The history of Morocco is one of the most mysterious, the first mention of people who lived in the modern territory of this country dates back to the Paleolithic era. The very first state appeared here in the VIII century AD and since then these lands are one of the most densely populated in Africa. A warm climate, a developed level of service and the friendly attitude of local residents are one of the main reasons why thousands of tourists come here every year.
What is remarkable about the country?
The Russians, who too often rested in Turkey and Egypt, are already pretty tired of their usual vacation spots and began to look for more interesting options that do not require additional paperwork. Morocco has not left such an impressive mark in history as its neighbors, but there is definitely something to see. In fact, the country is a mini-island of European culture on the African continent, similar resorts and types of entertainment are presented here, there is a large selection of excursions and comfortable safe conditions for relaxation.
A mild subtropical climate, in which summer air temperature fluctuates around 25-26 degrees Celsius, and winter - 10-12 degrees above zero, also contributes to an increase in tourist flow in Morocco. In addition, a large number of national holidays are held here with noise and scope, where you can have a good time, make new acquaintances, try unusual dishes and new activities.
Many tourists visit Morocco in order to get acquainted with local attractions - palaces in Marrakesh, the Hassan II mosque, and even visit the famous Sahara. The prices here are quite reasonable, so anyone can afford a trip to this country, which also makes it one of the most popular among Russians.
History of the name of the state
One way or another, Russians have at least once heard of a Moroccan city called Marrakesh, and representatives of domestic and foreign pop singed it repeatedly in their songs. However, few people have an idea that the history of the name and foundation of Morocco as a state is closely connected with this locality. This name is a distorted word “Marrakech”, which came here from the Spanish immigrants. In the language of Urdu and Persian, this country is still called. Representatives of the Arab countries prefer to use the name El Maghrib to denote this state.
Scientists still have fierce debates about where the word “Marrakech” came from and, as a result, “Morocco”. Some linguists claim that it came from the Berber phrase "Land of the Gods", which is pronounced as "Mur Akush" (Mur Akush). An alternative version says that the name should be translated as “the state of the sons of Kush”. There is a third variant of the origin of the name - according to some researchers, the root mur in this word is similar to that used in the word “Mauritania” and means a black person. Linguists still adhere to the first two versions, calling the third insolvent.
In the history of the name of Morocco and the city of Marrakech, a special role was played by the constant competition of the latter with a settlement called Fes. Two cities competed with each other for the right to be called the capital of the state. Tracking the historical process, we can conclude that both of them lost, because now the main city in the country is Rabat, which received this status in 1956.
Ancient history of the country
It is impossible to briefly tell the history of Morocco, because the territory on which it is located began to be inhabited by people in the Paleolithic era. It should be noted that in ancient times the climatic conditions here were much more pleasant for the development of mankind than now. Carthage at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC e. conquered all the surrounding territories, and Morocco, whose population declined significantly in aggressive times, also got it.
It was from this moment that the history of slavery in Morocco also began, in 429 BC, the territory of the state passed into the hands of vandals, and after 100 years of turmoil and constant unrest, it was included in the Byzantine Empire. In these cruel times, people were treated worse than animals - they killed, sold into slavery, mutilated and did everything possible to completely destroy the indigenous population.
How was African land developed?
The history of the development and settlement of the territory of Morocco underwent several stages. The first of them concerned the prehistoric era, cruel and merciless, when the territory of the country repeatedly passed from hand to hand with the population. The second colonization occurred in the 15th century, then the Portuguese and the Spaniards decided to explore the African lands. For the first, the landing in Morocco was a debut, in historical documents they indicated that they controlled a very limited number of local residents with the help of their own leaders.
Later studies prove that in the history of the development and settlement of the territory of Morocco, much was embellished. The colonialists were driven by standard motives: the thirst for profit, which became possible only through the oppression of the peoples where they invaded. At the same time, this state had something else that the Spaniards and Portuguese could not pass by — a very convenient location. Morocco could be seen as a base from which the colonialists would gradually begin an aggressive operation against all the peoples of Africa.
