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Category: Travel Sub Category: Africa |
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Originally inhabited by Berbers, Morocco became a province of the Roman Empire in the 1st cent. AD After successive invasions by barbarian tribes, Islam was brought by the Arabs in 685. An independent Moroccan kingdom was established in 788; its dissolution in the 10th cent. began a period of political anarchy. The country was finally united in the 11th cent. by the Almoravids, a Berber-Muslim dynasty, who established a kingdom reaching from Spain to Senegal. Unity was never complete, however, and conflict between Arabs and Berbers was incessant. European encroachment began in 1415, when Portugal captured Ceuta, and ended with the Portuguese defeat at the battle of Ksar el Kebir (Alcazarquivir) in 1578. In the 19th and early 20th cent. the strategic importance and economic potential of Morocco once again excited the European powers, sparking an intense, often violent, rivalry among France, Spain, and Germany. Finally, in 1912, most of Morocco became a French protectorate; a small area became a Spanish protectorate. Nationalist feelings began to surface in the 1930s, becoming more militant after World War II, and in 1956 Morocco gained its independence. In 1957 the sultan became King Muhammad V. He was succeeded in 1961 by his son, Hassan II, whose early reign, plagued by internal unrest, coups, and assassination attempts, was repressive. Hassan's position was strengthened in 1976, when Spain relinquished the Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control. Challenged by the Polisario Front, a guerrilla movement backed by Algeria and seeking independence for the area, Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but Morocco continued battling there and claimed the entire territory. King Hassan died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son Muhammad VI. Initially extremely popular, the new king revealed himself to be a strong advocate of social change and economic improvement. In July, 2002, Morocco occupied an uninhabited islet off Ceuta that is claimed by Spain, drawing international attention to the disputed Spanish enclaves along Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. After Spanish forces removed the Moroccans, both sides agreed to leave the islet unoccupied. |
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