French protectorate in Morocco

The French protectorate in Morocco was established on 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fez after French troops occupied Oujda and bombarded Casablanca in 1907. The protectorate covered most of Morocco between the Taza Corridor and the Draa River, while Spain controlled a separate zone in the north and south. The sultan remained as a figurehead, but real power lay with the French resident-general, first Hubert Lyautey, who built roads, ports and a modern administration and encouraged European settlement. Rabat became the political capital, while Casablanca grew into the economic centre. Moroccan nationalists opposed the protectorate, and after the Second World War the independence movement, known as the Revolution of the King and the People, gained strength. France exiled Sultan Mohammed V in 1953, but he returned in 1955. The protectorate ended on 2 March 1956 with the Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration, and Morocco became independent.