From the mid-1970s King Hassan actively campaigned to assert Morocco’s claim to Spanish Sahara, initially using this nationalist issue also to rally much-needed domestic support. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO), an organization that seeks the territory’s independence, disputes Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the territory. By medieval times this part of the Sahara was occupied by Ṣanhajāh Amazigh (Berber) peoples who were later dominated by Arabic-speaking Muslim Bedouins from about 1000 ce. Morocco believes that the area is part of its sovereign land. In 1963, the United Nations designated it a Non-Self-Governing Territory, with Spain as the administering power. Cartel campo minas marcha verde.JPG 3,648 × 2,736; 4.9 MB Dakhla (Arabic: الداخلة ‎, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, Spanish: Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. As a UN administrative and peacekeeping force arrived in Western Sahara to prepare to conduct the referendum, however, Morocco moved tens of thousands of “settlers” into the territory and insisted that they have their voting qualifications assessed. Today the conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara. Earlier this year, it rejoined the pan-African body. However, finds of rock carvings, graves and implements suggest that hunting and gathering were carried out alternately with livestock management and in some favorable places also agriculture, possibly as early as the 5000s BC. "The climate change at [10,500 years ago] which turned most of the [3.8 million square mile] large Sahara into a savannah-type environment happened within … It is the largest and the most populous city in the region of Western Sahara, accounting for approximately 40% of the population. Polisario Front, politico-military organization in Western Sahara seeking independence. The Almoravids were pious Sanhaja marabouts , who left the Sahara to go north where they conquered Morocco. The land borders of the territory appear quite well-defined and straight while the Atlantic coast is undulated. Morocco launched a military operation in November to break the blockade, prompting the Polisario Front to announce that it would no longer observe the 1991 cease-fire agreement. The AU had recognised the Western Sahara – or Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as an independent nation back in 1982 – and Morocco wasn't happy about it. Subsequently, the Spanish government claimed a protectorate over the coastal zone. ​The region has also been claimed by the Polisario Front, a guerrilla group fighting for a separate state, since 1975. 1963. After the death of Moroccan King Hassan II, Muḥammad VI took the throne and announced in 2001 that Morocco would no longer agree to hold a referendum in Western Sahara. So why is the fate of the Western Sahara important? Corrections? Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Western-Sahara, University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center - Western Sahara, Western Sahara - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Western Sahara: former headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Legion. Motorable tracks abound in the country’s extremely flat terrain, but there are few paved roads. It began as an insurgency against Spanish control and later fought against Moroccan control. Morocco believes that the area is part of its sovereign land. "After 33 years, Morocco has realised that it has to sit with the Sahrawi Republic. 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However, the situation was further complicated by newly independent Mauritania’s claims to the province in 1960, and in 1963 huge phosphate deposits were discovered at Bu Craa in the northern portion of the Spanish Sahara, which made the province a potentially economically valuable prize for any country that could firmly establish possession of it. Western Sahara, Arabic Al-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Gharbiyyah, formerly (1958–76) Spanish Sahara, territory occupying an extensive desert Atlantic-coastal area (97,344 square miles [252,120 square km]) of northwest Africa. Mining of the deposits at Bu Craa began in 1972. It is home to barely 500,000 people—equivalent to the city of Fresno, California—spread over a … Western Sahara, territory occupying an extensive desert Atlantic-coastal area of northwest Africa. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world. It is a former Spanish colony on the Atlantic coast of Africa between Morocco and Mauritania. Cape Juby (Ṭarfāyah) was occupied for Spain by Col. Francisco Bens in 1916, Güera was occupied in 1920, and Semara and the rest of the interior were occupied in 1934. A series of ridges and mountain ranges are separated by great, stretched, low-lying depressions, like the Quyattara Depression of Egypt that lies 436 feet (143 m) below sea level. Sporadic fighting developed between the Polisario Front, which was supported by and based in Algeria, and the Moroccan forces. In 1975, colonial power Spain, that had governed the Western Sahara, left the region. (2007 est.) The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was established by the Polisario Front as a government-in-exile. The Spanish Sahara was created. A guerrilla insurgency by the Spanish Sahara’s indigenous inhabitants, the nomadic Sahrawis, sprang up in the early 1970s, calling itself the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario Front). