Moroccan Independence from France and Spain
France recognised Moroccan independence on 2 March 1956 and Spain followed a month later. The protectorate had been established in 1912 after decades of European penetration and had been administered by a resident-general through the sultan, with Spain holding the north and the Western Saharan territories and Tangier under international administration. The nationalist movement dated from the 1930s and the Istiqlal party's manifesto of January 1944 demanded independence outright. What made Morocco different was the monarchy. Mohammed V refused to sign decrees, associated himself publicly with the nationalists, and in 1947 gave a speech at Tangier referring to Morocco's Arab and Islamic ties and omitting the customary praise of France. The French deposed him in August 1953 and flew him to Corsica and then Madagascar, installing an elderly cousin. That converted a political dispute into a national one. Armed resistance began, boycotts spread, and a widespread belief that the exiled sultan's face could be seen in the moon indicates the register the movement had moved into. By 1955 France was fighting a full war in Algeria and had lost Indochina, and could not sustain a Moroccan insurgency as well. Mohammed V returned in November 1955 to enormous crowds and negotiated independence within four months. Spain gave up its northern zone in April, Tangier was reintegrated in October, and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla remain Spanish today. The monarchy came out of it with a legitimacy that the nationalist parties did not, since the king had been exiled for the cause and they had not. That is why Morocco is a monarchy today and its neighbours are republics.
- Year: 1956 CE
- Category: Independence
