The Alaouite dynasty originates from
the Tafilalt Nobels. Descendants of the Imam Ali, they settled
with sovereignty in the region before they expanded their authority
all over the country in 1666. The founder of the dynasty and its
spiritual leader, Moulay Ali Cherif, as well as his successors
(mainly Mohamed Ben Ali Cherif, proclaimed first king in 1640)
intended to unify Morocco by applying a political and military
strategy.
The Protectorate
In 1909 Spain started its military conquest of
the Rif crescent, then two years later, the Moulay Hfid Sultan
requested the assistance of the French army in order to free Fez,
which was besieged by the belligerent tribes. After the French
penetration, the authority of the Sultan was reduced to accepting
a protectorate treaty signed on March 30th 1912. An influence
zone was given to the Spanish. The Sultan Moulay Hfid gave up
to his brother Moulay Youssef, a cultivated man that started his
reign by setting up a network of schools mainly in Rabat (the
Moulay Youssef high school) and Fez (Moulay Driss High school).
The same year witnessed the designation of General Lyautey to
the post of General Resident of Morocco. The latter made Rabat
a capital and - with the urbanist Leon Henri Prost - modernized
the cities of Morocco. In 1921 Abdelkrim El Khattabi led a rebellion
in the Rif zone against the European domination.
His majesty king Mohamed V
General Lyautey left in 1925 and France limited
the prerogatives of the central Cherifian power by gradually imposing
direct management. The resistance organized itself and was made
up of urban young elites. The Second World War was a truce between
the national opposition and France. During the war, His Majesty
King Mohamed Ben Youssef (Mohamed V) who was proclaimed sovereign
of the Cherifian kingdom in 1927, and therefore protector of all
his subjects, defended very fiercely the cause of the Moroccan
Jews against the Vichy regime. In 1944 the independence manifesto
was proclaimed; and three years later His Majesty King Mohamed
V made the Tangier speech in favor of independence. During the
following five years, negotiation with the French came to a deadlock
and in 1952 the crisis between the protectorate authority and
the nationalists led to much insurgence ; while the Sultan was
removed then exiled with the Royal Family in Madagascar in 1953.
However, the Indo-Chinese war, the Algerian war were waged in
1954 which pushed the French Government to look for a political
solution. The return of the sovereign from exile took place on
November 1955 and opened the path for independence that was recognized
in 1956 by the French then by the Spanish. From the first years
His Majesty King Mohamed V endowed the country with democratic
institutions and drafted the constitution sometime before his
death in 1961.
His majesty king Hassan II
After the death of the sovereign Mohamed V in
February 26th 1961, Moulay Hassan was proclaimed king on March
03rd of the same year. At the beginning of his reign, the sovereign
thought first about consolidating independence and unifying the
country then took the initiative of chasing away all the foreign
troops in 1962. With political and economic difficulties, the
outset of his reign shall witness a re-enhancement and reinforcement
of a centralized authority. In 1963, in the Saharian dunes, the
Moroccan troops opposed the Algerians. In 1965 the Agricultural
reform took place and then Sidi Ifni was returned to the country
in 1969.
At the international level, the late king Hassan
II dispatched in 1973 two military contingents one to the Golan
Heights in Syria, the other to the Sinai desert in Egypt in order
to support both countries in their efforts to resists the Israeli
hegemony. At the internal plane the Green March - which took place
in November 1975 in order to reintegrate the Saharian Provinces
to the Kingdom - mobilized all the Moroccan people behind the
king. This meant the end of occupation of the southern provinces
of the kingdom. The late king Hassan II was one of the greatest
heads of states in the world. Internationally, he was keen on
safeguarding the saint city of Al Qods (Jerusalem) against its
eventual conversion to Judaism. On the other hand, at the national
level, he was setting up the economic and social development instruments
of the country: the construction of tens of dams, the distribution
of land among destitute farmers in order to carry out a specific
agricultural reform.
While putting the first foundations of national
industry, the king installed plants and manufactures and linked
the main cities and villages with an important road network and
equipped the country with seaports and airports. As far as the
social as well as the educational, health and inhabitation sectors
are concerned, the king triggered the construction of small hospitals,
schools, institutes and universities. He also reduced rental fees
to one third for tenants with limited income. In order to set
up the foundations of democracy, the king constituted Communal,
Municipal and Rural Councils and ordered the election of parliament.
Under his reign, the administrative map of Morocco witnessed many
modifications towards the creation of new provinces with a vision
of proximity between the administration and the citizens. He also
gave his directives to take care of the rural world. He also ordered
the construction of mosques, the biggest of which is the mosque
of Hassan II in Casablanca which is an authentic treasury of the
Islamic architecture. He also set up the Ulama Councils and created
the academy of the kingdom. As from the 1990s, the monarchy evolved
towards democracy according to the national and international
contexts that was advocating this new approach to governance.
With the death of His Majesty King Hassan II, on July 23rd 1999,
a sovereign -who was born after the independence - took over to
lead the kingdom, namely his Majesty King Mohamed VI who was proclaimed
king on July 30th 1999.
