Treaty of Fez
Encyclopedia
By the Treaty of Fez
, signed March 30, 1912, Sultan Abdelhafid
gave up the sovereignty
of Morocco
to the French
, making the country a protectorate
, resolving the Agadir Crisis
of July 1, 1911.
Germany recognised French and Spanish territories in Morocco, receiving in return territories in the French Equatorial Africa
n colony of Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo
). This land, known as Neukamerun
, became part of the German colony of Kamerun
, part of German West Africa, although they only lasted briefly until they were captured by the allies in World War I
. The area is partly marsh land where sleeping sickness is pervasive. Also as part of the treaty, Germany ceded France a small area of territory to the south-east of Fort Lamy, now part of Chad
, as shown on this map.
Spain
also gained some land from Northern Morocco which became Spanish Morocco
. By the agreement signed with France and Spain in November that year, Spain assumed a protectorate over Tangiers and the Rif
, Ifni
on the Atlantic coast
in the southwest, as well as over the Tarfaya
area south of the Draa river, where the sultan remained nominally the sovereign and was represented by a vice regent at Sidi Ifni
under the control of the Spanish high commission.
Private agreements among the United Kingdom
, Italy
and France
in 1904, made without consulting the sultan
, had divided the Maghreb
into spheres of influence
, with France given Morocco. In Morocco, the young sultan Abdelaziz
acceded in 1894 at the age of ten, and Europeans became the main advisors at the court, while local rulers became more and more independent from the sultan. The sultan was deposed in 1908. Moroccan law and order continued to deteriorate under his successor, Abdelhafid
, who abdicated
in favour of his brother Yusef
after signing the Treaty of Fez.
The two zones of the Spanish protectorate had few paved roads and were separated by the Bay of Al Hoceima
, which the Spanish called Alhucemas; the Treaty of Fez granted the concession for exploitation of the iron mines of Mount Uixan to the Spanish Rif Mines Company, which was also given permission to build a railroad to connect the mines with Melilla
.
The treaty was perceived as a betrayal by Moroccan nationalists and led to the War of the Rif
(1919–26) between the Spanish and the Moroccan Rif and the Jibala tribes, whose leader Abd el-Krim soon emerged and founded a short-lived nationalist Republic of the Rif
.
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, signed March 30, 1912, Sultan Abdelhafid
Abdelhafid of Morocco
Abdelhafid of Morocco was the Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alaouite Dynasty. His younger brother, Abdelaziz of Morocco, preceded him...
gave up the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, making the country a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
, resolving the Agadir Crisis
Agadir Crisis
The Agadir Crisis, also called the Second Moroccan Crisis, or the Panthersprung, was the international tension sparked by the deployment of the German gunboat Panther, to the Moroccan port of Agadir on July 1, 1911.-Background:...
of July 1, 1911.
Germany recognised French and Spanish territories in Morocco, receiving in return territories in the French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
n colony of Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
). This land, known as Neukamerun
Neukamerun
Neukamerun was the name of Central African territories ceded by France to Germany in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907, Theodor Seitz, governor of German Kamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from the French Congo...
, became part of the German colony of Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
, part of German West Africa, although they only lasted briefly until they were captured by the allies in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The area is partly marsh land where sleeping sickness is pervasive. Also as part of the treaty, Germany ceded France a small area of territory to the south-east of Fort Lamy, now part of Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, as shown on this map.
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
also gained some land from Northern Morocco which became Spanish Morocco
Spanish Morocco
The Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence.-Territorial borders:...
. By the agreement signed with France and Spain in November that year, Spain assumed a protectorate over Tangiers and the Rif
Rif
The Rif or Riff is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, with some fertile plains, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Melwiyya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Wergha in the south.It is part of the...
, Ifni
Ifni
Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.It had a total area of 1,502 km² , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing....
on the Atlantic coast
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in the southwest, as well as over the Tarfaya
Tarfaya
- References :CitationsBibliography* Didier Daurat, , France: Édition Dynamo, 1954....
area south of the Draa river, where the sultan remained nominally the sovereign and was represented by a vice regent at Sidi Ifni
Sidi Ifni
Sidi Ifni is a city located in southwest Morocco, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 20,000 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. It belongs to the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region and to the Sidi Ifni province. Its inhabitants are mainly Chleuhs from the Ait...
under the control of the Spanish high commission.
Private agreements among the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1904, made without consulting the sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, had divided the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
into spheres of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
, with France given Morocco. In Morocco, the young sultan Abdelaziz
Abdelaziz of Morocco
Abdelaziz of Morocco , also known as Mulai Abd al-Aziz IV, served as the Sultan of Morocco from 1894 at the age of sixteen until he was deposed in 1908. He succeeded his father Hassan I of Morocco...
acceded in 1894 at the age of ten, and Europeans became the main advisors at the court, while local rulers became more and more independent from the sultan. The sultan was deposed in 1908. Moroccan law and order continued to deteriorate under his successor, Abdelhafid
Abdelhafid of Morocco
Abdelhafid of Morocco was the Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alaouite Dynasty. His younger brother, Abdelaziz of Morocco, preceded him...
, who abdicated
Abdication
Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
in favour of his brother Yusef
Yusef of Morocco
Sultan Yusef ben Hassan ruled Morocco from 1912 until his death in 1927. Born in the city of Meknes to Sultan Hassan I, he inherited the throne from his brother, Sultan Abdelhafid, who abdicated after the Treaty of Fez , which made Morocco a French protectorate. He was a member of the Alaouite...
after signing the Treaty of Fez.
The two zones of the Spanish protectorate had few paved roads and were separated by the Bay of Al Hoceima
Al Hoceima
Al Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644 and is the capital of the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region...
, which the Spanish called Alhucemas; the Treaty of Fez granted the concession for exploitation of the iron mines of Mount Uixan to the Spanish Rif Mines Company, which was also given permission to build a railroad to connect the mines with Melilla
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
.
The treaty was perceived as a betrayal by Moroccan nationalists and led to the War of the Rif
Rif War (1920)
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...
(1919–26) between the Spanish and the Moroccan Rif and the Jibala tribes, whose leader Abd el-Krim soon emerged and founded a short-lived nationalist Republic of the Rif
Republic of the Rif
The Republic of the Rif , was created in September 1921, when the people of the Rif revolted and declared their independence from Spanish occupation as well as from the Moroccan sultan.Its capital city was Ajdir, its currency the Rif Republic Riffan, its national...
.