Spanish and French Protectorates
Like most colonizing countries, the Spanish and French wanted to colonize Morocco because they wanted power. Feelings of nationalism made people proud of all that their country had achieved. This motivated Spanish and French people to take over other countries to show their prestige and to gain more power. France had already taken control of Algeria, which borders Morocco, and wanted to take over Morocco as well. By colonizing Morocco, the French were able to protect French Algeria. Other general motivations for colonizing that Spain, France, and most European nations felt were that they wanted to maintain a balance of power with each other. European countries were competitive and colonized to keep themselves equal with each other. Another major motivation for why both of these countries wanted to colonize Morocco is for the abundance of natural resources available. Morocco's main natural resource was, and still is, phosphate. Other natural resources included iron ore, manganese, fish, zinc, and salt. Furthermore, France and Spain's motivation for colonizing Morocco were based off of the three "Cs" of colonialism which were Christianity, the civilizing mission, and commerce. Religion served as motivation because the French and Spanish wanted to send missionaries to Morocco to convert the Muslims and Jews to Christianity. In addition, the White Man's Burden was a concept where Europeans viewed themselves as better than the people they colonized. The French and Spanish people saw themselves as superior compared to the rest of the world. By colonizing other nations, they thought that they would be helping out the inferior people and making them civilized. Then, they wanted the opportunity to trade and do business with Morocco.
Spanish Protectorate
The far north of Morocco was under control of the Spanish Protectorate. Spain gains control over about one-tenth of Morocco. It's territory includes its enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta. Also, Spain had control over Ifni, in the South. The capital of the Spanish Protectorate was Tetouan.
French Protectorate
The French Protectorate consisted of a majority, about nine-tenths, of Morocco. France controlled the Moroccan land to the south of the Spanish Protectorate. The capital city of the French Protectorate was Rabat.
Treaty of Fez
On March 30th, 1912, the Treaty of Fez was signed. This agreement officially made Morocco into a French protectorate. A protectorate is any country or territory that maintains its own internal government, but is under the control of an outside power or country. Sultan Abdelhafid signed the treaty. As well as making a French Protectorate in Morocco, arrangements were made that gave Spain part of Morocco. With the northern part of Morocco, a Spanish Protectorate was also formed. Under the treaty, the Sultan still kept control over the entire country but he really had nominal power. This meant that he was supposedly serving as the leader but did not have the real power. The French and Spanish administrations were given the real power and authority. In addition, the agreement made in the treaty said that France promised to guarantee the role of the Sultan and the sultans that succeeded him. After the Treaty of Fez was signed, France and Spain were able to pursue their interests in Morocco.
Life under colonialism
In the French Protectorate, there were resident-generals who had the real power. Louis Lyautey was a French resident-general until 1925. In the Spanish Protectorate, the Spanish picked a khalifah or viceroy, that was chosen out of the royal family members of Morocco. The khalifah served as the head but did not have real power. The Treaty of Fez basically gave the colonizers special control over government, economy, and social aspects of Morocco. In both protectorates, various departments and branches were created to control Morocco. The jobs in these departments were given to Europeans, not Moroccans.
The Rif Wars
The Rif War was a war fought from 1919 to 1926 with Spanish troops against the Moroccan Rif and Jibala tribes. Through the Treaty of Fez signed in 1912, Spain was given control of two cities in the northern Rif Mountains, Ceuta and Melilla. Both of these mountainous zones had very little roads which made communication and developing the areas very hard for the Spanish. Beginning in 1920, a Spanish commissioner named General Damaso Berenguer wanted to get control over and an area in the northeast that was already settled by different Jibala tribes. In addition, the Spanish commissioner wanted to keep Abd-el-Krim and the rest of the Rif tribes under control, which Berenguer instructed Manuel Fernandez Silvestre to do. By the end, Berenguer's goal was to bring together both zones, with the JIbala and Rif tribes, together. Even with the actions taken to prevent Abd-el-Krim, the Spanish were not able to stop the tribes or to unite them under Spanish control. Spanish troops were defeated by Abd-el-Krim's forces. After that, battles continued on and off between both sides. When the Spanish lost, they were major losses. Spain lost partially because of ineffective leadership and not enough weaponry. One battle, that was a big loss by Spain, was the Battle of Annual on July 22, 1921. At Annual, Abd-el-Krim's troops were able to destroy the 20,000 in Spain's army. During the Rif War, Spain was brought all the way back to Melilla.
