Moroccan British Relations A Brief Survey

Mohamed Laamiri The Moroccan-British relationship developed by means of a long historical, political, cultural and economic process. Their longstanding relationship dates from times immemorial but most chroniclers and historians (1) agree to consider the da n of the 1!th century as the beginning of an officially recorded diplomatic contact bet een the t o countries. "or #ogers, the first official contact bet een $reat Britain and The %mpire of Morocco goes bac& to 1'1! hen (ing )ohn of %ngland dispatched an %mbassy to sultan Mohamed %nnassir, Morocco*s fourth +lmohad ruler (11,,-1'1!), as&ing for an alliance against "rance and support against his enemies ithin Britain ith the promise that he ould embrace -slam. The details of this embassy, according to #ogers, ere recorded by Mathe .aris and later published and &ept at /aint +lban +bbey.(') -t as the loosening of the grip of the .ortuguese on Morocco after their loss of /afi and +gadir in 1011 that brought about an end to their claimed monopoly on trade ith Morocco. + decade after this .ortuguese ithdra al, the %nglish ho sa in the geographical position of 2est Barbary a suitable opportunity for developing their commercial e3pansion began their regular trade, ith Morocco.(!) -t is difficult to date ith precision the first visits of British traders to Moroccan ports but voyages to the Barbary 4oast by %nglish vessels ere first recorded in 1001. #oger Barlo (1) 5visited +gadir hen it as still in .ortuguese hands, but it is not clear 6that he did any trade there78(0). -t is possible that some %nglish merchants had engaged in trade ith Morocco before the fifteen-fifties, but there seems to 5be no definite evidence of this.7(9) Most historians of British-Moroccan #elations rely on #ichard :ac&luyt8s Principal Navigations to date these first visits; 5<ne such trip had t o Moors as passengers on a ship called the Lion of London,(=) an instance recorded in the correspondence of #ichard :a&luyt. -ndependently of the e3act date of the first British vessel8s visit to a Moroccan port, it is evident that the 100>s &ne an increase of the number of %nglish ships visiting Moroccan ports. The many letters e3changed bet een ?ueen %li@abeth - of %ngland (100A-19>!) and +bd el-Mali& and after him +hmed +l Mansour +d-Bahbi (10=A-19>!) bear itness to the political and diplomatic lin&s bet een the t o countries and even give evidence of Moroccan involvement in inter-%uropean alliances and conflicts in coordination ith %ngland (A) . The 1=th and 1Ath centuries &ne an increasing interest in Barbary as a cultural subCect and as a commercial partner and a potential threat to %uropean maritime activities. 2ith the development of the British imperial proCects, Morocco became a recommended commercial, diplomatic, tourist and e3otic destination for many British citi@ens. -n addition to its attraction as a mar&et for %nglish cloth, Morocco as a potential provider of gold and sugar and mostly a handy supplier of provisions to $ibraltar.7(,) -n fact, it as the development and the security of British commercial interests in 2est Barbary that brought about the appointment of the first %nglish #esident 4onsul to Barbary (/allee), $iles .enn, in Becember !>th, 19'=. :e as authori@ed to *e3ecute that office by himself and his deputies in Morocco and "e@ during the &ing*s 1

