Morocco gained independence in 1956, and the Istiqlal Party presented its vision for the new state's boundaries. These nationalists appealed to the idea of a Greater Morocco, based upon the territory of the Sharifian empire which preceded French and British colonization. This area included what was at the time Spanish Sahara, French West Africa, and French Algeria. The Moroccan state itself formally adopted the 'Greater Morocco' vision under Mohammed V in 1958. After Mauritanian and Algerian independence in the early 1960s, Morocco released claim to most of Greater Morocco. However, it has maintained its irredentist claim over Western Sahara.