The postal history of Morocco is complex due to the country's political development in the 20th century. Mail was sent via post offices operated by the Sherifian post created by the Sultan, and by the European powers. After Morocco was partitioned into protectorates of France and of Spain in 1912, both European administrations established postal services in their respective zones.
The first Moroccan postal stamps were produced in 1891 by private companies which managed courier services between cities.
The system was replaced after a reorganization in 1911, the Sherifian post was created to handle local mail, and produced two series of stamps which were valid for use until 1915 and until 1919 in Tangier.[citation needed]
Sherifian post
Old Moroccan stamp of the 19th century. The letters of private individuals were obliterated by an octagonal seal and the official courier by a round seal. Each city had a specific stamp.
In 1881,[1] upon learning that foreigners were preparing to set up a local post office between Mazagan (El Jadida) and Marrakech, Sultan Moulay Hassan I ordered the port officials to organize the Moroccan post office. It is 22 November 1892 that the first structure of mail transport was born in Morocco by Dahir Sultan. The text of the Royal Decree laid down the rules of organization and operation of the postal administration. Postal links were subsequently created by individuals to provide postal service between the various cities. The local postmen where called the "Rakkas". The stamps used bore the names of the cities of dispatch and destination:
The Makhzen Post first used negative Arabic inscriptions, called "Makhzen stamps", bearing the name of the office and a call for the protection of God. The letters of private individuals were obliterated by an octagonal seal and the official courier by a round seal. Each city had a specific stamp.
In 1911, the "Moroccan Telegraph Company" was given the task of organizing the national post office and establishing postage stamps instead of stamps. The new postal service was inspired by a European model and started its activity on 1 March 1912 under the name of the Cherifian Administration of Telegraph and Telephone Posts. She issued her first stamp on 22 May 1912.
An agreement signed on 1 October 1913 between Morocco and France led to the creation by Dahir of the Office Chérifien des Postes des Telegraphes et Telephones.
A Moroccan stamp, dating to the early 20th century. The inscription in Arabic mentions the price of the stamp, 5 mouzouna, which is a subdivision of the Hassani Rial, the local Moroccan currency used in the 19th and early 20th century.A French stamp surcharged for the French Post Office in Morocco, 1891.
A French postal agency had sent mail from Tangier as early as 1854,[2] but the formal beginning of the system was in 1891, when French post offices were established throughout the sultanate.[3] The offices issued postage stamps of France surcharged with values in pesetas and centimos, at a 1–1 ratio with the denominations in French currency, using both the Type Sage issues, and after 1902, Mouflon issues inscribed "MAROC" (which were never officially issued without the surcharge). In 1911, the Mouflon issues were overprinted in Arabic.
Postage stamp for the Spanish Post Office in Morocco, issued 1903.
Spanish post offices in Morocco
The first Spanish post office in Morocco opened in 1867 and issued stamps in 1903.
Stamp overprinted "PROTECTORAT FRANCAIS" in 1914.A 1917 stamp of the French protectorate of Morocco.
The first stamps of the protectorate appeared 1 August 1914, and were just the existing stamps with the additional overprint reading "PROTECTORAT FRANCAIS".[4] The first new designs were in an issue of 1917, consisting of 17 stamps in six designs, denominated in centimes and francs, and inscribed "MAROC" in French and Arabic.[5]
After the Spanish protectorate was established, Spanish stamps overprinted "Marruecos" were issued in 1914, followed by stamps overprinted "Protectorado Español en Marruecos" in 1915. A set of definitives inscribed "Zona Protectorado Español en Marruecos" were issued in 1928, with later issues marked "Marruecos/Protectorado Español".[6]
The first stamps for the southern zone called Cape Juby were issued in 1916, overprinting "CABO JUBI" on stamps of Río de Oro. Later issues were overprinted on stamps of Spain from 1919 to 1929, and then on stamps of Spanish Morocco. From 1950, Cape Juby used stamps of Spanish Sahara.[7]
Tangier
Tangier, as an international zone, had French post offices which used the stamps of French Morocco overprinted with the name of the city. Spain also maintained post offices in Tangier which had stamps issued specifically for them. The British post offices in Tangier issued its own stamps in 1927. German post offices in Tangier opened until 1919.
