casablanca
HISTORY
Around the seventh century BCE, a small Amazigh trading port was established in the now-exclusive seaside suburb of Anfa. It was utilised by the Phoenicians and the Romans, and by the early 15th century, it had become a safe haven for pirates. They became such a threat that the Portuguese sent ships to destroy the port in 1468, returning in 1515 to rebuild it, erecting fortifications and naming it Casa Branca(‘ White House’, translated into Arabic as Ad-Dar al-Bayda).
The Portuguese abandoned the colony in 1755 after much of it was destroyed by the devastating Lisbon earthquake, and it wasn’ t until around 1770 that the whitewashed medina was reconstructed by the Alaouite sultan Muhammad ben Abdallah— making it the newest major city in the country.
By the mid-1800s, a booming Europe turned to Morocco for supplies of wool and grain, and merchants flocked back to the city. The Spanish renamed it Casablanca, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the French had secured permission to build an artificial harbour.
Increased trade brought prosperity to the region, but influence from and interference by the Europeans— particularly the French— also caused resentment. When violence erupted, the French sent in troops and took Casablanca in 1907. By 1912, Morocco was a French-controlled protectorate with Casablanca as its main port.
The first resident-general, Hubert Lyautey, hired French architect and urban planner Henri Prost to redesign Casablanca as the protectorate’ s economic hub and jewel of the French colonies. In turn, Prost enlisted the help of some of Europe’ s top architects and his wide boulevards and modern urban planning still survive, as does most of its showstopping architecture.
The Quartier Habous, or new medina, was built between 1917 and 1926 as a solution to a housing crisis; it’ s a mix of traditional Moroccan architecture and a European aesthetic, with wide streets and covered arcades. After independence in 1956, Casablanca began its evolution from a French outpost into Morocco’ s economic, industrial and financial centre, spreading far beyond Lyautey’ s grand scheme.
After independence in 1956, Casablanca began its evolution from a French outpost into Morocco’ s economic, industrial and financial centre
Clockwise from right: A view over the medina towards the Hassan II Mosque; carpets for sale in the Quartier Habous; a water-carrier in traditional attire; Arab League Park
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