History of Western Sahara

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The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups (living under Berber tribal rule and in contact with the Roman Empire) such as the Sanhaja group, and the introduction of Islam and the Arabic language at the end of the 8th century AD.

Western Sahara has never been a nation in the modern sense of the word. It was home to Phoenician colonies, but those disappeared with virtually no trace. Islam arrived there in the 8th century, but the region, beset with desertification, remained little developed. From the 11th to the 19th centuries, Western Sahara was one of the links between the

routes also traversed Western Sahara.

In 1884, Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast from Cape Bojador to Cape Blanc, and the area was later extended. In 1958, Spain combined separate districts together to form the province of Spanish Sahara.

A 1975 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on the status of the Western Sahara held that while some of the region's tribes had historical ties to Morocco, they were insufficient to establish "any tie of territorial sovereignty" between the Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco. In November of that year, the Green March into Western Sahara began when 300,000 unarmed Moroccans, accompanied by the Moroccan Army armed with heavy weapons,^{[verification needed]} converged on the southern city of Tarfaya and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara. As a result of pressure from France, the US, and the UK, Spain abandoned Western Sahara on November 14, 1975, going so far as to even exhume Spanish corpses from cemeteries. Morocco later virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal.

On February 27, 1976, the Polisario Front formally proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and set up a government in exile, initiating a guerrilla war between the Polisario and Morocco, which continued until a 1991 cease-fire. As part of the 1991 peace accords, a referendum was to be held among indigenous people, giving them the option between independence or inclusion to Morocco. To date the referendum has not been held because of questions over who is eligible to vote.

Ancient and classical antiquity

Phoenician/Carthaginian colonies established or reinforced by Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC have vanished with virtually no trace.^{[dubious – discuss]} The desertification of the Sahara during the "transitional arid phase" ca. 300 BC - 300 AD"^[1] made contact with some parts with the outside world very difficult before the introduction of the camel into these areas, from the third century of the Christian era on.^[2]

Contacts with Roman Empire

Plinius wrote that the coastal area north of the river Senegal and south of the Atlas Mountains was populated, during Augustus times, by the Pharusii and Perorsi,^[3]

In the year 41 AD Suetonius Paullinus, afterwards Consul, was the first of the Romans who led an army across Mount Atlas. At the end of a ten days' march he reached the summit,—which even in summer was covered with snow,—and from thence, after passing a desert of black sand and burnt rocks, he arrived at a river called Gerj...he then penetrated into the country of the Canarii and Perorsi, the former of whom inhabited a woody region abounding in elephants and serpents, and the latter were Ethiopians, not far distant from the Pharusii and the river Daras (modern river Senegal).^[4]

What is now Western Sahara was a dry

.

The western Sahara population (in those first centuries of the Roman Empire) consisted of nomads (mainly of the Sanhaja tribal confederation) in the plains and sedentary populations in river valleys, in oases, and in towns like Awdaghust Tichitt, Oualata, Taghaza, Timbuktu, Awlil, Azuki, and Tamdult.

Some

]

Islamic era

and Spain.

The Berbers increasingly used the traditional trade routes of the

Zawiyas

An important role was played by the zawiyas. These zawiya tribes became the tribes of the teachers, specialists of religion, law and education.^[9]

Arabization of the mujahideen (13th and 14th century)

In the 13th and 14th century, these tribes migrated westwards along the Sahara's northern border to settle in the Fezzan (Libya), Ifriqiya (Tunisia), Tlemcen (Algeria), Jebel Saghro (Morocco), and Saguia el-Hamra (Western Sahara).^[10]

Ouadane, Idjil (near Atar), Azougui, Araouane, Taoudenni, and later Tindouf were important stopping-places.^[11][12] At the same time, the number of slaves kept in Western Sahara itself increased drastically.^{[13][14][15][16] [17]}

The Maqil tribes, who entered the domains of the

Colonial era (1884–1975)

vetoed the purchase and the colony was retained by Spain.

In 1912, Morocco itself became a protectorate of Spain and France.^[19]

Sahrawi tribes

The modern

ethnic and cultural characteristics.