pleasure8(1>). The nomination of Dathaniel Lu&e, the second 4onsul as approved by the 4ouncil of /tate in 190=. :e resided in Tetuan and his mission as to 5assist8 5our merchants8 at the ports of /alle, +rsilla, Tetuan, /afia, /anta 4ru@ (+gadir) on the coasts of +frica8(11) The first %nglish +mbassador to the court of Morocco, %dmund :ogan, as appointed in 10== (1'). 2hile the first Moroccan +mbassador to London, (aid )audar ben +bdallah, as sent by Mohamed %ch-4hei&h to (ing 4harles - ith a message of peace and friendship in 19!= (1!). -n 1991, the (ing of .ortugal gave Tangier to (ing 4harles -- of %ngland as part of a marriage do ry. <n ', )anuary 199', !>>> %nglish soldiers arrived in Tangier Bay under the %arl of .eterboroughE British-Moroccan relations lived a period of tensions during the %nglish occupation of Tangier from 199' to 19A1. 2hen Moulay -smail became /ultan, Tangier had been a British colony for 1> years and the MoroccanBritish relations ere already marred by the thorny Fuestion of British captives in Morocco. This period &ne a dynamic and sometimes tense diplomatic activity bet een the t o countries. Moroccan forces under Moulay -smail made life so difficult for the garrison that the %nglish decided to abandon Tangier in 19A1. (aid Mohamed ben :addu <ttur G%l-+ttarH, Moulay -smail8s famous emissary and Morocco8s second ambassador to %ngland arrived to London in Becember 19A1 and as received by (ing 4harles -- on 11 )anuary 19A'. Ben :addu impressed Londoners by his e3otic dress and his horsemanshipE this event as immortali@ed by a famous painting of the Moroccan +mbassador on his horse in :yde .ar& by /ir $odfrey (neller. Bespite these diplomatic e3changes, it is evident that for a long period the country remained a mystery for %ngland and hat as &no n about it as tainted by legend and fantasy. -n fact the first publication in a %uropean language fully devoted to Morocco as Leo +fricanus8 Description of Africa published in Latin in 10'9 and translated into %nglish in 19>> (11). -t too& many centuries for the t o countries to &no one another and to trust one another. British-Moroccan relations ere al ays vigorously dynamic and ere never characteri@ed by indifference or lac& of concern and as #ogers put it; 6the course of +nglo-Moroccan relations, li&e true love, never ran consistently smooth.7(10) 4ertainly there ere periods of tension but there ere much of the time long periods of mutual respect, friendship, alliances and cooperation. Britain has been a political and an economic partner for Morocco since the 19th 4entury and for the hole of the 1, th 4entury it as the first ally and partner of the country during a &ey period of its history. Bespite occasional disagreements and misunderstandings, mutual interests and alliances against their common enemies brought the t o countries to close cooperation and the signing of many peace and trade treaties. -n the 1,th 4entury, a remar&ably close British-Moroccan relationship developed under t o successive British 4onsuls-$eneral, %d ard Brummond-:ay (1A',-10) and his son /ir )ohn Brummond-:ay (1A10-A9). The strong political influence of British ambassadors on Moroccan foreign policy as ell established and the personality of )ohn Brummond :ay mar&ed Moroccan political life for almost half a century. Though the country as finally coloni@ed by the "rench, historians consider that until 1,>1 Morocco as part of the informal %mpire of $reat Britain.(19) <n his retirement in 1AA9, /ir )ohn Brummond-:ay rote that he ould never forget the &indness of Moroccans, and ent on to list a number of the /ultan*s officials hom he counted as personal friends. /ultan Moulay :assan replied that he regarded :ay as a sincere friend and said that his departure caused great sorro . '

Throughout the shared history bet een Morocco and Britain, many peace treaties ere signed and British ambassadors encouraged the Moroccan Ma&h@en to ma&e deep reforms to its old territory administration and trade policies especially by opening its frontiers to %uropean commercial e3change and by the moderni@ing of its governance methods. (+mbassadors (irby $reen and 4harles % an /mith or&ed hard to that effect.) +fter Brummond :ay8s departure, Morocco8s relations ith %ngland became entangled in the colonial rivalries bet een %uropean po ers. +s British colonial interests became largely concerned ith other parts of the orld, the vigour of Moroccan British relations subsided especially after the establishment of the "rench .rotectorate in 1,1'. :o ever, the e3istence of a significant %nglish community in Tangier and the British interests in the city ere so important that British diplomacy continued to play an influential role in the no , international administrative status of the city (1,'!-1,09). Buring the /econd 2orld 2ar Britain and the Inited /tates used their diplomatic influence to preserve Morocco8s ties ith the +llies and to prevent his falling under the control of +3is po ers. 2inston 4hurchill and .resident #oosevelt held an important ar conference ith (ing Mohamed J at 4asablanca in 1,1!. 5/ince Morocco*s independence in 1,09, British-Moroccan relations have once again gro n steadily in importance. :er MaCesty ?ueen %li@abeth -- visited Morocco in <ctober 1,A>, and :is late MaCesty (ing :assan -- paid a return visit to London in )uly 1,A=. :is #oyal :ighness .rince 4harles has visited Morocco on several occasions, most recently in 1,,,, to attend the funeral of the late (ing.8