Another fact that significantly influenced the colonization of Morocco is the presence of a huge number of commercial ports. By the beginning of the XV century, they were large transport hubs, often visited by sailors and merchants from various countries. For several centuries, the Portuguese bought food, pets, textiles and other household items here, and they came up with the idea that it would be cheaper to capture a small state than to constantly pay its inhabitants.
From the Spanish and Portuguese documents dating back to that era, we can conclude that there are still many white spots in the history of the development and settlement of Morocco. Both those and others considered the country as part of a large empire, which was supposed to be located on the shores of the Indian and Atlantic oceans. How exactly the invaders planned to organize their own settlements here, where all the locals and their crafts would go, what they wanted to do with large agricultural lands - there are no answers to all these questions.
Despite the fact that the history of the foundation and settlement of the territory of Morocco seems frankly brutal and bloody, researchers see a lot of advantages for both sides. In their opinion, the main one is a mixture of cultures, which led to the emergence of new industries, the growth of trade and the gradual formation of their own culture - eastern with the original western flavor
The Troubles of the Middle Ages
Since local residents had to defend themselves from the colonialists until the 20th century, the history of Morocco is often described in books as an ongoing process of war and strife. The XVI-XVII centuries is usually called gold for the state, it was then that it experienced a tremendous rise and reached the maximum possible power on the continent. Moroccan troops captured the empire of Songai, the largest supplier of gold and salt in the region, and thereby made all other states in the neighborhood dependent on them for several decades.
In the sixteenth century, the rulers of Morocco were able to recover most of the land seized by the colonialists through bloody wars. At the same time, the borders of the state moved significantly south and west; in the future it turned out that this would not be for long. At the beginning of the XVII century, internal wars and conflicts began inside the state, which significantly weakened its position in the international arena. The country was often attacked, especially in the border areas, which negatively affected the ruling Saadite dynasty.
After another conspiracy, the first noble family of rulers was overthrown and the Alid dynasty ascended the throne, which remains there until now. One of its representatives, Mulei Islam, is considered a symbol of despotism in Morocco, in the history of the country there was no more cruel and bloodthirsty ruler than he. His successors constantly waged war over the throne, which further weakened the already tormented and poor state. A relative order was achieved only at the beginning of the 19th century, when Mulei-Suleiman came to power, interested in introducing European culture in the country.
Historians argue that Morocco was a real pirate state in the 17th-19th centuries, since in most settlements the actual power was seamen robbing passing ships. In parallel with this, the country's diplomatic policy has always been at its best, in particular, it was the first to recognize US independence at the end of the 18th century.
Morocco in the 19th century
Spain in 1860 during a military clash managed to take away part of the land of Morocco, after which it began to share the whole country with France and Britain. It is worth noting that France captured most of West Africa, but as a result remained dissatisfied and planned to continue its expansion, but this caused a serious protest in Germany. In 1905, representatives of the latter began their own anti-French campaign in Morocco. The long conflict almost turned into an open military confrontation between the two European powers; it was hardly possible to resolve it by convening a conference to consider the draft reforms in this state.
As a result, there were a lot more questions than answers. It is not clear how it was necessary to reorganize the local police, build the first financial structures, and also divide the existing ports. Germany proposed reforming the police in Morocco in such a way that all interested states participate in it; France responded with a categorical refusal, which caused a new round of disputes and conflicts.
If you look at the history of the state of Morocco in chronological order, you can see that it was constantly at the stage of redistribution between larger countries or dynasties. At the beginning of the 20th century, most of it was taken over by France, and the influence of Europeans was so strong that during the First World War, Moroccans actively drafted into her army and died for her.
XX century - century of changes
In the mid-1950s, anti-French sentiment began in the country, and after several years of confrontation between the current government and the opposition, France was forced to recognize Morocco's independence from it. In 1956, Spanish Morocco also became an independent state, having withdrawn from Spain, however, some of the settlements are still legally subordinate to the European state.
