page_title: French Protectorate in Morocco
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: French Protectorate in Morocco / Prelude
context_page_description: The French Protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was a colonial regime imposed by France in the Sherifian Empire. The protectorate was officially established March 30, 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fes, though the French military occupation of Morocco had begun with the invasion of Oujda and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.
  The French Protectorate lasted until the dissolution of the Treaty of Fes on March 2, 1956, with the Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration. Morocco's independence did not mean an end to French presence. France preserved its influence in the country, including a right to station French troops and to have a say in Morocco's foreign policy. French settlers also maintained their rights and property.
  The French Protectorate shared territory with the Spanish protectorate, established and dissolved the same years; its borders consisted of the area of Morocco between the "Corridor of Taza" and the Draa River, including sparse tribal lands, and the official capital was Rabat.
context_section_description: Despite the weakness of its authority, the Alaouite dynasty distinguished itself in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by maintaining Morocco’s independence while other states in the region succumbed to French or British domination.  However, in the latter part of the nineteenth century Morocco’s weakness and instability invited European intervention to protect threatened investments and to demand economic concessions.  This culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Madrid in 1880.  The first years of the twentieth century witnessed a rush of diplomatic maneuvering through which the European powers and France in particular furthered their interests in North Africa.
  French activity in Morocco began during the end of the nineteenth century.  In 1904 the French government was trying to establish a protectorate over Morocco, and had managed to sign two bilateral secret agreements with Britain (8 April 1904, see Entente cordiale) and Spain (7 October 1904), which guaranteed the support of the powers in question in this endeavour.  France and Spain secretly partitioned the territory of the sultanate, with Spain receiving concessions in the far north and south of the country.
caption: Map of the Atlantic coast of Morocco (1830)
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