of a short-lived entity that is sometimes known as the Norman Kingdom of Africa.[8]
After the evacuation of Mahdia in 1160, the Normans ceased to control any places on the North African coast. In 1284 the new Aragonese ruler of Sicily, Frederick III, invaded Djerba once again and held it until 1333.[9][10] It was retaken for Sicily by Manfredi Chiaramonte, who became lord of the island, and also seized the Kerkennah Islands.[11] The Sicilian garrison abandoned the island in 1392, the year after Chiaramonte died.[12]
After this, the only Italian possessions in North Africa belonged to Genoa, which held Jijel (Algeria) as well as Tabarka (Tunisia), retaining the latter from 1540 to 1742.[13]
The Portuguese presence in North Africa dates from the reign of King João I who led the conquest of Ceuta in 1415.[14] and continued until El Jadida was abandoned in 1769. The enclaves, mostly along the Atlantic coast of Morocco, were known in Portugal as "the BerberAlgarve"[15] or as "the Algarve on the other side" ('Algarve de Além').[16]
The taking of Ceuta was recognised by Pope Martin V as a crusade.[17] Possession of the city brought no economic benefits to Portugal however, as trade simply moved to other cities in the region. Accordingly, João's successor King Duarte tried to take Tangier as well in 1437, but was unable to do so.[18] It was not until the reign of Duarte's son Afonso V that Portugal was able to expand its possessions in North Africa, taking Ksar es-Seghir in 1458[16] and Arcila in 1471. He also retook Tangier, but could not hold it.[19] Afonso was known as o Africano (the African) because of his conquests, and he was the first Portuguese ruler to take the title 'King of Portugal and of the Algarves on this side and beyond the sea in Africa'.[20] In 1486 his successor Joao II seized and fortified El Jadida (Mazagan) as the Portuguese continued their drive south towards Guinea.[21] Two years later he accepted the submission of the governor of Safi.[22][23]
The remaining Portuguese conquests in Morocco were secured by king Manuel I – Agadir,[24]Essaouira [25] and Azemmour.[26]El Jadida was retaken after an earlier loss,[27] and in 1508 direct rule was established over Safi.[28]Mehdya was taken in 1515, though it was lost soon after in 1541.[29] The old pirate base at Anfa, which the Portuguese had destroyed in 1468, before reoccupying and fortifying it in 1515, came to be known as "Casa Branca", hence, eventually, Casablanca.[30][31]
By the time of Joao III, the Portuguese empire had expanded around the globe. In this context, retaining or perhaps expanding the possessions in Morocco held no economic attraction and seemed increasingly unsustainable in military terms.[32] In 1541 Agadir fell to the Saadi princeMoulay Muhammad,[33] and in the same year, Portugal also lost Safi and Azamor.[34] In 1550, they went on to lose Ksar es-Seghir and Arcila.[35]
In 1577 Sebastian I of Portugal was able to reconquer Arcila, though it was taken by the Saadi rulerAlmanzor in 1589.[36] However Sebastian's disastrous crusade in Morocco cost him his life and brought an end to the age of Portuguese expansion. Indeed, it led to the extinction of the independent Portuguese state between 1580 and 1640.[37]
In 1640 Portugal regained its independence, but Ceuta opted to remain with Spain,[38] a situation that was officially acknowledged in the Treaty of Lisbon (1668). After this Portugal retained only three enclaves in North Africa – Tangier, Casablanca and El Jadida. Tangier was ceded to England in 1661 under the Marriage Treaty as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza,[39] and Casablanca was abandoned after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.[31] Under siege by Muhammad III, El Jadida was evacuated on 10 March 1769, bringing an end to the Portuguese presence in North Africa.[40]
"Plazas fuertes" and possessions of Spain in 1519 in North Africa
After having secured the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco in 1496, they took a number of bridgeheads on the African mainland, first Melilla (1497), then Cazaza and Mers El Kébir (1505). The between 1508 and 1510 they extended the areas under their control widely, taking in Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508), and then major coastal cities – Oran (1509), Algiers (1510), Bejaia (1510) as well as Tripoli (1510) and surroundings in coastal Libya.[42] Spain however lacked the military means to extend its area of rule further. This limited success prompted the local Muslim rulers in North Africa to encourage Oruç Reis to attack Spanish positions and stage raids on Andalucia, Valencia and Alicante. In 1516, the year King Ferdinand died, Oruç took Algiers and expelled the Spanish.[43]
Ferdinand's successor Emperor Charles V intended to regain Algiers and end the threat of piracy posed by Oruç. Charles landed at Oran, and Oruç was killed by Spanish forces at Tlemcen in 1518.[44] However Charles was not able to retain control of the areas he had taken, and Oruç's brother Hayreddin Barbarossa secured the protection of the Ottoman Empire by making Algiers its vassal.[45]
Melilla and the Peñón de Alhucemas in 1909.Remaining Spanish Plazas de soberanía in North Africa.