The history of Morocco in the 20th century is a typical example of the active growth of a third world country, before which all the doors suddenly burst open. In just a couple of decades, the state became part of the WHO, UN, IMF and a number of other major organizations. In mid-1984, the country's authorities decided to withdraw from the African Union due to the adoption of Western Sahara, to which Morocco had territorial claims. The conflict lasted more than 30 years, after which the state returned to this organization again.
For several decades, Morocco has been considered an active ally of France and the United States among African countries, the state supports all proposals coming from more developed economies. Active trade with the United States and the European Union, built in a few years, allows the country to maintain a fairly high standard of living for its citizens.
The history of the oil PDF in Morocco also deserves attention - not so long ago, minerals were found in the state, as a result of which the financial attractiveness of the country for investors has grown significantly. Now geological research is being actively conducted here, not so long ago, constant oil production at local wells has begun. In parallel with the use of minerals, the country's authorities are developing alternative energy sources that do not require fuel.
Morocco in the 21st century
It is impossible to tell the history of Morocco briefly, even today this country continues to actively develop and amaze its neighbors. The government is actively developing the tourism sector, and every year the number of visitors coming here is increasing. In parallel with this, special attention is paid to the social sphere - in 2011, a series of demonstrations were held here, designed to limit the powers of the current monarch, as well as solve problems associated with the integration of the youth generation in society.
Despite all the upheavals that have shaken Morocco for many centuries, there are many examples in the country's history that its representatives are always ready for active cooperation with other states. Intercultural relations are still in their infancy, the country has several twin cities with the United States, Egypt and Kazakhstan.
From an economic point of view, Morocco should be classified as a third world country due to high unemployment and too rapid population growth. The government is taking a number of measures aimed at stimulating economic growth - it is developing the tourism industry and agriculture, with their help the country can significantly reduce the level of imports and increase sales of its own goods to other states.
Rabat - the main city of the country
As of 2019, the capital of the state is Rabat, the translation of which means “fortified monastery”. In the vast history of Morocco, the city began to play a significant role in the XII century, when Marrakech lost the status of the main settlement of the country. After several decades, with the change of power, the entire economic power of the city, together with the status of the capital, moved to Fes, where it existed until 1912.
By the beginning of the 16th century, Rabat was a very small city with about 300 inhabitants. A century later, the Moriski came here - crypto Muslims expelled from Spain by King Philip III, thanks to them, the city was significantly transformed, and also regained economic and political strength. In the XVII century, the city became part of the Bu-Regret Republic, ruled by Berber pirates. For several decades, the Alawite dynasty tried to subjugate it, but in the end, the republic existed until 1818.
The Berber revolts became one of the main reasons why the capital was transferred to Rabat from Fez. There have already been enough examples in the history of Morocco when pirates rebelled and staged a coup, the authorities did not want to repeat this. Since 1913, the city began to develop actively, it received a special status in 1956 after the recognition of Morocco as an independent state.
Future morocco
Now the state, which has been subordinated to more developed countries for centuries, is just coming to its senses and opens up new horizons. More and more athletes from this country declare themselves at international competitions, not so long ago local music and theater competitions began to take place here. The USA and France have a special influence here, who willingly share their inventions and developments in various fields of life.
The history of Morocco continues, while the state has great prospects from an economic point of view. The government seeks not only to use the available natural resources, but is also preparing for their shortage, using modern power sources. In parallel with this, an increasing number of farms are being built, where anyone can try their hand as an agronomist and help their country produce the required amount of agricultural products. As for private enterprise, it is not very developed here due to the existing bureaucratic difficulties and poor support from state bodies.
Of course, there are also difficulties that the government has to solve - the criminal situation in some parts of the country, the underdeveloped social sphere, too many emigrants traveling to more prosperous states. Despite all this, the government is optimistic about the future, and the flow of tourists, which is increasing annually here, suggests that one can have a good rest here.