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52-659: Spain did not permanently maintain any military force in the Sahara until 1926. In that year a locally recruited gendarmerie called the Foot Police Company ( Compañia de Policia a Pie ) was established and based at Cape Juby . In October 1928 this coastal unit was replaced by the Saharan Police Troops ( Tropas de Policia del Sahara ) The new and expanded force was partially camel-mounted and operated inland. Roughly half of its personnel were recruited from

104-511: A certain extent of Moorish territory adjacent to Melilla, Ceuta, and other presides should, whenever the Sultan ceases to exercise authority over it, come within the sphere of influence of Spain, and that the administration of the coast from Melilla as far as, but not including, the heights on the right bank of the Sebou shall be entrusted to Spain. The British goal in these negotiations with France

156-633: A convention dated 27 June 1900 (at the same time as Treaty of Paris (1900) ), France and Spain agreed to recognize separate zones of influence in Morocco, but did not specify their boundaries. In 1902, France offered Spain all of Morocco north of the Sebou River and south of the Sous River , but Spain declined in the belief that such a division would offend Britain. The British and French, without any Spanish insistence, acknowledged Spain's right to

208-497: A formal duality of authorities. On the one hand, there is a Moroccan administration, headed by a Khalifa ( Spanish : Jalifa ), who exercised, by delegation of the Sultan, all his powers, mainly the legislative, which he exercised through the dahir (decree). He was also the highest religious authority. This government led by the Khalifa received the name of Makhzen and was divided into departments, like ministries, coordinated by

260-455: A northern strip and a southern strip centered on Cape Juby . The consideration of the southern strip as part of the protectorate back in 1912 eventually gave Morocco a solid legal claim to the territory in the 1950s. While the sparsely populated Cape Juby was administered as a single entity with Spanish Sahara , the northern territories were administered, separately, as a Spanish protectorate with its capital at Tetuán . The Protectorate system

312-662: A northern strip on the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar , and a southern part of the protectorate around Cape Juby , bordering the Spanish Sahara . The northern zone became part of independent Morocco on 7 April 1956, shortly after France relinquished its protectorate . Spain finally ceded its southern zone through the Treaty of Angra de Cintra on 1 April 1958, after the short Ifni War . The city of Tangier

364-549: A pair proposed by the Spanish government. The first Khalifa was Mohammed Mehedi Ould Ben Ismael. Ishmael was the brother of Sultan Hassan I and later Sultan Hassan I was the great-uncle of the second Khalifa . The first Khalifa took office in Tetouan on 27 April 1913. Only two Khalifas held office until the independence of Morocco, Muley el Mehdi (between 1913 and 1923) and his son Muley el Hassán bin el Mehdi (who took office at

416-587: A semi-desert buffer zone between Morocco proper at the Draa River and Western Sahara . The strip was under Spanish rule during much of the 20th century, officially as part of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , but mainly administered alongside Saguía el-Hamra and Río de Oro as part of Spanish Sahara , with which the Strip had closer cultural and historical links. On 28 May 1767, Mohammed ben Abdallah ,

468-539: A threat to Moroccan independence. At Wilhelm's urging, Sultan Abd el Aziz called for an international conference. The final act of the Algeciras Conference (7 April 1906) created the State Bank of Morocco , guaranteed the attending powers equal commercial rights in Morocco and created a native Moroccan police force led by French and Spanish officers. The final Spanish zone of influence consisted of

520-512: A time when other European nations were acquiring or expanding their colonial empires, Spain's had generally gained independence. Its disastrous 1898 war with the United States stripped Spain of its few overseas provinces and exposed an inferior military. Yet, due to Morocco's proximity and the presence of Ceuta and Melilla , Spain eyed expansion in northern Morocco, despite an overall lack of enthusiasm for new colonial enterprises. During