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Laayoune was designated the capital of Spanish Sahara in 1940 by the Spanish. The Kingdom of Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara and administers the territory that it controls. The history of the people of Sanhaja Berber and Arab blood who inhabit Western Sahara goes back hundreds of years. Western Sahara is thus not a case of frozen conflict – but rather, of a war of attrition. This site uses cookies. Meanwhile, Morocco continued to expand its physical infrastructure in Western Sahara despite widespread protests against its presence in the areas under its control. Among the challenges were defections from the organization and a reduction in support by its primary backer, Algeria, as that country was forced to concentrate on its own internal problems. This drawn-out procedure, which involved questions regarding the definition of who among the traditionally nomadic Sahrawis would be entitled to cast a ballot, continued throughout the 1990s and into the early 21st century. In November 1975, after a UN mission reported that the majority of Sahrawis wanted independence and recommended self-determination…, Spain’s departure from the Spanish (Western) Sahara was the signal for a guerrilla struggle among Moroccan and Mauritanian claimants and the Polisario movement backed by Algeria. Algeria’s diplomatic campaign on behalf of Sahrawi self-determination, however, continued unabated. Western Sahara is thus not a case of frozen conflict – but rather, of a war of attrition. Faced with consistent pressure from Morocco and Mauritania and itself undergoing a period of domestic uncertainty, Spain agreed to the partition of Western Sahara between the two countries despite a World Court ruling that Morocco’s and Mauritania’s legal claims to the Spanish Sahara were tenuous and did not negate the right to self-determination by the Sahrawis. 33 years ago, Morocco quit the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity because of the Western Sahara. It is composed of the geographic regions of Río de Oro (“River of Gold”), occupying the southern two-thirds of the region (between Cape Blanco and Cape Bojador), and Saguia el-Hamra, occupying the northern third. "It's a positive step for the people of Western Sahara," he added. Moroccan kings had ruled over what is now called Western Sahara from 1578-1727 and lost it in the context of Spanish and French colonization … In December the United States became the first country to formally recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, in exchange for Morocco’s normalization of ties with Israel. Infoplease has everything you need to know about Western Sahara (Disputed). Shortly after Spain left, war broke out. Following the Spanish evacuation of Spanish Sahara, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on November 14, 1975, leading to both Morocco and Mauritania moving in to annex the territory of now known as Western Sahara. Little is known of the prehistory of Western Sahara, although Neolithic (New Stone Age) rock engravings in Saguia el-Hamra and in isolated locations in the south suggest that it was occupied by a succession of hunting and pastoral groups, with some agriculturists in favoured locales, prior to a gradual process of desertification that began about 2500 bce. The insurgency led Spain to declare in 1975 that it would withdraw from the area. Western Sahara is often described as Africa's last major colony. Untangling the history of the Western Sahara conflict demonstrates how much circumstances and clever diplomacy have favored Morocco over the years. In the latter half of 2020, the Polisario Front, seeking to force change in the status quo, began obstructing a key trade route between Morocco and Mauritania. Media in category "History of Western Sahara" The following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. There is little agriculture in the region; camels, goats, and sheep are raised, and dried fish is exported to the Canary Islands. Follow us on Instagram. This peace proposal was accepted by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, and the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1991. How did Sahrawis respond to Morocco's readmission? Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Western Sahara has had two capital cities in its history; Tifariti and Laayoune. It is through trades with the British, that tea was introduced to the Saharawis. The Sahara has long been subject to periodic bouts of humidity and aridity. It is the capital of the Moroccan administrative region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab.It has a population of 106,277 and is on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast, the Río de Oro Peninsula, about 550 km (340 mi) south of Laayoune Spanish troops succeeded in repelling Moroccan military incursions into the territory, and in 1958 Spain formally united Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra into a Spanish province known as Spanish Sahara. Shortly after Spain left, war broke out. Morocco gained the northern two-thirds of the area and, consequently, control over the phosphates; Mauritania gained the southern third. Updates? The principal city is Laayoune, the old colonial capital. History of Western Sahara. In 1976 the Polisario Front declared a government-in-exile of what it called the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (a government recognized by some 70 countries), and it continued to raid Mauritanian and Moroccan outposts in Western Sahara. Geopolitics may isolate Morocco in the Arab world, After six years, Western Sahara talks begin with “ice-breaker” meeting. In the XIth century, a confederation of tribes, the "veiled Sanhaja", formed the Almoravid State. Former headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Legion at Al-Dakhla (formerly Villa Cisneros), Western Sahara. Today we know the indigenous people of Western Sahara as Saharawis. The turn of the century brought with it a change in approach toward peace and self-determination. The disputed Western Sahara region, which has significant phosphate reserves and offshore fishing, is situated in north Africa between Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria. Laayoune was founded in 1938 by Antonio de Oro, a Spanish explorer. History of the Ritual In the 18th century, Western Sahara was understood as a haven for trade, as a gateway to the Great Sahara and North Africa. 489,000. This is part 2 of a 3 part series about the history of the Western Sahara. Further Spanish penetration was hindered by French claims to Mauritania and by partisans of Sheikh Māʾ al-ʿAynayn, who between 1898 and 1902 constructed the town of Semara at an inland oasis. Moroccan kings had ruled over what is now called Western Sahara from 1578-1727 and lost it in the context of Spanish and French colonization … The area’s prehistory is relatively unknown. The Almoravids were pious Sanhaja marabouts , who left the Sahara to go north where they conquered Morocco. A conveyor belt more than 60 miles (100 km) long, meant to carry phosphate from the mines to the piers southwest of Laayoune, was frequently damaged after 1976 during the guerrilla warfare conducted by the Sahrawis against Morocco. The outline map of Western Sahara represents the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Morocco fortified the vital triangle formed by the Bu Craa mines, Laayoune, and Semara while the Polisario Front guerrillas continued their raids. Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa. But you can see in Saharawis' faces - most of them light-skinned, some of them dark - evidence of the waves of migration and conquest which have swept across North Africa, as Arabs collided and intermarried with Berbers and with black Africans from south of the Sahara. Mauritania bowed out of the fighting and reached a peace agreement with the Polisario Front in 1979, but in response Morocco promptly annexed Mauritania’s portion of Western Sahara. It became a protectorate of Spain in the 19th century and was later claimed by Morocco… Today, the vast, hostile Sahara remains the mother of all deserts. Check out our countryprofile, full of essential information about Western Sahara (Disputed)'sgeography, history,government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. Since 1991, Rabat has held onto its own plan for the area's autonomy. This is part 2 of a 3 part series about the history of the Western Sahara. Western Sahara is virtually all desert and is very sparsely inhabited. In 2003 it proposed autonomy for the territory for five years, followed by a referendum, but Morocco rejected the proposal. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. After years of fighting, the U.N. brokered a cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front in 1991. Omissions? A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Set during the height of the Cold War, the Western Sahara conflict saw Western powers back Morocco and the African Union and Non-Aligned Movement rally to Polisario — where Soviet influence was more indirect. Located in Northwest Africa, Western Sahara was a Spanish protectorate from 1884-1976. The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. A United Nations (UN) peace proposal in 1988 specified a referendum for the indigenous Sahrawis to decide whether they wanted an independent Western Sahara under Polisario Front leadership or whether the territory would officially become part of Morocco. RECENT HISTORY OF WESTERN SAHARA . Has the Saudi-Iran rivalry reached the Western Sahara region? The Romans also had some contact with the Saharan peoples. High points like 11,204-foot (3,415 m) Mount Koussi in Chad rise like stone fortresses in a great battlefield of sand.