Spain's first Bourbon ruler Philip V wished to re-establish Spanish supremacy on the Algerian coast, and in 1732 sent an expedition which retook Oran and Mers El Kebir. The cities remained under Spanish rule until they were all but destroyed by an earthquake in 1790.[47] The Spanish evacuated it in early 1792 and it came under Ottoman rule once again.[48][49]
The Franco-Ottoman alliance of 1536 set the scene for the earliest French possessions on the North African coast. In 1550 the Dey of Algiers, Turgut Reis, granted the right to fish coral on the Massacares coast, near Annaba, to Tomasino Lenche (c.1510–1568), a merchant of Marseilles. The following year, Henri II of France granted him an identical monopoly (renewed in 1560 by Charles IX). Sultan Selim II granted France a trading concession over the ports of Malfacarel, la Calla (El Kala), Collo, Cap Rose (Cap Rosa) and Bone (Annaba). In 1552 Lenche was given permission to build the first permanent French presence on the coast, the fortress known as the 'Bastion de France'.[51][52]
Tomasino Lenche completed the building of the Bastion de France in 1560 and founded the Magnificent Coral Company (la Magnifique Compagnie du Corail) for the commercial exploitation of the coast's resources.[53] From this base, it was not long before Tomasino had diversified into selling artillery, powder and other weapons to the Dey. The wealth of the Lenches attracted the envy of Algiers however, which seized the Bastion in 1564. Lenche was able to re-establish himself there after a period, but in June 1604, the Bastion de France was torn down by soldiers from Annaba supported by galleys from Algiers sent by raïs Mourad.[54] The fortress was eventually returned to the Lenches after diplomatic intervention by Henry IV of France. Another Algerian attack was staged in 1615, but the following year captain Jacques Vinciguerra reasserted Lenche control. Eventually, in 1619, Tomaso II Lenche sold his rights to the bastion to Charles, Duke of Guise.[55]
View of the colony of El Kala (La Calle), 1788. At this time the Bastion had come under the control of the French Royal Africa Company and was no longer run as a private concession
After nearly a decade, on 19 September 1628, Sanson Napollon[it], heir to the Lenche fortunes, signed a commercial treaty with Algiers and revived the trading posts at Annaba, La Calle and the Bastion de France. As well as harvesting coral, he also opened a trading post dealing in wheat at Cap Rosa.[54] In 1631 Louis XIII named Napollon governor of the Bastion, making it thereafter a property of the crown rather than of the Duke of Guise.[56] However Napollon was killed during a Genoese attack in 1633, and in 1637 an Algerian fleet under Ali Bitchin seized and destroyed all the French and trading posts along the coast.[57]
In 1664, Louis XIV mounted an expedition (known as the Djidjelli expedition) to take the city of Jijel and use it as a base against piracy. The city was taken, but after holding it for just three months, the French retreated, abandoning it.[58] In 1682 and again in 1683 Admiral Duquesne bombarded Algiers as part of France's campaigns against piracy,[59] and in 1684 the Dey of Algiers signed a new treaty with de Tourville. French possession of the Bastion de France was confirmed for 100 years, and previous rights in La Calle, Cap Rose, Annaba, and Bejaia were restored.