572-477: A treaty that defined their precise zones. Spain received a zone of influence consisting of a northern strip of territory and a southern strip. The northern strip did not reach to the border of French Algeria , nor did it include Tangier , soon to be internationalized. The southern strip represented the southernmost part of Morocco as recognized by the European powers: the territory to its south, Saguia el-Hamra ,

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624-673: A zone of influence in Morocco in Article 8 of the Entente cordiale of 8 April 1904: The two Governments, inspired by their feeling of sincere friendship for Spain, take into special consideration the interests which that country derives from her geographical position and from her territorial possessions on the Moorish coast of the Mediterranean. In regard to these interests the French Government will come to an understanding with

676-511: Is 500 km (310 mi) north of the geographical area identified as El Djouf (also known as the Majabat al-Koubra ) which has an average elevation of 320 m. Mackenzie never travelled in this area but had read of other sub-sea level desert basins in present-day Tunisia , Algeria and Egypt similar to those found near Cape Juby. These basins contain seasonally dry salt lakes , known as chotts or sebkhas . Egypt's Qattara Depression

728-641: Is perhaps the largest such basin in North Africa. 27°56′52″N 12°55′24″W  /  27.94778°N 12.92333°W  / 27.94778; -12.92333 Spanish protectorate in Morocco 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 . The Spanish protectorate consisted of

780-463: The Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain. It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. ^ Anthony G. Pazzanita & Tony Hodges (1994) Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara , 2 ed, Scarecrow Press, USA. ( ISBN   0-8108-2661-5 ) Cape Juby Cape Juby ( Arabic : رأس جوبي , trans. Raʾs Juby , Spanish: Cabo Juby ) is a cape on

832-537: The Moroccan Army of Liberation waged war against the Spanish forces. In the 1958 Ifni War , which spread from Sidi Ifni to Río de Oro , Morocco gained Tarfaya (the southern part of the protectorate) and reduced the Spanish control of the Ifni territory to the perimeter of the city itself. Morocco and Spain negotiated for over a year over Ifni, with Morocco also wanting control of Ceuta and Melilla, while Spain

884-593: The Saguia el Hamra and Cape Juby regions were not part of his dominions (Art. 22). In 1879, the British North West Africa Company established a trading post near Cape Juby called " Port Victoria ". On 26 March 1888, Moroccan soldiers attacked the post, killing the director of the post and leaving two workers badly injured. In 1895, the company sold its post to the Sultan of Morocco. In 1912, Spain negotiated with France (which controlled

936-717: The Spanish Nationalist Army . The Communist Party of Spain and Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), advocated anti-colonial policies, and pressured the Republican government to support the independence of Spanish Morocco, intending to create a rebellion at Franco's back and cause disaffection among his Moroccan troops. The government – then led by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) — rejected that course of action as it would have likely resulted in conflict with France,

988-576: The Sultan of Morocco , signed a peace and commerce treaty with King Charles III of Spain . In the treaty, Morocco was unable to guarantee the security of Spanish fishermen along the coasts south of the Noun River , as Morocco did not have control over the Tekna tribes of that area (Art. 18). On 1 March 1799, Sultan Slimane signed an accord with King Charles IV of Spain , in which he recognized that

1040-708: The partially successful coup against the Republican Government, which began in Spanish Morocco by an uprising of the Spanish Army of Africa stationed there, although within a day uprisings in Spain itself broke out. This force, which included a considerable number of Moroccan troops ( regulares ), was under the command of Francisco Franco (who spent much time in Morocco) and became the core of

1092-539: The 1970s. Most officer plus some NCOs and specialists were Spanish. With expansion and increased mechanism the proportion of Spanish personnel in the Tropas Nomadas increased substantially from the 1960s on, many of them conscripts doing their military service in the Western Sahara. In total, several thousand Sahrawis were given military training by the Spanish. In 1974, 1,374 Sahrawis were enrolled in

