Spanish Protectorate in Morocco

A territory has the legal category of protectorate when a foreign power does not impose a form of government but is limited to exercising a guardianship politics and economical. This subordination relationship is a variant of the colonialism classic. Between 1912 and 1956 the Spanish Protectorate existed in Morocco.

In 1912 the Moroccan religious and political authorities agreed with the governments of France and Spain that both nations would exercise dominion over vast territories of present-day Morocco.

The French controlled the region with more natural resources and the Spanish came to control the Rif region where there were iron and other metal mines.

The two faces of domination

During this period, Spain was tolerant of the population Moroccan. In fact, the traditions, the language and the religion of the inhabitants. Likewise, public works and improvements in infrastructures and in the health field were developed.

The other side of the coin was not so kind. Thus, a strong military presence was implanted and the

resources miners. This situation was not well received by all the tribes or Kabyles that formed the Moroccan territory and guerrilla groups were created to oppose foreign domination.

For twenty years there were constant clashes between the Spanish soldiers and the Kabyles led by the leader Abd el-Krim. Among the most unfavorable episodes for the Spanish army, two stand out: the "Barranco del Lobo Disaster" and the "Annual Disaster". The period of military conflicts is known as the Rif War, which came to an end in 1927 when the Spanish managed to pacify the dominated territories.

It is worth remembering that the officers of the Spanish army who had command in the Moroccan War were the same ones who organized the military uprising that led to the Spanish Civil War (Generals Millán Astray, Francisco Franco, José Enrique Valera, Emilio Mola and Juan Yagüe).

The end of the Spanish Protectorate

The military presence of the Spanish in Moroccan territory was not well received by large sectors of the Spanish public opinion and something very similar happened in France with respect to the protectorate that remained in Morocco.

At the same time, Moroccan society began to organize politically to express its discomfort at the domination of two foreign countries. Thus, national leaders emerged in favor of the independence of Morocco and both France and Spain renounced their role as protective nations in 1955 and 1956 respectively.

Photo Fotolia: YuI

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