Abdelaziz of Morocco
| Abdelaziz of Morocco | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Sultan of Morocco (more..) | |
| Reign | 1894–1908 |
| Predecessor | Hassan I |
| Successor | Abdelhafid |
| Born | 24 February 1878 Fes, Morocco |
| Died | 10 June 1943 (aged 65) Tangier, Morocco |
| House | House of Alaoui |
Abdelaziz of Morocco (24 February 1878 – 10 June 1943;Arabic: عبد العزيز الرابع), also known as Mulai Abd al-Aziz IV, served as the Sultan of Morocco from 1894 at the age of sixteen until he was deposed in 1908. He succeeded his father Hassan I of Morocco. He was a member of the Alaouite dynasty.
By the action of Ba Ahmad bin Musa, the Chamberlain of El Hasan, Abd el-Aziz's accession to the sultanate was ensured with little fighting. Ba Ahmad became regent and for six years showed himself a capable ruler. There were strong rumors that he was poisoned.
On his death in 1900 the regency ended, and Abd al-Aziz took the reins of government into his own hands and chose an Arab from the south, El Menebhi as his chief adviser.
Urged by his Georgian or Circassian mother, the sultan sought advice and counsel from Europe and endeavored to act on it, but advice not motivated by a conflict of interest was difficult to obtain, and in spite of the unquestionable desire of the young ruler to do the best for the country, wild extravagance both in action and expenditure resulted, leaving the sultan with depleted exchequer and the confidence of his people impaired. His intimacy with foreigners and his imitation of their ways were sufficient to rouse strong popular oppostion and create dissatisfaction.
His attempt to reorganize the finances by the systematic levy of taxes was hailed with delight, but the government was not strong enough to carry the measures through, and the money which should have been used to pay the taxes was employed to purchase firearms instead. And so the benign intentions of Mulai Abd el-Aziz were interpreted as weakness, and Europeans were accused of having spoiled the sultan and of being desirous of spoiling the country.
When British engineers were employed to survey the route for a railway between Meknes and Fez, this was reported as indicating an absolute sale of the country. The strong opposition of the people was aroused, and a revolt broke out near the Algerian frontier. Such was the condition of things when the news of the Anglo-French Agreement of 1904 came as a blow to Abd-el-Aziz, who had relied on England for support and protection against the inroads of France. See also the Ion Perdicaris affair.
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