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1144-600: The Atlantic via a channel near the Saguia el-Hamra . He proposed that this inland sea, if augmented with a canal, could provide access to the Niger River and the markets and rich resources of West Africa. There are several small depressions in the vicinity of Cape Juby; at 55 m (180 ft) below sea level, the Sebkha Tah is the lowest and largest. But it covers less than 250 km (97 sq mi) and

1196-569: The Grand Vizier. The ministers were the qadi al-qudat (chief or judge of judges), the Vizier of the Habus (inalienable patrimony whose income is destined to a pious or religious work or institution), the amin al-amlak and the amin al-umana (minister of Finance). It had an advisory council made up of two representatives from each of the five regions. The Khalifa was chosen by the Sultan from

1248-684: The Moroccan law. To this end, a Center for Moroccan Studies was organized in the Free Institute of Diplomatic and Consular Careers and Arabic chairs were created in some business schools and an Arabic board was created in the Board for the Extension of Studies. Subsequently, Indigenous Affairs offices were created in Melilla and Ceuta that exercised surveillance functions, somewhat similar, in

1300-600: The Rif were one of the sources of income. Their exploitation led to an economic boom in Melilla. After the Treaty of Algeciras signed in April 1906, where the northern part of Morocco was placed under Spanish administration, the Spanish started to develop this mineral-rich area, and numerous narrow gauge railways were built. The administrative regime of the Protectorate is derived from the concept of protectorate itself, with

1352-578: The Saharan personnel of two motorized desert patrols overwhelmed their Spanish colleagues and took them as prisoners to Algeria. Following the Spanish Government's decision to hand over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania towards the end of 1975, numbers of the indigenous soldiers deserted. The remainder were disbanded. Many of the former Tropas Nómadas soldiers are believed to have joined Polisario and Spanish-trained fighters formed

1404-593: The Saharan tribes, who were familiar with climate and conditions. The remainder were drawn from Moroccan Regulares and Mehal-la goumiers, seconded from the existing Spanish Army of Africa . First raised in the early 1930s, this force was entitled "Tropas Nómadas del Sahara". It comprised a camel corps, modelled on the French " Meharistes " and serving as desert police. Later the Tropas Nómadas were partially mechanised but camel detachments remained in service until

1456-662: The Scottish engineer Donald Mackenzie was the first to propose the creation of a Sahara Sea . Mackenzie's idea was to cut a channel from one of the sand-barred lagoons north of Cape Juby south to a large plain which Arab traders had identified to him as El Djouf . Mackenzie believed this vast region was up to 61 metres (200 ft) below sea level and that flooding it would create an inland sea of 155,400 square kilometres (60,000 sq mi) suited to commercial navigation and even agriculture. He further believed that geological evidence suggested this basin had once been connected to

1508-436: The Spanish Government. The agreement which may be come to on the subject between France and Spain shall be communicated to His Britannic Majesty's Government. What exactly "special consideration" meant was dealt with in the secret third and fourth articles, specifying that Spain would be required to recognize Articles 4 and 7 of the treaty but could decline the "special consideration" if it wished: The two Governments agree that

1560-564: The Spanish army (most of them in the Tropas Nómadas), according to Pazzanita & Hodges, out of a population of some 74,000 indigenous inhabitants of the territory, according to a Spanish census taken that same year. While the Tropas Nómadas gave effective service during the greater part of the force's history, their loyalty was tested by the outbreak of the indigenous Polisario Front 's rebellion (1973–75). In May 1975 increasing instances of indiscipline culminated with two mutinies when

1612-536: The affairs of Morocco at the time) for concessions on the southern coast of Morocco. Francisco Bens  [ es ] officially occupied the Cape Juby region for Spain on 29 July 1916. It was administered by Spain as a single entity with Spanish Sahara and the Ifni enclave, as Spanish West Africa . The Spanish area comprised 12,700 sq mi (33,000 km ) and had a population of 9,836. Its main town

