History of Casablanca

Casablanca played an important role in African history as soon as itbegan to develop at the beginning of the 20th century, especially since the 1920's. Numerous quarries where opened and several major archaeological finds occurred until the sixties, including discovery of human remains (Lecointre, 1926; Neuville et Ruhlmann, 1941; Biberson, 1956, 1961; Ennouchi, 1969, 1972). This heritage is unfortunately quickly disappearing under the modern city and archaeologists have to race with builders to protect and excavate the sites (Raynal et Geraads, 1993; Raynal, 1998; Sbihi-Alaoui et Mohib, 1998).

Casablanca's street plan is based on that of a French architect named Henri Prost, who placed the center of the city where the main market of Anfa had been. From this point all main streets radiate to the east and to the south. More city plans were developed in 1946, and later in 1984.

Before the French Protectorate

The area which is today Casablanca was settled by Berbers by about the 10th century BC. [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Casablanca.html "Casablanca"] - Jewish Virtual Library] It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. [http://www.lexicorient.com/e.o/casablanca.htm LexicOrient] ] A small independent kingdom, in the area then named Anfa, arose in the area around that time in response to Arab Muslim rule, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068.

During 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port of exportiong to as far as Genoa, Italy. In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and privateers, leading to it being targeted by the Portuguese, who destroyed the town in 1468.

The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515. The town that grew up around it was called "Casabranca", meaning "White House" in Portuguese. They eventually abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an earthquake which destroyed most of the town.

The town was finally reconstructed by sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (1756-1790), the grandson of Moulay Ismail and ally of George Washington. The town was called Dar el Beida (white house) in Arabic and Casa Blanca in Spanish, after the many companies that establish themselves here.

In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as Casablanca became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importing Morocco's now famous national drink, gunpowder tea). By the 1860s, there were around 5,000 residents, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s.Pennel, CR: "Morocco from Empire to Independence", Oneworld, Oxford, 2003, p 121] Casablanca remained a modestly-sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival of French colonialists in the town, at first administrators within a sovereign sultanate, in 1906. By 1921, this was to rise to 110,000, largely through the development of "bidonvilles"

French rule

In June 1907, the French attempted to build a light railway near the port and passing through a graveyard. Residents attacked the French workers, and riots ensued. French troops were landed in order to restore order, which was achieved only after severe damage to the town. The French then took control of Casablanca. This effectively began the process of colonialisation, although French control of Casablanca was not formalised until 1910.

The famous 1942 film "Casablanca" underlined the city's colonial status at the time -- depicting it as the scene of a power struggle between competing European powers, carried out without any reference to the local population, and with the film's vast cosmoplitan cast of characters (American, French, German, Czech and some other nationalities) including not a single Arab.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting. A terrorist bomb on Christmas Day of 1953 caused terrible casualties.Fact|date=February 2007

The Casablanca Conference

Casablanca was an important strategic port during World War II and hosted the Casablanca Conference in 1943, in which Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. Casablanca was the site of a large American air base, which was the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

ince independence

Morocco regained independence from France on the 2nd of March, 1956.

In 1930, Casablanca hosted a round of the Formula One world championship. The race was held at the new Anfa Racecourse. In 1958, the race was held at Ain-Diab circuit - "(see Moroccan Grand Prix)". In 1983, Casablanca hosted the Mediterranean Games.

The city is now developing a tourism industry. Casablanca has become the economic and business capital of Morocco, while Rabat is the political capital.

In March 2000, women's groups organised demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy and the introduction of divorce law (divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential on King Mohammed VI, and he enacted a new "Mudawana", or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.

On May 16, 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured when Casablanca was hit by a multiple suicide bomb attack carried out by Moroccans and claimed by some to have been linked to al-Qaeda.

A string of suicide bombings struck the city in early 2007. A suspected militant blew himself up at a Casablanca internet cafe on March 11, 2007. On April 10, three suicide bombers blew themselves up during a police raid of their safe house. [ [http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1260317,00.html Terror Cell: 'Police Hold Fifth Man'] April 12, 2007] Two days later, police set up barricades around the city and detained two more men who had escaped the raid. [ [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070412144633223C139447 Casablanca on alert after suicide bombings] April 12 2007] On April 14, two brothers blew themselves up in downtown Casablanca, one near the American Consulate, and one a few blocks away near the American Language Center. Only one person was injured aside from the bombers, but the Consulate was closed for more than a month. [ [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3044022 U.S. Shuts Morocco Consulate After Bomb] April 15, 2007]

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ee also

*Acheulean
*Mousterian
*Aterian
*Mesolithic

References

External links

Maghreb Arabe Presse: 500k-year human fossil remains found in Casablanca (05/26/2006)
* [http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/500k-year_human_foss/view]