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Morocco
France ended protectorate status after widespread nationalist agitation, intensified by its exile of Sultan Mohammed V in 1953.
- Independence
- March 2, 1956
- Before
- French and Spanish Protectorates in Morocco
- Metropole
- France
- Transition
- Negotiated
- Movement
- Istiqlal (Independence) Party; Sultan Mohammed V; Army of Liberation
- Head of government at independence
- Sultan Mohammed V
“Le Gouvernement de la République française confirme solennellement la reconnaissance de l'indépendance du Maroc. (The Government of the French Republic solemnly confirms its recognition of the independence of Morocco.)”
— Joint Franco-Moroccan Declaration, signed by Christian Pineau and Si Bekkaï, March 2, 1956
Protectorate and the Rif War, 1912–1926
The Treaty of Fez of March 30, 1912 made most of Morocco a French protectorate; a Franco-Spanish treaty that November assigned Spain zones in the north and south, and Tangier later became an international zone. The sultan remained on the throne, but French Residents-General such as Hubert Lyautey held real power. In the Rif, Abd el-Krim inflicted a heavy defeat on Spain at Annual in 1921 and established a Rif Republic, which a joint Franco-Spanish campaign crushed in 1926.
Nationalism and the Sultan, 1944–1953
The Istiqlal Party issued its Manifesto of Independence on January 11, 1944. Sultan Mohammed V increasingly aligned himself with the nationalists, most visibly in his speech at Tangier on April 10, 1947, which stressed Morocco's Arab and Islamic identity without the customary tribute to France. On August 20, 1953, the French authorities deposed and exiled him, first to Corsica and then to Madagascar, and installed his elderly relative Mohammed ben Aarafa as sultan.
Exile, Resistance and Independence, 1953–1956
The exile turned the sultan into a national symbol. Urban resistance grew, and an Army of Liberation, formed in 1955 to coordinate the rural armed resistance, opened a coordinated offensive against French posts in the north on 2 October 1955. With Algeria in revolt, France negotiated his return: Mohammed V came back to Rabat on November 16, 1955, and a Franco-Moroccan joint declaration ended the protectorate on March 2, 1956. Spain recognised Moroccan independence on April 7, 1956, and Tangier's international status was ended in October 1956.
Chronology
- March 30, 1912 — Treaty of Fez establishes the French protectorate
- January 11, 1944 — Istiqlal Manifesto of Independence
- April 10, 1947 — Mohammed V's Tangier speech
- August 20, 1953 — France deposes and exiles Sultan Mohammed V
- October 2, 1955 — Army of Liberation opens a coordinated offensive against French posts in the Rif and Middle Atlas
- November 16, 1955 — Mohammed V returns to Morocco
- March 2, 1956 — Franco-Moroccan joint declaration ends the French protectorate
- April 7, 1956 — Spain recognises Moroccan independence
Documents
- Treaty Treaty of Fez (30 March 1912)
- Manifesto Istiqlal Manifesto of Independence (11 January 1944)
- Speech Mohammed V's Tangier Speech (10 April 1947)
- Treaty Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration (2 March 1956)
Aftermath
Mohammed V took the title of King in 1957 and was succeeded by his son Hassan II in 1961. The Istiqlal split in 1959, when Mehdi Ben Barka and others formed the UNFP; Ben Barka was abducted in Paris in 1965 and never seen again. Spain returned Tarfaya in 1958 and Ifni in 1969, while Morocco's claim to Western Sahara after 1975 created one of Africa's longest-running decolonisation disputes.
Legacy
The monarchy emerged from the independence struggle greatly strengthened, having co-opted much of the nationalist movement. Territorial questions left by the colonial partition, above all Western Sahara, remain major political flashpoints today.