Spanish protectorate in Morocco
The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate.
Spanish protectorate in Morocco | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912–1956 | |||||||||
Map of the protectorate's northern zone (Spanish Morocco proper) and southern zone (Cape Juby) | |||||||||
Map of the northern zone in 1956 | |||||||||
| Status | Protectorate | ||||||||
| Capital | Tetuán | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish (official) Berber Arabic Tetuani or Haketia | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam (majority) Catholicism Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy (under protectorate) | ||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||
• 1912–1927 | Yusef | ||||||||
• 1927–1956 | Mohammed V | ||||||||
| High Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1913 (first) | Felipe Alfau Mendoza | ||||||||
• 1951–1956 (last) | Rafael García Valiño | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||
| 27 November 1912 | |||||||||
• Rif War | June 1921 – May 1926 | ||||||||
| July 1936 | |||||||||
| June 1940 – October 1945 | |||||||||
• Retroceded to Morocco | 7 April 1956 | ||||||||
| Currency | Spanish peseta | ||||||||
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The Spanish protectorate consisted of a northern strip on the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar, and a southern part of the protectorate around Cape Juby, bordering the Spanish Sahara. The northern zone became part of independent Morocco on 7 April 1956, shortly after France relinquished its protectorate. Spain finally ceded its southern zone through the Treaty of Angra de Cintra on 1 April 1958, after the short Ifni War. The city of Tangier was excluded from the Spanish protectorate and received a special internationally controlled status as Tangier International Zone.
Since France already held a protectorate over most of the country and had controlled Morocco's foreign affairs since 30 March 1912, it also held the power to delegate a zone to Spanish protection. The surface area of the zone was about 20,948 km2 (8,088 sq mi), which represents 4.69% of modern-day Morocco.