The 1684 treaty also transferred these rights from Napollon to M. Denis Dussault, before, under another treaty signed in 1690, all rights in these concessions were assigned to the French Africa Company.[60] The French Africa Company promptly abandoned the Bastion and based its trade in la Calle, where it continued to operate until it was wound up in 1799. In 1807 the Dey of Algiers ceded all former French rights for trading posts and bases to the United Kingdom, and they were not restored to France until the Congress of Vienna. During the diplomatic crisis of 1827 between Algiers and France, the French abandoned la Calle, and the Algerians promptly destroyed it. These events were the prelude to the French conquest of Algeria in 1830.[61]
Tangier (1661–1684) was ceded to England by Portugal as part of the dowry for Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II of England. However the enclave was expensive to defend and fortify against the attacks by Moulay Ismail and offered neither commercial nor military advantage to England. In February 1684 the English troops were transported home, the walls were torn down, and the mole in the harbour destroyed.[62][63]
European possessions after 1830
In 1830 France invaded and conquered Algeria,[64] and in 1881, made Tunisia a protectorate.[65] By these dates there were no longer any European coastal enclaves in either territory.
Map of Spanish Morocco in 1925
In 1859, responding to an attack on Ceuta by local tribes, Spain embarked on the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860). Under the 1860 Treaty of Wad Ras Morocco recognised Spanish sovereignty in perpetuity over Ceuta and Melilla. Tetuan was ceded temporarily to Spain until Morocco's war indemnity was paid off (it was returned in 1862). In addition, Morocco ceded the territory of the old, short-lived Spanish colony of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, which was to become the Spanish territory of Ifni. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, Spain secured international recognition of a protectorate over the territory around the town of Sidi Ifni.[66] During the Ifni War of 1957, Moroccan insurgents took control of the territory around Sidi Ifni, but not the town itself. The entire territory was eventually ceded by Spain to Morocco in 1969 following the passage of UN General Assembly resolution 2072.[67][68]
From 1900, France and Spain had agreed on spheres of influence in Morocco, and in 1912 they established protectorates in their respective zones. However, the United Kingdom was not content to allow the strategically important town of Tangier to be entirely in French or Spanish hands. As a result, an international convention of 1923 established the Tangier International Zone. This was a novel hybrid in terms of sovereignty and administration. Nominally the Sultan of Morocco retained sovereignty over the territory as well as jurisdiction over its Moroccan inhabitants, while the administration was run jointly by Belgium, France, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The International Zone was abolished in 1956 at the same time as the French and Spanish protectorates when Morocco regained its independence.
Since 1956 the only European enclaves in North Africa have been Ceuta, Melilla and the plazas de soberanía.
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of the special member state territories of the European Union, and it is one of several Spanish territories in Africa, which include Melilla and the Canary Islands. It was a regular municipality belonging to the province of Cádiz prior to the passing of its Statute of Autonomy in March 1995, as provided by the Spanish Constitution, henceforth becoming an autonomous city.
Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 12.3 km2 (4.7 sq mi). It was part of the Province of Málaga until 14 March 1995, when the Statute of Autonomy of Melilla was passed.
The plazas de soberanía are a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco in Africa, or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa.
The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate.
Sidi Ifni is a city located on the west coast of Morocco, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 20,051 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. It is located in Guelmim-Oued Noun region and Sidi Ifni Province. Its inhabitants are the Shilha from the Ait Baamrane ethnic group. In 2000, an important fishing port was completed, which serves as a base for fish exports.
The Rif or Riff, also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains and western Rif mountains.
Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallahal-Khatib, known as Mohammed III, born in 1710 in Fes and died on 9 April 1790 in Meknes, was the Sultan of Morocco from 1757 to 1790 as a member of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the governor of Marrakesh around 1750. He was also briefly sultan in 1748. He rebuilt many cities after the earthquake of 1755, including Mogador, Casablanca, and Rabat, and Abdallah Laroui described him as "the architect of modern Morocco." He also defeated the French in the Larache expedition in 1765 and expelled the Portuguese from Mazagan (al-Jadīda) in 1769. He is notable for having been the first leader to recognize American independence in his alliance with Luis de Unzaga 'le Conciliateur' through correspondence and Unzaga's secret intelligence service and led by his brothers-in-law Antonio and Matías de Gálvez from the Canary Islands. He was the son of Mawlay Abdallah bin Ismail and his wife a lady of the Chéraga guich tribe.
Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, Portuguese and French rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context, accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighboring territories.
MawlayMuhammad bin Abd al-Rahman, known as Muhammad IV, born in Fes in 1803 and died in Marrakesh in 1873, was the Sultan of Morocco from 28 August 1859 to 16 September 1873 as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan after the death of his father, Abd al-Rahman. His reign marked a series of reform to tackle European influence on Morocco, as Ottoman Algeria had just been conquered by France in 1830, leading to European nations entering military conflicts with Morocco, such as the Battle of Isly with France in 1844 and the Battle of Tetuan with Spain in 1860. He was succeeded by his son Hassan I.
The Army of Africa, also known as the Moroccan Army Corps, was a field army of the Spanish Army that garrisoned the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from 1912 until Morocco's independence in 1956.
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas, known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Historically, the force, which has also included mounted divisions, has consisted of Berbers officered by Spaniards. The troops served as the indigenous component of the Army of Africa and played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
The Hispano-Moroccan War, also known as the Spanish–Moroccan War, the First Moroccan War, the Tetuán War, or, in Spain, as the War of Africa, was fought from Spain's declaration of war on Morocco on 22 October 1859 until the Treaty of Wad-Ras on 26 April 1860. It began with a conflict over the borders of the Spanish city of Ceuta and was fought in northern Morocco. Morocco sued for peace after the Spanish victory at the Battle of Tetuán.
Moroccan nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Morocco, as amended; the Moroccan Nationality Code, and its revisions; the Mudawana (Family Code; the Civil Liberties Code; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Morocco. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Moroccan nationality is typically obtained under the jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Morocco or abroad to parents with Moroccan nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
Moroccan–Portuguese conflicts refer to a series of battles between Morocco and Portugal throughout history including Battle of Tangier, Fall of Agadir and other battles and sieges in the Moroccan coast.
The Expedition of Mostaganem occurred in 1558, when Spanish forces attempted to capture the city of Mostaganem. The expedition was supposed to be a decisive step in the conquest of the Ottoman base of Algiers, but it ended in failure, and has been called a "disaster".
The Conquest of Melilla occurred on the 17th of September 1497, when a fleet sent by the Duke of Medina Sidonia occupied the north African city of Melilla.
Morocco and Spain maintain extensive diplomatic, commercial, and military ties. The Morocco–Spain border separates the plazas de soberanía on the Mediterranean coast from the Moroccan mainland. Morocco's foreign policy has focused on Western partners, including neighboring Spain. Relations have, however, been historically tense and conflictive.
The Morocco–Spain land border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km around the Spanish territories of Ceuta, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and Melilla. Spanish islets such as the Chafarinas or the Alhucemas are located off the Moroccan coast.
The Bastion de France was a trading post founded in the sixteenth century by French merchants of Corsican origin who had established themselves in North Africa near Annaba. It developed important commercial links with Marseille, especially in the valuable coral trade. It was demolished and rebuilt a number of times.
The Treaty of Wad Ras was a treaty signed between Morocco and Spain at the conclusion of the War of Tetuan on April 26, 1860 at Wad Ras, located between Tetuan and Tangier. The conditions of the treaty exacerbated Morocco's defeat in the war, with major concessions being granted to Spain. Morocco was forced to pay a 20 million duro indemnity—far greater the balance of the Makhzen's treasury; the territories of the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla were extended further into Moroccan territory; and Sidi Ifni became a Spanish possession.
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