At Casablanca at this time works were in progress, with the
sanction of the sultan, for improving the harbour. The works
were beyond the ramparts, close to the Moslem cemetery; and
the neighbouring tribesmen (the Shawia) were excited by reports
that the cemetery had been desecrated. On the 30th of July
they attacked the European labourers and killed nine of them
(three French, three Spaniards, and three Italians), afterwards
entering the town and raiding the Jewish quarter. Refugees
fled by boat to Tangier with news of the massacre. The French
government decided to occupy Casablanca, and a strong naval
and military force was sent thither. Before the arrival of the
troops the commander of the cruiser “Galilée” landed a party
(Aug. 5) to guard the French consulate. The passage of the
detachment was opposed, whereupon the “Galilée,” aided
by the “Du Chayla” bombarded the town. Casablanca was
at the same time entered by the tribesmen, who began a general
pillage. On the 7th the French troops arrived and
Casablanca. were landed, and further fighting took place. Before
order was restored nearly every inhabitant had been killed or
wounded or had fled; the dead alone numbered thousands. The
European colony was, however, saved. Though masters of the
town, the French found the Shawia tribes still full of fight, and,
first under General Drude and afterwards (Jan. 1908) under
General Amadé, the French proceeded to the reduction of the
Shawia country. At one time the expeditionary force numbered
15,000 men.[1] By June 1908 the district was quiet and thereafter
the strength of the force was gradually reduced.[2]
The action of France at Casablanca aroused the fanaticism of the tribes of Tafīlālt and those dwelling near the Algerian border. In November 1907 the Beni Snassen crossed the frontier and were not reduced to submission until after hard fighting. Another outbreak occurred in April 1908, when a French column in the Guir district, west of Figig was surprised, and had difficulty in beating back the enemy. In that and a subsequent engagement, which resulted in the dispersal of the foe in May, the French casualties were over 200. French and Moorish commissioners were then appointed to preserve order along the frontier.
While thus engaged on the eastern frontier and on the Atlantic
coast of Morocco France had given financial and moral support
to ‛Abd-el-‛Azīz, whose position was threatened
by his brother Mulai Hafid. On the 16th of August
1907, within a fortnight of the bombardment of
Casablanca, the ulema of Fall of
‛Abd-el-
‛Azīz.Marrākesh had declared
‛Abd-el-‛Azīz deposed and Hafid sultan; and from September
onwards the tribes round Casablanca opposing the French were
supported by troops sent from Marrākesh. Aziz having been
furnished with money by the state bank, he was enabled to reach
the seaport of Rabat at the head of his army in September
1907. There he was visited by the French minister and appeared
willing to grant all the demands of France in return for help
against his brother. A loan was forthcoming but no military
assistance save that some of ‛Abd-el-‛Azīz’s troops were taken
by a French warship to Mazagan. While desultory fighting
between the supporters of the rival brothers was proceeding
Hafid was proclaimed sultan at Fez on the 4th of January
1908; Hafid now sought support from France, Germany, and
other powers, and moving from Marrākesh passed the French
lines in the Shawia country, entered Mequinez in May and Fez
in June 1908. At length ‛Abd-el-‛Azīz made an effort to reassert
his authority and with a force numbering 4000 he left Rabat
in July for Marrākesh. He reached the neighbourhood of that
city on the 2nd of August, having received the adhesion of
numerous tribes, including the Shawia. On the 19th he started
for the final march on Marrākesh. He appears to have been
betrayed, for hardly had his force started when it was assailed
on all sides, whereupon the tribesmen deserted in a body and the
“regulars” ran away. The day was irretrievably lost and
‛Abd-el-‛Azīz sought safety in night. On the 22nd he arrived
at Settat in the Shawia country, and within the French lines,
with only a handful of followers. For a short time he talked
of continuing the struggle, but ended by accepting a pension
from his brother Hafid and was assigned a residence in Tangier.
That town, the last in Morocco to acknowledge Hafid, did so
on the 23rd of August; the change of sultans being accomplished
without any disturbance of public order.
Germany was anxious for the immediate recognition of Hafid and caused some perturbation in France by a circular to the powers to that effect dated the 2nd of September; the French and Spanish governments replied by proposals for guarantees that Hafid would respect the Act of Algeçiras. This course received general assent and Mulai Hafid Sultan. Hafid having given the guarantees demanded he was formally recognized as sultan at the beginning of 1909. His relations with Europe were made easier by the conclusion, in February 1909, of a Franco-German agreement designed to avoid all cause of misunderstanding between those powers in Morocco. Germany put on record that her interests in the sultanate were “only economic,” and France agreeing to “safeguard economic equality” Germany undertook not to impede the political interests of France in the country.
The weakness of the central government was exemplified by the inability of Mulai Hafid to control the Rif tribesmen, who in July 1909 killed a number of European labourers in the neighbourhood of the Spanish fortress of Melilla (q.v.). Spain sent an army of 50,000 men to vindicate its authority. After a severe campaign the Riffians were reduced to submission (Nov. 1909). Though powerless in the Rif, Mulai Hafid’s army succeeded in defeating Bu Hamāra’s force and in capturing (Aug. 1909) that pretender, otherwise known as el Roghi.[3] Bu Hamāra and many of his followers were taken to Fez. The tortures inflicted upon them evoked strong protests from the European powers. In 1910 Mulai Hafid obtained a loan, chiefly from France, of £4,000,000; the greater part of the loan went to liquidate claims by Europeans against the maghzen.
Amirs and Sultans[4] of Morocco
| I.—Idrisi Dynasty (Arab), A.D. (Capital, Fez.) | |
| 788. | Idrīs I. |
| 791. | Rashīd (regent). |
| 804. | Idrīs II. |
| 828. | Mahomet I. |
| 836. | ‛Ali I. |
| 848. | Yahya I. |
| 881. | Yahya II. |
| 894. | ‛Ali II. |
| Yahya III. | |
| 904. | Yahya IV. |
| (Interregnum from 917.) | |
| 922. | El Hasan I. " El Hajjām." (Fez lost to the Miknāsa 925.) |
| 935. | El Kennūn (at Hajrat en-Nasr). |
| 948. | ‛Abu‛l‛Aish Ahmed. |
| 954. | El Hasan II. (at Basra). |
| 961. | ‛Abd-Allah I. |
| 970. | Mahomet II. (Subjugated by the Maghrāwa 985.) |
| II.—Miknāsa Dynasty (Berber). (Capital, Fez.) | |
| 925. | Musa I. “Ibn Abd-el-‛Aafīa.” |
| 938. | Mādin. |
| 952. | Ibrāhim I. |
| 973. | El Būrī. |
| 1014. | El Kāsem I. |
- ↑ A Spanish force of 600 men was also sent to Casablanca. Throughout the crisis Spain, with some misgiving, co-operated in the actions of France.
- ↑ In September 1908 the German consul at Casablanca gave safe-conduct to six deserters from the Foreign Legion, of whom three were Germans. On the way to embark for Hamburg, and while under guard from the German consulate, all six deserters were forcibly arrested by a French patrol. The matter created great excitement both in Germany and France, chiefly from the demand of the German government that France should express regret for the action of its agents before the facts were fully established. A way of escape was found in the formula “the two governments, regretting the events which occurred at Casablanca, . . . refer the matter to arbitration . . . and agree to express regret . . . according to the judgment of the court.” The case then went to The Hague Court of Arbitration, which gave its decision in May 1909, substantially in favour of France. In July the French government pardoned the deserters.
- ↑ For an account of Bu Hamāra’s career see Questions diplomatiques (Oct. 16, 1909).
- ↑ Title of sultan adopted about 1640.