In pre-colonial times, the tribal areas of the

. Central governments had little control over the region, although some Hassaniya tribes would occasionally extended "beya" or allegiance to prestigious neighbouring rulers, to gain their political backing or, in some cases, as a religious ceremony.

Best reference on Sahrawi population ethnography in the Spanish colonial era is the work of Spanish anthropologist Julio Caro Baroja, who in 1952–53 spent several months among native tribes all along the then Spanish Sahara.^[20]

Spanish Sahara

In 1884, Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast from Cape Bojador to Cap Blanc. Later, the Spanish extended their area of control. In 1958 Spain joined the previously separate districts of Saguia el-Hamra (in the north) and Río de Oro (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara.

Raids and rebellions by the

, anti-Spanish feeling or Sahrawi nationalism again took a militant turn.

Western Sahara conflict

From 1973 the colonizers gradually lost control over the countryside to the armed

seems to have hastened the decision to pull out.

Armed conflict (1975–1991)

In late 1975, Spain held meetings with Polisario leader

conference of October 12.

On October 16, the ICJ delivered

between Spain and Morocco continued, however, with Morocco demanding bilateral negotiations over the fate of the territory.

On November 6, 1975 Morocco launched the

.

Algeria gave help to the Movimiento de Liberación del Sahara,[22] that in the late 1960s and early 1970s formed a section of new split youngs. The majority of the Sahrawi people supported its patriotic actions and identified with this movement, which later was called Polisario,^[23] and gradually had more misunderstandings with the Autonomous and Central Government of the Metropoli for the signs of a vacilante, or feeble foreign policy, made up by generals that had the "última palabra" or "last word", feeling a possible betrayal of the Motherland.

On November 14, 1975, Spain, Morocco and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords, hence setting up a timetable for the retrieval of Spanish forces and ending Spanish occupation of Western Sahara. These accords were signed by the three parties in accordance with all international standards. In these accords, Morocco was set to annex back 2/3 of the northern part of Western Sahara, whereas the lower third would be given to Mauritania. Polisario established their own Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and combined guerrilla warfare with their conventional military forces, the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

On February 26, 1976 Spain's formal mandate over the territory ended when it handed administrative power on to Morocco in a ceremony in Laayoune. The day after, the Polisario proclaimed in

population made the Mauritanian government's position yet more fragile, and thousands of Mauritanian Sahrawis defected to Polisario. In 1978 the army seized control of the Mauritanian government and Polisario declared a cease-fire, on the assumption that Mauritania would withdraw unconditionally. This eventually occurred in 1979, as Mauritania's new rulers agreed to surrender all claims and to recognize the SADR. Following Mauritania's withdrawal, however, Morocco extended its control to the rest of the territory, and the war continued.

Through the 1980s, the war stalemated through the construction of a desert sand berm, the

, France and by the USA relieved the situation in Morocco, but matters gradually became unsustainable for all parties involved.

Cease-fire

In 1991, Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed on a

, to oversee the cease-fire and make arrangements for the vote. Initially scheduled for 1992, the referendum has not taken place, due to the conflict over who has the right to vote.

Two subsequent attempts to resolve the problem by means of a negotiated political settlement by James Baker, acting as Personal

UN Secretary General

, the first in 2000 and the second in 2003, failed to gain acceptance, the first being rejected by the Polisario and second by Morocco. Both attempts, the first referred to as "The Framework Agreement" and the second commonly referred to as "The Peace Plan", contained the proposal of autonomy for the region under Moroccan sovereignty as core elements of the plans. Failure to gain acceptance by the parties to either proposal was a result of what each of the parties viewed as fundamental flaws in the respective proposals.

The Framework Agreement would have required the parties to agree on the specific terms of a political settlement based on the Autonomy/Sovereignty formula through direct negotiations. Baker presented the Peace Plan as a non-negotiable package that would have obliged each of the parties to accept its terms without further amendment. Both proposals contained elements that would have required popular endorsement of the solution through a referendum of the concerned populations. The UN Security Council declined to formally endorse either of the two proposals, which led eventually to Baker's resignation as Personal Envoy.[24]

The prolonged cease-fire has held without major disturbances, but Polisario has repeatedly threatened to resume fighting if no breakthrough occurs. Morocco's withdrawal from both the terms of the original Settlement Plan and the Baker Plan negotiations in 2003 left the peace-keeping mission without a political agenda, which further increased the risks of renewed war.

