Morocco, French conquest of (1907-34). By 1900 France regarded expansion into Morocco as the logical conclusion of her policy in North Africa. Diplomacy helped ensure the acquiescence of other great powers, and the foreign ministry emphasized that Moroccan interests would be safeguarded. The country was sunk in debt and anarchy, with the weak Sultan Moulay Abd el Aziz challenged by rivals: some Moroccans supported foreign intervention.
Murders in Casablanca in 1907 encouraged Lyautey, commanding the neighbouring Oran military district, to cross the border, and by mid-1908 the area had been secured. The sultan was deposed by his brother Moulay Hafid: in return for French recognition he ordered the cessation of resistance. France's grip grew stronger. The Spanish increased their efforts to pacify northern Morocco, and a new road between Fez and Rabat aided French penetration. In 1911 the French intervened to protect Moulay Hafid from a rising, and the following year the sultan, again hard-pressed, accepted a French protectorate. Germany, which had sent a gunboat to Agadir, had been bought off by the grant of land in French Equatorial Africa.
Lyautey arrived as resident-general and suppressed the rebellion. He persuaded Moulay Hafid to abdicate in favour of another brother, Moulay Yussuf, and methodically extended French control. Where possible he favoured ‘peaceful pacification’, using ‘oil stain’ tactics in which pacified areas spread outwards. Converging columns moved against hostile groups to emphasize the futility of resistance. Sometimes military subjugation was severe, and not all French-backed local leaders proved worthy of their trust. However, French rule generally brought with it peace and cohesion.
Despite the respect in which Lyautey was held, in 1925 Abd-el-Krim, whose power base in the Rif straddled French and Spanish Morocco, invaded. It required both Spanish co-operation and the commitment of six divisions before he was subdued. Fighting went on elsewhere until 1934.
Bibliography
- Porch, Douglas, The Conquest of Morocco (New York, 1984)
— Richard Holmes
The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
