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Les Alaouites |
Moulay Ali Cherif consolidated power as the Sultan of Tafilalt and is considered to have been the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty. After the Saadite dynasty fell in 1659 the Alaouites began to take control of Morocco.
Moulay Ali Cherif's son, Al-Rashid of Morocco, was proclaimed Sultan of Morocco in Fez, October 22, 1664. Al-Rashid went on and secured Marrakesh September 7, 1668.
Morocco (1660-1912)
The Alaouites succeeded in stabilizing their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. The Alaouites also managed to acquire terriotory in their region over the course of several centuries: in 1684, they annexed Tangier; in 1769, they conquered El Jadida, taking it from Portugal; in 1895, they bought Cape Juby from the British Empire.
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledgling United States as an independent nation, in 1777. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty. Signed by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, it has been in continuous effect since 1783. The United States legation (consulate) in Tangier is the first property the American government ever owned abroad. The building now houses the Tangier American Legation Museum.
Despite the weakness of its authority, the Alaouite dynasty distinguished itself in the 18th and 19th centuries by maintaining Morocco’s independence while other states in the region succumbed to Turkish, French, or British domination. However, in the latter part of the 19th century Morocco’s weakness and instability invited European intervention to protect threatened investments and to demand economic concessions. The first years of the 20th century witnessed a rush of diplomatic maneuvering through which the European powers and France in particular furthered their interests in North Africa. Disputes over Moroccan sovereignty were links in the chain of events that led to World War I .
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