Meanwhile, the gradual liberalization of political life in Morocco during the 1990s belatedly reached Western Sahara around 2000. This spurred political protest, as former "

by Polisario supporters, broke out. These demonstrations, which continued into the following year, were the most intense in years, and engendered a new wave of interest in the conflict, as well as new fears of instability. Polisario demanded international intervention but declared that it could not stand idly by if the "escalation of repression" continued.

In 2007, Morocco requested U.N. action against a congress to be held by the Polisario Front in Tifariti from December 14 to December 16. Morocco claimed Tifariti was part of a buffer zone and holding the congress there violated a cease-fire between the two parties. Additionally, the Polisario Front had been reported as planning a vote on a proposal for making preparations for war; if passed, it would have been the first time in 16 years preparations for war had been part of the Polisario's strategy.^[25]

In October 2010, Gadaym Izik camp was set up near

See also:

2010–2011 Sahrawi protests

In 2020, the Polisario Front brought legal action against

See also

• Ali Salem Tamek
• Almoravids
• Berlin Conference
• Brahim Dahane
• James Riley (Captain)
• João Fernandes (explorer)
• List of Spanish colonial wars in Morocco
• Mohamed Daddach
• Mohamed Elmoutaoikil
• Moroccan Liberation Army
• Saadi Dynasty
• Sahrawi (disambiguation)
• Scramble for Africa
• Spanish Morocco
• Spanish Sahara
• Western Saharan cuisine
• Years of Lead (Morocco)

Bibliography

• Aguirre, Diego; Ramón, José (1987). Historia del Sahara Español. La verdad de una traición. Madrid: Kaydeda.
• "Chronology of Spanish Sahara". Balagan.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2006-10-07.
• Garcia, Victor Valera (2011). The Campaigns for the Pacification of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco: A Forgotten Example of Successful Counterinsurgency.^{[permanent dead link]} Abstract: This monograph provides vision of the campaigns to pacify the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco from 1909 to 1926 by which the Spanish armed forces not only achieved the pacification of the Protectorate in 1926, but administered it peacefully until 1956 in a remarkable example of Stability Operations. The key to achieve this success was the ability of the Spanish Army to learn how to adapt to the Moroccan scenario culturally, tactically and technically. Foremost, along the campaigns of 1921–1926 the Army devised the methods and instruments that would allow for the fruitful administration of the Protectorate until 1956. Keys for the improvement of fighting abilities were the full integration of natives in Spanish units, the creation of professional forces adapted to the characteristics of the theater, and the balance of these professional units with regular armed forces technically and tactically improved. On the governance side, the Spanish Protectorate disturbed as little as possible the traditional Moroccan system or Makhzen and limited to closely supervise it through the implementation of a network of Oficinas de Intervención or supervision Offices led by an Officer who held all civilian and military responsibilities.
• Hodges, Tony (1983). Western Sahara: Roots of a Desert War. L. Hill.
  ISBN 0-88208-152-7
  .
• János, Besenyő (20 August 2009). Western Sahara. Besenyő János.
  ISBN 978-963-88332-0-4
  .
• Jensen, Erik (2005). Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  ISBN 1-58826-305-3
  .
• King, Dean (2004). Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival. Little, Brown.
  ISBN 978-0-316-83514-5
  .
• Mercer, J. (1976). Spanish Sahara. London: George, Allen & Unwin.
• Mundy, Jacob (September 2006). "Neutrality or complicity? The United States and the 1975 takeover of the Spanish Sahara". Journal of North African Studies (3): 275–306.
  S2CID 145455013
  .
• Shelley, Toby (6 November 2004). Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony?. Zed Books.
  ISBN 1-84277-341-0
  .
• Sipe, Lynn F. (1984). Western Sahara: A Comprehensive Bibliography. New York: Garland Publ.
  ISBN 978-0-8240-9125-5
  .
• "Thematic bibliography: general: The question of Western Sahara". Arso.org.

References

^[29]

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