French protectorate of Morocco
| French protectorate in Morocco | ||||||||||
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Protectorat français au Maroc حماية فرنسا في المغرب |
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| Protectorate of France | ||||||||||
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Anthem |
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 French conquest of Morocco.
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| Capital | Rabat | |||||||||
| Languages |
French Berber Moroccan Arabic Standard Arabic |
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| Religion |
Roman Catholicism Judaism Islam |
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| Political structure | Protectorate | |||||||||
| Resident-General | ||||||||||
| • | 1912–25 | Hubert Lyautey | ||||||||
| • | 1955–56 | André Louis Dubois | ||||||||
| Sultan | ||||||||||
| • | 1912–27 | Yusef | ||||||||
| • | 1927–53 | Mohammed V | ||||||||
| • | 1953–55 | Mohammed Ben Aarafa (French puppet) | ||||||||
| • | 1955–56 | Mohammed V | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | |||||||||
| • | Treaty of Fez | March 30, 1912 | ||||||||
| • | Independence | November 18 1955 | ||||||||
| Currency |
Moroccan rial (1912–1921) Moroccan franc (1921–1955) |
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The French Protectorate in Morocco (French: Protectorat français au Maroc); Arabic: حماية فرنسا في المغرب Ḥimāyat Faransā fi-l-Maḡrib) was established by the Treaty of Fez. It existed from 1912, when a protectorate was formally established, until independence (18 November 1955), and consisted of the area of Morocco between the Corridor of Taza and the Draa River.
Despite the weakness of its authority, the Alaouite dynasty distinguished itself in the 18th and 19th centuries by maintaining Morocco’s independence while other states in the region succumbed to Turkish, French, or British domination. However, in the latter part of the 19th century Morocco’s weakness and instability invited European intervention to protect threatened investments and to demand economic concessions. The first years of the 20th century witnessed a rush of diplomatic maneuvering through which the European powers and France in particular furthered their interests in North Africa.
French activity in Morocco began during the end of the 19th century. In 1904 the French government was trying to establish a protectorate over Morocco, and had managed to sign two bilateral secret agreements with Britain (8 April 1904, see Entente cordiale) and Spain (7 October 1904), which guaranteed the support of the powers in question in this endeavour. France and Spain secretly partitioned the territory of the sultanate, with Spain receiving concessions in the far north and south of the country.
The First Moroccan Crisis grew out of the imperial rivalries of the great powers, in this case, between Germany on one side and France, with British support, on the other. Germany took immediate diplomatic action to block the new accord from going into effect, including the dramatic visit of Wilhelm II to Tangier in Morocco on March 31, 1905. Kaiser Wilhelm tried to get Morocco's support if they went to war with France or Britain, and gave a speech expressing support for Moroccan independence, which amounted to a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco.
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Wikipedia