Spain began issuing postage stamps for Ifni, then a Spanish territory, in 1941, initially overprinting Spanish stamps with "TERRITORIO DE IFNI", then issuing new designs in 1943. Issues followed at the rate of about ten per year with the last on 23 November 1968. Most are commonly available and are more often seen unused than used.[8]
After independence
In 1955, the kingdom of Morocco regained independence and postal autonomy. Tangier was reintegrated into the Moroccan state.
From 1956 to 1957, stamps were issued in franc and Spanish peseta for the southern zone and northern zone, respectively. The franc was used throughout Morocco from 1958 and the first stamps for the entire country were the issue for the World Fair in Brussels.
After the Ifni War in 1958, Cape Juby was re-incorporated into the Moroccan state. The Moroccan postal service was extended in 1969 to the former Spanish Ifni and 1975 to the northern half of Western Sahara. Since 1979, the Moroccan Post has operated in the entire Western Sahara within the Moroccan Walls.
Stamps marked República Saharaui (Saharan Republic), Sahara Occidental (Western Sahara) or Sahara Occ. R.A.S.D. relate to the disputed region of Western Sahara occupied by Morocco.[9] The Moroccan post office, in a Universal Postal Union circular, has stated that they do not regard these stamps as legitimate.[10] However, the Moroccan post office have themselves issued stamps celebrating Moroccan sovereignty over the region.[11]
Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of 1,502 km2 (580 sq mi), and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Moroccan province in the same area is called Sidi Ifni, with its capital in the city of the same name, but encompassing a much larger territory.
Cape Juby is a cape on the coast of southern Morocco, near the border with Western Sahara, directly east of the Canary Islands.
The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 and 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fez, though the French military occupation of Morocco had begun with the invasion of Oujda and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.
Cape Juby is a cape on the coast of southern Morocco, near its border with Western Sahara, directly east of the Canary Islands.
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.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The British post offices in Morocco, also known as the "Morocco Agencies", were a system of post offices operated by Gibraltar and later the United Kingdom in Morocco.
The Catholic Church in Morocco is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Catholics account less than 1% of the overall population of over 31 million. The country is divided into two archdioceses; Rabat and Tangier.
In Morocco, the 75 second-level administrative subdivisions are 13 prefectures and 62 provinces. They are subdivisions of the 12 regions of Morocco. Each prefecture or province is subdivided into arrondissements, municipalities or urban municipalities in other urban areas, and districts in rural areas. The districts are subdivided into rural municipalities. One prefecture (Casablanca) is also subdivided into préfectures d'arrondissements, similar to districts (cercles) except they are grouping a few arrondissements instead of rural municipalities.
Tourism in Morocco is well developed, maintaining a strong tourist industry focused on the country's coast, culture, and history. The Moroccan government created a Ministry of Tourism in 1985. Tourism is considered one of the main foreign exchange sources in Morocco and since 2013 it had the highest number of arrivals out of the countries in Africa. In 2018, 12.3 million tourists were reported to have visited Morocco.
The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of German commercial interest. In early use only the cancellation mark can identify their postal use abroad; such stamps are known as "Vorläufer" (forerunner) stamps. Later stamps are identified by overprints even when not postally used. German abroad stamps started appearing in the late 19th century and reached their heyday at the beginning of the 20th century; they closed down during or shortly after World War I.
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.
Morocco–Portugal relations cover a period of several centuries largely historic, and to present not particularly substantial relations. Initial contacts started in the 8th century, when Muslim forces invaded most of the territory of the Iberian peninsula. After the Reconquista, Portugal would then expand into Africa, starting with the territory of Morocco, by invading cities and establishing fortified outposts along the Moroccan coast.
MoroccoandSpain maintain extensive diplomatic, commercial, and military ties. Morocco’s foreign policy has focused on Western partners, including neighboring Spain. They have, however, been historically intense and conflictive.
The European enclaves in North Africa were towns, fortifications and trading posts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western North Africa, obtained by various European powers in the period before they had the military capacity to occupy the interior. The earliest of these 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.
This article describes the process by which the territorial extent of Morocco came to be as it is now.
The State Bank of Morocco was a quasi-central bank established in 1907 following the Algeciras Conference, to stabilize the Moroccan currency and serve as a vehicle for European and especially French influence in the Sultanate of Morocco. Following the independence of Morocco, it was replaced in 1959 by the newly created Banque du Maroc, known since 1987 as Bank Al-Maghrib.
Portuguese Asilah covers the period of Portuguese rule over Asilah, today a city in Morocco. The territory was ruled by the Kingdom of Portugal from 1471 to 1550 and again between 1577 and 1589.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