Like most colonizing countries, the Spanish and French wanted to colonize Morocco because they wanted power. Feelings of nationalism made people proud of all that their country had achieved. This motivated Spanish and French people to take over other countries to show their prestige and to gain more power. France had already taken control of Algeria, which borders Morocco, and wanted to take over Morocco as well. By colonizing Morocco, the French were able to protect French Algeria. Other general motivations for colonizing that Spain, France, and most European nations felt were that they wanted to maintain a balance of power with each other. European countries were competitive and colonized to keep themselves equal with each other. Another major motivation for why both of these countries wanted to colonize Morocco is for the abundance of natural resources available. Morocco's main natural resource was, and still is, phosphate. Other natural resources included iron ore, manganese, fish, zinc, and salt. Furthermore, France and Spain's motivation for colonizing Morocco were based off of the three "Cs" of colonialism which were Christianity, the civilizing mission, and commerce. Religion served as motivation because the French and Spanish wanted to send missionaries to Morocco to convert the Muslims and Jews to Christianity. In addition, the White Man's Burden was a concept where Europeans viewed themselves as better than the people they colonized. The French and Spanish people saw themselves as superior compared to the rest of the world. By colonizing other nations, they thought that they would be helping out the inferior people and making them civilized. Then, they wanted the opportunity to trade and do business with Morocco.
Spanish Protectorate
The far north of Morocco was under control of the Spanish Protectorate. Spain gains control over about one-tenth of Morocco. It's territory includes its enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta. Also, Spain had control over Ifni, in the South. The capital of the Spanish Protectorate was Tetouan.
French Protectorate
The French Protectorate consisted of a majority, about nine-tenths, of Morocco. France controlled the Moroccan land to the south of the Spanish Protectorate. The capital city of the French Protectorate was Rabat.
Treaty of Fez
On March 30th, 1912, the Treaty of Fez was signed. This agreement officially made Morocco into a French protectorate. A protectorate is any country or territory that maintains its own internal government, but is under the control of an outside power or country. Sultan Abdelhafid signed the treaty. As well as making a French Protectorate in Morocco, arrangements were made that gave Spain part of Morocco. With the northern part of Morocco, a Spanish Protectorate was also formed. Under the treaty, the Sultan still kept control over the entire country but he really had nominal power. This meant that he was supposedly serving as the leader but did not have the real power. The French and Spanish administrations were given the real power and authority. In addition, the agreement made in the treaty said that France promised to guarantee the role of the Sultan and the sultans that succeeded him. After the Treaty of Fez was signed, France and Spain were able to pursue their interests in Morocco.
Life under colonialism
In the French Protectorate, there were resident-generals who had the real power. Louis Lyautey was a French resident-general until 1925. In the Spanish Protectorate, the Spanish picked a khalifah or viceroy, that was chosen out of the royal family members of Morocco. The khalifah served as the head but did not have real power. The Treaty of Fez basically gave the colonizers special control over government, economy, and social aspects of Morocco. In both protectorates, various departments and branches were created to control Morocco. The jobs in these departments were given to Europeans, not Moroccans.
The Rif Wars
The Rif War was a war fought from 1919 to 1926 with Spanish troops against the Moroccan Rif and Jibala tribes. Through the Treaty of Fez signed in 1912, Spain was given control of two cities in the northern Rif Mountains, Ceuta and Melilla. Both of these mountainous zones had very little roads which made communication and developing the areas very hard for the Spanish. Beginning in 1920, a Spanish commissioner named General Damaso Berenguer wanted to get control over and an area in the northeast that was already settled by different Jibala tribes. In addition, the Spanish commissioner wanted to keep Abd-el-Krim and the rest of the Rif tribes under control, which Berenguer instructed Manuel Fernandez Silvestre to do. By the end, Berenguer's goal was to bring together both zones, with the JIbala and Rif tribes, together. Even with the actions taken to prevent Abd-el-Krim, the Spanish were not able to stop the tribes or to unite them under Spanish control. Spanish troops were defeated by Abd-el-Krim's forces. After that, battles continued on and off between both sides. When the Spanish lost, they were major losses. Spain lost partially because of ineffective leadership and not enough weaponry. One battle, that was a big loss by Spain, was the Battle of Annual on July 22, 1921. At Annual, Abd-el-Krim's troops were able to destroy the 20,000 in Spain's army. During the Rif War, Spain was brought all the way back to Melilla.