By choosing to build the
Kasbah on the hilly site of Settat, 18th century Moroccan ruler
Moulay Ismail would trigger the process of urbanization. Indeed, the building of the
Kasbah brought order and security for travelers and residents supported the settlements near it. Moreover, by installing the first
Caïd in the region which previously depended Caïd Doukkali and Rahmani,
Moulay Ismail formalized Settat status as capital of this region. Settat became an administrative center in the early 18th century, due to its strategic position as an unavoidable passage between North and South. Thanks to the richness of the soil, it also prospered during the 18th and 19th centuries as an important trading center for agricultural products, attracting
entrepreneurs. This was the case for Moroccan
Jews who settled here en masse in the 19th century, building their own neighborhood, the
Mellah, near the
Kasbah. This development was disrupted in the early 20th century during the early chaos of the
French colonization when the
Chaouia tribes rallied to
Moulay Hafid. However, under the French protectorate, the city of Settat had unprecedented urban development, as evidenced by the population boom it experienced from 1913 to 1925. This prosperity lasted until the early fifties when, as a result of the development of Casablanca, communications, and transportation, the city of Settat and other towns in the region have entered a period of semi-lethargy. In the early 1990s, Settat was endowed with a university
L'Université Hassan 1er de Settat, an international golf course, and a racetrack. Settat has undergone large-scale urban planning from the 1970s to become an important regional center. Settat is linked to
Casablanca ( to the north) since 2001 by the A7 highway, and
Marrakesh ( to the south) since 2007. ==Notable people==