Abstract
This chapter deals with the period of the French Protectorate in Morocco (1912–1956), namely its first decade, and the influence of French colonial rule on the development of Moroccan cities. Based on the study of primary sources and field research, this chapter contains an analysis of the transformation of Moroccan cities and the intentional creation of a dichotomy between precolonial settlements and newly-built neighbourhoods. While the precolonial medinas were conserved for political, aesthetic and economic reasons, new neighbourhoods were intended to represent European influence and progress. Attention is given to the political and ideological motivation that stood behind the creation of this dichotomy and to its impacts on the life of the local inhabitants. The text explores differences in spatial layout and buildings as seat of institutions (post offices, banks, churches) that began to appear in Morocco with the advent of colonialism. In this context, the text focuses on their spatial placement within cities and the socio-spatial relationships associated with it.
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21 December 2022
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Notes
- 1.
The coastal city of Tangier was excluded from this division, as it became a demilitarized zone under the administration of an international committee in 1923.
- 2.
For more on the method of administration in Morocco in the period of Marshal Lyautey, see Bidwell, 1973.
- 3.
See e.g. Lyautey, 1953.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
See e.g. La Renaissance du Maroc: Dix Ans de Protectorat, 1922.
- 7.
The cities that were built or gained significance in the time of the protectorate are naturally exceptions.
- 8.
See e.g. Cohen & Eleb, 2002: 214–226.
- 9.
They were abandoned not only by the local elites, but also by Europeans, who in many cases had settled there before the creation of the protectorate and the construction of the new neighborhoods – e.g. in the Rue des Consuls in Rabat.
- 10.
- 11.
Concrete also began to be used to reconstruct buildings in the medina, where it complemented traditional materials. This inconsiderate approach often compromised the structure of buildings. (Radoine, 2016: 29)
- 12.
Henri Prost’s stay in Morocco was planned for 1 year, but lasted ten times that; during this period, he prepared the plans for nine Moroccan cities, including the four Imperial Cities and Casablanca. (Wright, 1991: 98)
- 13.
An exception, for example, is the al-Sunna Mosque located at the entrance to the palace and the Hassan Tower historical monument. Both these structures remained preserved within the composition of the new built-up area.
- 14.
See Mauclair, 1934: 99–100.
- 15.
- 16.
Construction of the Gueliz neighborhood began 3 km from the medina and gradually came closer to it, covering a swath of palmeraie and orchards.
- 17.
These palaces did not have to be historically or artistically significant; they were often relatively new buildings that played a political role in terms of their connection to the ruling dynasty of the time. (Holden, 2008: 6–7)
- 18.
The benefit of French efforts to “protect” arts and crafts is disputable, as this took place in a highly directive manner while breaking the tradition of apprenticeship and dissolving a hitherto functional and well-tested system of quality control – see Radoine, 2016. At the same time, demand for production with utility rather than quality grew, thus placing greater pressure on more mass-scale production of artworks. The analysis of Moroccan art and the elaborate categorization and cataloguing of Moroccan artefacts was used in France to promote Morocco as a tourist destination and advertise the achievements of French foreign policy. Moroccan art was therefore presented at a number of exhibitions, for example in Paris’s l’Exposition d’art marocain (1917) and l’Exposition du Pavillon de Marsan (1919). See Ricard, 1922: 214.
- 19.
Casablanca is an exception to a certain degree, as the European section began to develop in such a spontaneous way before the beginning of the protectorate that the purpose of the subsequent urbanistic plan was actually to limit additional development rather than to inspire it.
- 20.
See Girod, 1914: 29–60.
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Pěchota, J. (2022). Public Spaces in Context with Colonial Urbanism in Morocco. In: Urban Public Space in Colonial Transformations. Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14697-8_5
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