The history of Morocco is one of the most mysterious, the first mention of people living in the modern territory of this country dates back to the Paleolithic. The first state appeared here in the 8th century AD and since then these lands have been one of the most densely populated in Africa. The warm climate, the developed level of service and the friendly attitude of the locals are one of the main reasons why thousands of tourists come here every year.
What makes the country special?
Russians, who vacationed too often in Turkey and Egypt, are already pretty tired of the usual vacation spots and began to look for more interesting options that do not require additional paperwork. In the history of Morocco, it has not left such an impressive mark as its neighbors, but there is definitely something to see here. In fact, the country is a mini-island of European culture on the African continent, heresimilar resorts and entertainment are presented, there is a large selection of excursions and comfortable, safe conditions for recreation.
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 the tourist flow to 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 friends, try unusual dishes and new activities.
Many tourists visit Morocco in order to get acquainted with local attractions - palaces in Marrakech, Hassan II Mosque, and even visit the famous Sahara. The prices here are quite reasonable, so anyone can afford to travel 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, the Russians at least once heard about the Moroccan city called Marrakech, it was repeatedly sung in their songs by representatives of domestic and foreign pop music. However, few people have an idea that the history of the name and foundation of Morocco as a state is closely connected with this settlement. This name is a distorted word "Marrakesh", which came here from the Spanish settlers. In Urdu and Persian, this country is still called that. Representatives of the Arab countries prefer to use the name El Maghreb to refer to this state.
Scientists are still fiercely arguing about where the word “Marrakesh” and, as a result, “Morocco” came from. Some linguists claim that it comes 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 version 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 denotes a black person. Linguists still adhere to the first two versions, calling the third untenable.
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 settled by people back in the Paleolithic times. 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 went to Morocco, whose population was significantly reduced during the aggressive times.
It was from this moment that the history of slavery also began inMorocco, in 429 BC, the territory of the state passed into the hands of the Vandals, and after 100 years of confusion and constant unrest, it was included in the Byzantine Empire. In these cruel times, people were treated worse than animals - they were killed, sold into slavery, maimed and did everything possible to completely destroy the indigenous population.
How was African soil developed?
The history of the development and settlement of the territory of Morocco has undergone 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 along with the population. The second colonization took place in the 15th century, when the Portuguese and Spaniards decided to develop African lands. For the first, the landing in Morocco was a debut, in historical documents they indicated that they ruled a very limited number of local residents with the help of their own leaders.
Later research proves that a lot of things have been embellished in the history of the development and settlement of the territory of Morocco. The colonizers were motivated by standard motives: the lust for profit, which was made possible only by the oppression of the peoples 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 considered as a base from which the colonialists would gradually launch an aggressive operation against all the peoples of Africa.
Another fact that significantly influenced the colonization of Morocco - the presencea huge number of trading ports. By the beginning of the 15th century, they were major transport hubs, often visited by sailors and merchants from various countries. The Portuguese have been buying food, pets, fabrics and other household items here for several centuries, 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 relating to that era, we can conclude that there are still a lot of 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 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 founding and settlement of the territory of Morocco seems frankly cruel and bloody, researchers see a lot of advantages for both sides here. In their opinion, the main one is the mixing of cultures, which led to the emergence of new industries, the growth of trade and the gradual formation of their own culture - oriental with original western flavor
The Troubled Middle Ages
Since the locals had to defend themselves from the colonialists until the 20th century, the history of Morocco is often described in books as a constant process of wars and civil strife. XVI-XVII centuries are usually called golden for the state, namelythen it experienced a colossal rise and reached the maximum possible power on the continent. The Moroccan troops captured the Songhai Empire, the largest supplier of gold and s alt in the region, and thus made all other states in the neighborhood dependent for several decades.
In the 16th century, the rulers of Morocco managed to return most of the lands seized by the colonialists through bloody wars. At the same time, the borders of the state significantly moved to the south and west, in the future it turned out that this was not for long. At the beginning of the 17th century, internal wars and conflicts began within the state, which significantly weakened its position in the international arena. The country began to be attacked frequently, especially in the border areas, which negatively affected the ruling Saadian dynasty.
After another conspiracy, the first noble family of rulers was overthrown and the Alid dynasty ascended the throne, which remains there to this day. One of its representatives, Muley-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 wars over the throne, which further weakened the already exhausted and poor state. Relative order was achieved only at the beginning of the 19th century, when Muley-Suleiman came to power, interested in introducing European culture to the country.
Historians say that in the XVII - XIX centuries Morocco was a real piratethe state, since in most settlements the sailors who rob passing ships were the actual power. In parallel with this, the country's diplomatic policy has always been at its best, in particular, it was the first to recognize the independence of the United States 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 lands of Morocco, after which it began to divide 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 launched 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 extinguished by convening a conference to consider the draft reforms in this state.
As a result, there are many 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 to reform the police in Morocco in such a way that all interested states would participate in it, France responded with a categorical refusal, which caused a new round of disputes and conflicts.
If we consider the history of the state of Morocco in chronological order, we can see that it was constantly at the stageredistribution between larger countries or dynasties. At the beginning of the 20th century, most of it fell under the jurisdiction of France, and the influence of Europeans was so strong that during the First World War, Moroccans were actively drafted into its army and died for it.
XX century - a century of change
In the mid-1950s, anti-French sentiments 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, separating 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, in front of which all the doors suddenly opened wide. In just a couple of decades, the state became a member of the WHO, the UN, the IMF and a number of other important organizations. In mid-1984, the country's authorities decided to withdraw from the African Union due to the admission of Western Sahara, to which Morocco had territorial claims. The conflict lasted for 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 US and the EU, built in a matter of years, allows the country to maintaina sufficiently high standard of living for its citizens.
The history of 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 increased significantly. Now geological research is being actively conducted here, and not so long ago, constant oil production began at local wells. 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 story of Morocco briefly, this country continues to actively develop and surprise its neighbors even today. The government is actively developing the tourism sector, and every year the number of guests 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 ties here are still in their infancy, the country has several sister 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 - developing the tourism industry and agriculture, with the help of which the country can significantly reduce the level of imports and increase sales of its own goods to other states.
Rabat is the main city of the country
As of 2019, the capital of the state is Rabat, whose name means “fortified monastery” in translation. In the vast history of Morocco, the city began to play a significant role in the XII century, when Marrakesh lost its status as the main settlement of the country. A few decades later, with the change of power, the entire economic power of the city, along 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 people. A century later, Moriscos 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 17th century, the city became part of the Bu-Regret Republic, ruled by Barbary pirates. For several decades, the Alaouite dynasty tried to subjugate it, but in the end the republic existed until 1818.
The Berber uprisings were one of the main reasons why the capital was moved to Rabat from Fez. In the history of Morocco, there were already enough examples when pirates rebelled and staged a coup d'état, the authorities did not want to repeat this. WithIn 1913, the city began to develop actively, it received a special status in 1956 after the recognition of Morocco as an independent state.
The Future of Morocco
Now the state, which was subordinate to more developed countries for centuries, is just coming to its senses and opening up more and more 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 be held here. The United States and France have a special influence here, they willingly share their inventions and developments in various areas 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 already preparing for their shortage, using modern food 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 necessary amount of agricultural products. As for private entrepreneurship, it is not yet very developed here due to existing bureaucratic difficulties and weak support from state bodies.
Of course, there are also difficulties that the government has to solve - the criminogenic situation in some parts of the country, the underdevelopment of the social sphere, too many emigrants leaving for more prosperous states. Despite all this, the government is optimistic about the future, and the flow of tourists, which is increasing every year, suggests that you can have a good rest here.
