Zaian War The
Zaian confederation of
Berber tribes in
Morocco fought a war of opposition against the French between 1914 and 1921.
Resident-General Louis-Hubert Lyautey sought to extend French influence eastwards through the
Middle Atlas mountains towards
French Algeria. This was opposed by the Zaians, led by
Mouha ou Hammou Zayani. The war began well for the French, who quickly took the key towns of
Taza and
Khénifra. Despite the loss of their base at Khénifra, the Zaians inflicted heavy losses on the French. With the outbreak of the First World War, France withdrew troops for service in Europe, and they lost more than 600 in the
Battle of El Herri. Over the following four years, the French retained most of their territory despite the
Central Powers' intelligence and financial support to the Zaian Confederation and continual raids and skirmishes reducing scarce French manpower. After
Armistice with Germany in November 1918, significant forces of tribesmen remained opposed to French rule. The French resumed their offensive in the Khénifra area in 1920, establishing a series of
blockhouses to limit the Zaians' freedom of movement. They conducted negotiations with Hammou's sons, persuading three of them, along with many of their followers, to submit to the French rule. A split in the Zaian Confederation between those who supported submission and those still opposed led to infighting and the death of Hammou in Spring 1921. The French responded with a strong, three-pronged attack into the Middle Atlas that pacified the area. Some tribesmen, led by
Moha ou Said, fled to the High Atlas and continued a guerrilla war against the French well into the 1930s.
Rif War (1921–1926)
Sultan Yusef's reign, which lasted from 1912 to 1927, was turbulent and marked with frequent uprisings against Spain and France. The most serious of these was a Berber uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by
Abd el-Krim, who managed to establish a
republic in the Rif. Though this rebellion began in the Spanish-controlled area in the north, it reached the French-controlled area. A coalition of France and Spain finally defeated the rebels in 1925. To ensure their own safety, the French moved the court from Fez to
Rabat, which has served as the capital ever since.
Nationalist parties Amid the backlash against the
Berber Decree of 16 May 1930, crowds gathered in protest and a national network was established to resist the legislation. Dr. Susan Gilson Miller cites this as the "seedbed out of which the embryonic nationalist movement emerged." In December 1934, a small group of nationalists, members of the newly formed Moroccan Action Committee (, – CAM), proposed a
Plan of Reforms () that called for a return to indirect rule as envisaged by the
Treaty of Fes, admission of Moroccans to government positions, and establishment of representative councils. The moderate tactics used by the CAM to obtain consideration of reform included petitions, newspaper editorials, and personal appeals to French.
World War II During World War II, the badly divided nationalist movement became more cohesive, and informed Moroccans dared to consider the real possibility of political change in the post-war era. The
Moroccan Nationalist Movement () was emboldened by overtures made by
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the
United States during the
1943 Anfa Conference during
World War II, expressing support for Moroccan independence after the war. Nationalist political parties based their arguments for Moroccan independence on such
World War II declarations as the
Atlantic Charter. However, the nationalists were disappointed in their belief that the Allied victory in Morocco would pave the way for independence. In January 1944, the
Istiqlal Party, which subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement, released a
manifesto demanding full independence, national reunification, and a democratic constitution. Sultan
Muhammad V approved the manifesto before its submission to the French resident general
Gabriel Puaux, who answered that no basic change in the protectorate status was being considered.
Struggle for independence The innovative fact about Moroccan nationalists is that they globalized the Moroccan question through transnational activism. This way they created a vibrant and wide global coalition of supporters who advocated their cause. This way they also managed to make their concerns global ones. In 1947, Sultan
Muhammad V planned to deliver
a speech in what was then the
Tangier International Zone to appeal for his country's independence from colonialism and for its territorial unity. In the days leading up to the sultan's speech, French colonial forces in
Casablanca, specifically
Senegalese Tirailleurs serving the
French colonial empire, carried out a massacre of working class Moroccans. The massacre lasted for about 24 hours from 7–8 April 1947, as the
tirailleurs fired randomly into residential buildings in working-class neighborhoods, killing 180 Moroccan civilians. The conflict was instigated in an attempt to sabotage the Sultan's journey to Tangier, though after having returned to Casablanca to comfort the families of the victims, the Sultan then proceeded to Tangier to deliver the historic speech, in the garden of the
Mendoubia palace, on 9 April.
Murder of Farhat Hached The assassination of the Tunisian labor unionist
Farhat Hached by
La Main Rouge—the clandestine militant wing of
French intelligence—sparked protests in cities around the world and riots in Casablanca from 7–8 December 1952. Approximately 100 people were killed. In the aftermath of the riots, French authorities arrested
Abbas Messaadi, who would eventually escape, found the
Moroccan Liberation Army, and join the armed resistance in the Rif.
Revolution of the King and the People Glaoui's attempted coup In 1953,
Thami El Glaoui attempted to orchestrate a coup against Sultan
Muhammad V with the support of the French protectorate. The
1953 Oujda revolt broke out ten days after his "electoral" campaign passed through the city.
Exile of Sultan Muhammad The general sympathy of the sultan for the nationalists had become evident by the end of the war, although he still hoped to see complete independence achieved gradually. By contrast, the residency, supported by French economic interests and vigorously backed by most of the colonists, adamantly refused to consider even reforms short of independence. Official intransigence contributed to increased animosity between the nationalists and the colonists and gradually widened the split between the sultan and the resident general. Muhammad V and his family were transferred to
Madagascar in January 1954. His replacement by the unpopular
Mohammed Ben Aarafa, whose reign was perceived as illegitimate, sparked active opposition to the French protectorate both from nationalists and those who saw the sultan as a religious leader. By 1955, Ben Aarafa was pressured to abdicate. Consequently, Ben Aarafa fled to Tangier where he formally abdicated. The French executed 6 Moroccan nationalists in Casablanca on 4 January 1955. The aggressions between the colonists and the nationalists increased from 19 August – 5 November 1955, and approximately 1,000 people died. However, provisions in the
protocole annexe of the March agreement as well the Cooperation Agreement of 28 May 1956, which stipulated among other things that each country should refrain from adopting policies that were incompatible with the interests of the other, constituted an impediment to full independence, as was the right of France to maintain troops in Morocco during a transitional period of unspecified duration. The outspoken support of the Moroccans and Muhammad V for Algerian independence brought about the rapid collapse of these agreements and the worsening of Franco-Moroccan relations, especially after the Meknès riots of 23–28 November 1956 in the course of which several hundred Moroccans and more than 50 Europeans were killed. From a high of 350,000 in 1955, the number of European settlers dropped to 150,549 in 1963, and 25,343 in 1990. French-ownership of agricultural land was gradually eliminated following the nationalization decrees of 1959, 1963 and 1973. Following unrelenting diplomatic pressure by Morocco, the last French troops were finally withdrawn 1 November 1961. The internationalized city of
Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the
Tangier Protocol on 29 October 1956. The abolition of the Spanish protectorate and the recognition of Moroccan independence by Spain were negotiated separately and made final in the Joint Declaration of 7 April 1956. Through these agreements with Spain in 1956 and 1958, Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled areas was restored, though attempts to claim other Spanish possessions through
military action were less successful. In the months that followed independence, Muhammad V proceeded to build a modern governmental structure under a
constitutional monarchy in which the sultan would exercise an active political role. He acted cautiously, having no intention of permitting more radical elements in the nationalist movement to overthrow the established order. He was also intent on preventing the Istiqlal Party from consolidating its control and establishing a
one-party state. In August 1957, Muhammad V assumed the title of king. ==Economic exploitation==