|
Tangier or Tangiers holds a population of about 700,000 (2008
census). It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance
to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the
Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel.
The history of Tangier is very rich due to the historical presence
of many civilizations and cultures starting from the 5th century BC.
|
 |
Between the period of being a Phoenician town to the independence era around
the 1950s, Tangier was a place ?and, sometimes a refuge? for many cultural
diversities. However, it wasn't until 1923 that Tangier was attributed an
international status by foreign colonial powers.
Nowadays, the city is undergoing rapid development and modernization.
Projects include new 5-star hotels along the bay, a modern business district
called Tangier City Center, a new airport terminal (already in use) and a
new soccer stadium. Tangier's economy is also benefiting greatly from the
new Tanger-med port.
The
modern Tanjah (Anglicized as Tangier) is an ancient Berber and Phoenician
town, founded by Carthaginian colonists in the early 5th century BC. Its
name is possibly derived from the Berber goddess Tinjis (or Tinga).
|
The commercial town of Tingis came under Roman rule in
the course of the 1st century BC, first as a free city and then, under
Augustus, a colony (Colonia Julia, under Claudius), capital of
Mauritania Tingitana . It was the scene of the martyrdoms of Saint
Marcellus of Tangier. In the 5th century AD, Vandals conquered and
occupied "Tingi" and from here
swept across North Africa. |
 |
A
century later (between 534 and 682), Tangier became part of the
Byzantine empire, before coming under Arab (Umayyad) control in 702. Due to
its Christian past it is still a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
Tangier was ruled by Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisids, Fatimids,
Caliphate of Cordoba, Maghrawa Emirate, Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and
Kingdom of Fez before Portuguese conquest. When the Portuguese started their
expansion in Morocco, Tangiers was always a primary goal. They failed to
capture the city in 1437 but finally occupied it in 1471. The Portuguese
rule (including Spanish rule between 1580-1640) lasted until 1661, when it
was given to Charles II of England as part of the dowry from the Portuguese
Infanta Catherine of Braganza. The English gave the city a garrison and a
charter which made it equal to English towns. The English planned to improve
the harbour by building a mole. With an improved harbour the town would have
played the same role that Gibraltar later played in British naval strategy.
|
In 1679, Sultan Moulay Ismail of Morocco made an unsuccessful
attempt to seize the town but imposed a crippling blockade which
ultimately forced the English to withdraw. The
English destroyed the town and its port facilities
prior to their departure in 1684. Under Moulay Ismail the city was
reconstructed to some extent. |
 |
The
United States dedicated its first consulate
in Tangier during the George Washington administration. In 1821, the
Legation Building in Tangier became the first piece of property acquired
abroad by the U.S. government?a gift to the U.S. from Sultan Moulay Suliman.
It was bombarded by the French Prince de Joinville in 1844.
Garibaldi
lived in exile at Tangier in late 1849 and the first half of 1850, following
the fall of the revolutionary Roman Republic.
|
Tangier's geographic location made it a centre for European
diplomatic and commercial rivalry in Morocco in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. By the opening of the 20th century it had a
population of about 40,000, including 20,000 Muslims (with Berbers
predominating over Arabs), 10,000 Jews, and 9,000
Europeans |
 |
(of whom 7,500
were Spanish). The city was increasingly coming under French influence, and it
was here in 1905 that Kaiser Wilhelm II triggered an international crisis that
almost led to war between his country and France by pronouncing himself in favour
of Morocco's continued independence.
In
1912, Morocco was effectively partitioned between France and
Spain, the latter occupying the country's far north (called Spanish Morocco)
and a part of Moroccan territory in the south, while France declared a
protectorate over the remainder. The last Sultan of independent Morocco,
Moulay Hafid, was exiled to the Sultanate Palace in the Tangier Kasbah after
his forced abdication in favour of his brother Moulay Yusef. Tangier was
made an international zone in 1923 under the joint administration of France,
Spain, and Britain, joined by Italy, Portugal and Belgium in 1928. After a
period of effective Spanish control from 1940 to 1945 during World War II,
Tangier was reunited with the rest of Morocco following the restoration of
full sovereignty in 1956.
|
The multicultural placement
of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities and the foreign
immigrants attracted writers like Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs,
Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, Brion Gysin and the music group
the Rolling Stones, who all lived in or visited Tangier during
different periods of the 20th century. |
 |
It was after
Delacroix that Tangier became an obligatory stop for artists seeking to
experience the colors and light he spoke of for themselves - with varying
results. Matisse made several sojourns in Tangier, always staying at the
Hotel Villa de France. "I have found landscapes in Morocco," he claimed, "exactly
as they are described in Delacroix's paintings." The Californian artist
Richard Diebenkorn was directly influenced by the haunting colors and
rhythmic patterns of Matisse?s Morocco paintings.
In
the 1940s and until 1956 when the city was an International Zone, the
city served as a playground for eccentric millionaires, a meeting place for
secret agents and all kinds of crooks, and a mecca for speculators and
gamblers, an Eldorado for the fun-loving "Haute Vol?". During World War II
the Office of Strategic Services operated out of Tangier for various
operations in North Africa.
Around the same time, a circle of
writers emerged which was to have a profound and lasting literary influence.
This included Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and Jean Genet as well as
Mohamed Choukri (one of North Africa's most controversial and widely read
authors), Abdeslam Boulaich, Larbi Layachi, Mohammed Mrabet and Ahmed
Yacoubi. Among the best known works from this period is Choukri's For Bread
Alone. Originally written in Classical Arabic, the English edition was the
result of close collaboration with Bowles (who worked with Choukri to
provide the translation and supplied the introduction). Tennessee Williams
described it as 'a true document of human desperation, shattering in its
impact.' Independently, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch was written in
Tangier and the book's locale of Interzone is an allusion to the city.
After several years' gradual
disentanglement from Spanish and French colonial control, Morocco reintegrated
the city of Tangier at the signing of the Tangier Protocol on
October 29, 1956. Tangier remains a
very popular tourist destination for cruise ships and day visitors from
Spain and Gibraltar.
ECONOMY :
Tangier is Morocco's second most
important industrial center after Casablanca. The industrial sectors are
diversified: textile, chemical, mechanical and metallurgical. Currently, the
city has four industrial parks of which two have the status of free economic
zone (see Tangier Free Zone).
Tangier's economy relies heavily on
tourism. Seaside resorts have been increasing with projects funded by
foreign and local investments. Real estate and construction companies have
been investing heavily in tourist infrastructures. A bay delimiting the city
center extends for more than seven kilometers. The coming years will be
particularly important for the city because of the completion of large
construction projects currently being built. These include the
Tangier-Mediterranean port (already operating) and its industrial parks, a
45,000-seat sports stadium, an expanded business district, and a renovated
tourist infrastructure.
Agriculture in the area of Tangier is
tertiary and mainly cereal.
The infrastructure of this city of the
strait of Gibraltar consists of a port that manages flows of goods and
travellers (more than one million travelers per annum) and integrates a
marina with a fishing port. It also consists of an International airport,
Ibn Batouta.
Artisanal trade in the old medina (old
city) specializes mainly in leather working, handicrafts made from wood and
silver, traditional clothing, and shoes of Moroccan origin.
The city has seen a fast pace of rural
exodus from other small cities and villages. The population has quadrupled
during the last 25 years.