Notes:
(1) .. $. #ogers, A History of Anglo-Moroccan Relations to 1900, London; "oreign and 4ommon ealth <ffice, n.d. G1,=(0)H, pp.1-0. (') /ee .. $. #ogers, A History of Anglo-Moroccan Relations to 1900, pp.1-0. #ogers made of this mission the subCect of the hole first chapter of his History and gave many details of the encounter bet een %nnassir and (ing )ohn8s t o envoys GThomas :ardington and Mathe "it@-DicholasH to the court of Morocco. (!) 2illan, T./. t!dies in "li#a$et%an &oreign 'rade, Manchester Iniversity .ress, Manchester, 1,0,, p.,'

(1) #oger Barlo , A $rief s!((e of geograp%ie, ed. %. $. #. Taylor, p. 1>>. (0) 2illan, p. ,! (9) 2illan op.cit. p. ,!

(=) :a&luyt, #ichard, '%e Principal Navigations, )oyages, 'raffi*!es, + Discoveries of t%e "nglis% Nations, Made $y ea or ,ver-land to t%e Re(ote and &art%est Distant -!arters of t%e "art% at any 'i(e .it%in t%e co(passe of t%ese 1/00 yeres, Jol. J-, $lasgo , 10,A-10,,, p.1!9 (A) /ee :. Be 4astries, Les o!rces 0n1dites de LHistoire d! Maroc, Pre(i2re 1rie Dynastie aadienne Arc%ives et 3i$liot%2*!es
DAngleterre, Tome --, .aris, Londres, 1,'0. /ee also #ogers, pp.1>-'> (,) 2illan op.cit. ,1

(1>) $iles .enn (4aptain) (10=! - c1911) as a prominent merchant from Bristol ho, after his ban&ruptcy, too& up 5merchant adventuring8 in 5the cut-throat business of trading off the Barbary coast, ith Moorish Merchants8. -t seems that he resided in Tetuan. :is nomination as consul allo ed him to solve his business problems and even 5to obtain in 19!1 Tetuan ha &s from Morocco for 4harles -8 and to be given 5letters of .rotection from the &ing,8 to obtain 5Barbary horses for the royal household as ell as further numbers of ha &s8. -nformation and Fuotations from; Ghttp;KK .csm.u e.ac.u&KLrstephenKlivingeastonKlocalMhistoryK.ennK.ennMfamilyMpartM'.htmlH on 1' March '>>=. #ogers gives mista&enly 19!= as the nomination year of .enn as consul. (11) #ogers, !,. (1') %dmund :ogan, a prominent London merchant as entrusted ith a letter from %li@abeth - to +bdelmali& %ssa-Ndi (10=9-10=A) hich he delivered in )une 10==.

(1!) The ambassador left a good impression in London. +n account of him as published Cust after his
reception by the (ing described him as having 6an innate inclination to anything that is noble7, and also as 6courteous, bountifull (sic), charitable, valiant, 6and for 6humanity, morality and generosity hee (sic) is a most accomplish8d gentleman7 GFuoted by #ogers op.citE pp!1-!0H (11) Leo +fricanus, A geograp%ical %istorie of Africa444 Translated "rom latin by )ohn .ory, London, $eorg Bishop, 19>>. The te3t became a classic and a main reference for British travellers to Morocco for the follo ing three centuries. (10) .. $. #ogers, A History of Anglo-Moroccan Relations to 1900, London; "oreign and 4ommon ealth <ffice, n.d. G1,=(0)H, p.J-. (19) (halid Bensghir, 3ritania 5a 0c%6aliate Al-0sla% $i L(ag%ri$ 177/-1908, #abat, '>>!. p.11

Mohamed Laamiri Associate Professor, Institute of African Studies, Universit Mohamed Souissi, Ra!at, Morocco mlaamiri"#$%mail&com