Revolution of the King and the People

Part of a series on the
History of Morocco
show Prehistoric Acheulean Mousterian Aterian Iberomaurusian Capsian
show Classical to Late Antiquity (8th century BC – 7th century AD) Phoenician Carthaginian Roman Mauretania Mauretania Tingitana
show Early Islamic (8th–10th century AD) Muslim conquest Umayyad Caliphate Berber Revolt Emirate of Nekor Emirate of Sijilmasa Barghwata confederacy Idrisid dynasty
show Territorial fragmentation (10th–11th century AD) Caliphate of Córdoba Fatimid Caliphate Ifranids Miknasas Maghrawas
show Empire (beginning 11th century AD) Almoravids Almohads Marinids Wattasids Saadis Alaouites
show Decline (beginning 19th century AD) Franco-Moroccan War Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856 Hispano-Moroccan War Treaty of Wad Ras Treaty of Madrid Tangier Crisis Treaty of Algeciras Agadir Crisis Hafidiya Bombardment of Casablanca (1907) French conquest of Morocco
show Protectorate (1912–56) Treaty of Fez French protectorate Spanish protectorate French Conquest Rif War Tangier Protocol International Zone Opposition to European control Revolution of the King and the People
show Modern (Since 1956) Ifni War Sand War Coup d'état attempt in 1971 / in 1972 Years of lead Madrid Accords Green March Western Sahara conflict 2011–12 protests Hirak Rif Movement
show Related topics Morocco in the 1970s 1990s 2000s 2010s History by topic Economic Military Postal Imperial cities
Morocco portal
v t

The Revolution of the King and the People (Arabic: ثورة الملك والشعب‎) was a Moroccan anti-colonial national liberation movement to end the French Protectorate and break free from the French colonial empire.^[1][2][3] The name refers to coordination between the Moroccan monarch Sultan Muhammad V and the popular  [ar] in efforts against colonialism and toward independence, particularly after the French authorities forced Sultan Muhammad V into exile on August 20, 1953—Eid al-Adha.^[2] August 20 is observed as a national holiday in Morocco in remembrance of the Revolution of the King and the People.^[2]

Context[]

Following the French Bombardment of Casablanca and French conquest of Morocco, the Treaty of Fes of 1912 officially made Morocco a protectorate of France.^[3] Though anti-colonial action occurred throughout the period of the French Protectorate over Morocco, manifesting itself in activity such as the Rif War, organizing in response to the Berber Dahir of 1930, and the establishment of the  [ar] in 1933, anti-colonial activity increased after the Allies held the Anfa Conference in Casablanca January 1943, with tacit encouragement for Moroccan independence from US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.^[3] The Istiqlal Party was created December 1943, and it issued the Proclamation of Independence of Morocco January 11, 1944.^[3]

History[]

Tangier Speech[]

After French authorities failed in their attempt to disrupt his journey with the Massacre of April 7, 1947, Sultan Muhammad V spoke out demanding Morocco's independence for the first time in a historic and symbolic trip to the Tangier International Zone, where he delivered the Tangier Speech of April 9, 1947.^[3][4] In the words of the historian :

The shy and retiring Muhammad V rose up like a lion to meet his historical destiny. In an electric speech pronounced at Tangier on April 9, 1947, the sultan – who had never before uttered a word that might suggest he would deviate from Protectorate policy – praised the march toward Moroccan “unity” and affirmed his belief in the country’s 'Arabo-Islamic' destiny, publicly carving out a wide space between himself and the Residency. Carefully modulating his language, the sultan now joined the duel between the Istiqlal and the Protectorate regime, turning it into a three-sided altercation. The popularity of the sultan and his family soared, as “monarchy fever” seized the Moroccan people and Muhammad V became the adored symbol of the nation. His portrait appeared everywhere, in the smallest shops of the madina to the place of honor inside the private home.^[3]

Mounting pressure[]

The assassination of the Tunisian labor unionist Farhat Hached by La Main Rouge—the clandestine militant wing of French foreign intelligence—sparked protests in cities around the world and riots in Casablanca, especially in the bidonville Carrières Centrales (now Hay Mohammadi),^[5] from 7–8 December 1952.^[6] Approximately 100 people were killed.^[7]

Exile of Sultan Muhammad V[]

On August 20, 1953—Eid al-Adha—Amir al-Mu'minin ("Commander of the Faithful") Sultan Muhammad V was deposed and exiled—first to Corsica, then to Madagascar.^[3][8]

Armed resistance[]

After the sultan's exile, popular resistance became more aggressive. On September 11, 1953,  [fr] attempted to assassinate Mohammed Ben Aarafa, the puppet monarch imposed by the French.^[2][3] On December 24, 1953—Christmas Eve—the Moroccan nationalist Muhammad Zarqtuni bombed Casablanca's Central Market, frequented by the European colonists.^[9]

Anti-colonial resistance was not exclusive to the bourgeois Istiqlal Party or the urban clandestine cells of the  [ar]; in 1955, Amazigh resistance fighters orchestrated an attack on Europeans living in Oued Zem and Khuribga.^[3][10] France responded with airplanes, tanks, and ground troops, bringing some from French Indochina.^[3] Following the example of Algeria's National Liberation Front (FLN), the Moroccan Nationalist Movement created a paramilitary force—Jish Etteḥrir (جيش التحرير), the Moroccan Army of Liberation—led by Abbas Messaadi in the north of Morocco October 1955.^[2][3][11]

Independence[]

Under pressure and having lost control of the country, the French authorities removed Ben Arafa and were forced to negotiate with exiled Sultan Muhammad V.^[3] The negotiations at the Conference of Aix-les-Bains with "representatives of Moroccan public opinion" took place August 22, 1955, but these were largely ineffective.^[3] Further negotiations took place in Antsirabe in September. In October, a plan was made including a temporary "Throne Council" of loyalists to France, such as Muhammad al-Muqri, but this idea was rejected right away by the Istiqlal Party and general opinion in the Moroccan streets.^[3]

From Paris, Muhammad V addressed Morocco, promising reforms to bring the country toward "a democratic state based on a constitutional monarchy." Muslims gathered in the mosques the following Friday to hear Muhammad V's Friday sermon, while national council of Moroccan rabbis met in Rabat and issued a declaration of joy.^[3]

On November 16, 1955, Muhammad V arrived in Morocco and announced end of the French Protectorate in Morocco, announcing the end of the "minor jihad" (الجهاد الأصغر) of securing independence and the beginning of the "major jihad" (الجهاد الأكبر) of collectively building the new Morocco.^[3][12] Negotiations between France and Morocco continued in February and March of 1956, with the former suggesting that Morocco become "an independent state united with France by permanent ties of interdependency" while the latter pushed for a complete annulment of the Treaty of Fes of 1912.^[3] The Franco-Moroccan Declaration of Independence was signed March 2, 1956, although about 100,000 French troops remained on Moroccan land at the time.^[3]

Spain signed an agreement with Morocco April 1956 to leave the northern zone, but it did not withdraw its forces from Tarfaya and Sidi Ifni in the Sahara for another 20 years, while Ceuta and Melilla remain in Spanish hands to this day.^[3]

On October 8, 1956, an international conference in Fedala was convened to handle the restitution of Tangier.^[3]

References[]