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1664-456: The age of thirteen, ruling between 1925 and 1941 and 1945 and 1956). The Spanish administration was led by a High Commissioner, formally accredited to the Khalifa but in fact the highest authority in the Protectorate. The High Commissary directed the political action of Spain in the Protectorate, and orders and instructions emanated from it. The high commissioner was assisted by various departments (Indigenous Affairs Development and Finance). There

1716-703: The coast of southern Morocco , near the border with Western Sahara , directly east of the Canary Islands . Its surrounding area, including the cities of Tarfaya and Tan-Tan , is called the Cape Juby Strip (after the homonymous cape), the Tarfaya Strip (after the homonymous city) or the Tekna Zone (after the Tekna , the native Saharawi tribe). The region is presently the far south of internationally recognized Morocco, and makes up

1768-463: The colonial ruler of the other portion of Morocco. Because the locally recruited Muslim regulares had been among Franco's most effective troops, the protectorate enjoyed more political freedom and autonomy than Francoist Spain -proper after Franco's victory. The area held competing political parties and a Moroccan nationalist press, which often criticized the Spanish government. Spanish troops provisionally occupied Tangier during World War II , on

1820-598: The core of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army set up to fight Morocco and Mauritania after the Green March . The " askaris " of the camel units wore white flowing robes and blue turbans. Other indigenous personnel wore khaki uniforms with blue or khaki turbans . A separate indigenous unit serving the Spanish colonial government was the Policía Territorial . This gendarmerie corresponded to

1872-536: The early conduct in the war was a driving factor behind the military coup by General Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923 which foreshadowed the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. After the successful 1925 Alhucemas landing , the French–Spanish alliance ended up achieving victory and putting an end to the war. Before 1934, the southern part of the protectorate (Tekna) had been governed from Cape Juby (within

1924-618: The last decades of the 19th century, Spain nervously watched the increasing influence of its European rivals in the Maghreb. Thus, ensuring Spanish security offered the most compelling reason to intervene. For example, Liberal leader Montero Ríos argued that if northwestern Morocco were to come under French control, Spain would be vulnerable to France from both north and south. Furthermore, the discovery of iron ore near Melilla convinced many that Morocco contained vast mineral wealth. The key motivation for intervention, although less openly stated,

1976-603: The occupied regions. In 1937, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War , the territorial organization of Spanish Morocco was in charge of the High Commissioner of the Territory and a Lieutenant Colonel responsible for civil and military affairs. The High Commissioner and the Khalifa had their respective residences in two adjacent palaces in Tétouan , which following Morocco's independence in 1956 have been merged into

2028-426: The pretext that an Italian invasion was imminent. In 1956, when France ended its protectorate over Morocco , Spain discontinued the protectorate and retroceded the territory to the newly independent kingdom, while retaining the plazas de soberanía which were part of Spain prior to the colonial period, Cape Juby , Ifni , and other colonies (such as Spanish Sahara ) outside of Morocco. Unwilling to accept this,

2080-491: The same southern strip) since 1912; Cape Juby was also the seat of Spanish West Africa . Then, in 1934, the southern part began to being managed directly from Tetuán (in the northern part of the protectorate) and the seat of Spanish West Africa was moved from Cape Juby to the territory of Ifni (not a part of the protectorate), which had been occupied by the Spaniards that year. The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 with

2132-736: Was a territorial controller in each of the regions, directly represented to the Delegation of Indigenous Affairs. Subordinate to him, there was a next level, with regional auditors and, finally, local auditors. The maintenance of order was in charge of the Regulares (forces of the Spanish army with "indigenous" Rif people) and the Indigenous Police. On the military side, the high commissioner was assisted by three commanders based in Ceuta, Melilla and Larache. The administrative organization

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2184-483: Was arranged, at a general level, in this way: The High Commissioner was responsible for the direction of the Spanish action in the entire area and all the authorities (including the military) were subordinate to him. Among its activities were to intervene in the acts of the Khalifa, the regime of the cities in which the consuls acted as controllers, to dictate the general policy and to approve or direct, where appropriate, military operations. The Indigenous services department

2236-786: Was entrusted with the General Secretariat and advising on all matters relating to relations with the Kabyles, the inspection of the Islamic Justice Administration, relations with the Consular Jurisdiction for the protection of the natives and with the Sheriff for everything related to real estate and the vindication of property, the inspection of schools and health care centers and the Spanish missions in educational work. In Morocco, there

2288-775: Was established in 1912. The Islamic legal system of qadis was formally maintained. Following the First World War , the Republic of the Rif , led by the guerrilla leader Abd el-Krim , was a breakaway state that existed from 1921 to 1926 in the Rif region, when it was subdued and dissolved by a joint expedition of the Spanish Army of Africa and French forces during the Rif War . The Spanish lost more than 13,000 soldiers at Annual in July–August 1921. Controversy in Spain over

2340-463: Was excluded from the Spanish protectorate and received a special internationally controlled status as Tangier International Zone . Since France already held a protectorate over most of the country and had controlled Morocco's foreign affairs since 30 March 1912, it also held the power to delegate a zone to Spanish protection. The surface area of the zone was about 20,948 km (8,088 sq mi), which represents 4.69% of modern-day Morocco. At

2392-523: Was founded by the Spanish as Villa Bens (now called Tarfaya ). Villa Bens was used as a staging post for airmail flights. When Morocco regained full independence in 1956, it requested the cession of officially Moroccan areas controlled by Spain. After some resistance and some fighting during 1957 (the Ifni War ), the Spanish government in 1958 ceded the Cape Juby Strip to Morocco. In 1877,

2444-438: Was no prior organization to ensure public health, except in Tangier, and the Spanish tried to remedy this deficiency, creating in 1916 the Health Inspectorate, within the Office of Indigenous Affairs. The Spanish had to overcome the distrust that Moroccans felt towards their healers and home remedies, carrying out large vaccination campaigns that contributed to the prestige of the protecting country. Along with health action, culture

2496-450: Was only willing to give up control of Ifni. On 5 January 1969 Morocco and Spain signed the treaty ceding Ifni to Morocco. As of 2024, Morocco still claims Ceuta and Melilla as integral parts of the country, and considers them to be under foreign occupation , comparing their status to that of Gibraltar . Spain considers both cities integral parts of the Spanish geography, since they were part of Spain for centuries. The iron mines in

2548-399: Was recognized by France as an exclusively Spanish zone. The treaty also recognized the Spanish exclave of Ifni and delimited its borders. In March 1905, the German Kaiser , Wilhelm II , visited Tangier , a city of international character in northern Morocco. There he loudly touted Germany's economic interests in Morocco and assured the Sultan of financial assistance in the event of

2600-433: Was the belief that Morocco was Spain's last chance to maintain its position in the Concert of Europe , as it was the one area in which it could claim sufficient interest to generate some diplomatic strength with respect to the European powers. There was also the then-widespread belief in Europe that colonies increased a nation's prestige. Those beliefs encouraged Spanish politicians to adopt a forward policy in Morocco. In

2652-468: Was the other pending subject for Moroccans, since teaching was closely linked to religion and consisted of memorizing the Quran . Spain entrusted the task of educating the population to the Delegation of Indigenous Affairs, which depended on a Board of Education that was created on 3 April 1913. This Board was born with the purpose of training the personnel who would be dedicated to this task and as an instrument to learn about geography, literature, history and

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2704-433: Was to ensure that a weaker power (Spain) held the strategic coast opposite Gibraltar in return for Britain ceding all their influence in Morocco. France began negotiating with Spain at once, but the offer of 1902 was no longer on the table. Since France had given up its ambitions in Ottoman Libya in a convention with Italy in 1903, it felt entitled to a greater share of Morocco. On 3 October 1904, France and Spain concluded

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