Morocco–United Kingdom relations
Morocco |
United Kingdom |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of Morocco, London | Embassy of the United Kingdom, Rabat |
Envoy | |
Ambassador Hakim Hajoui | Ambassador Simon Martin |
Morocco–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations that exist between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Kingdom.
History
First exchanges
According to some accounts, in the early 13th century, King
Anglo-Moroccan alliance
Relations developed following the sailing of The Lion to Morocco in 1551. According to Richard Hakluyt, quoting Edmund Hogan, the ruler "Abdelmelech" (Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I) bore "a greater affection to our Nation than to others because of our religion, which forbids the worship of Idols".[3]
In 1585, the establishment of the English
England entered in a trading relationship with Morocco detrimental to Spain by selling armour, ammunition, timber and metal in exchange for Moroccan sugar, in spite of a
1600 embassy
In 1600, Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud, the principal secretary to Moroccan Sultan Mawlay Ahmad al-Mansur, visited England as an ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth I.[4] Abd al-Wahid bin Mas'ud spent six months at the court of Elizabeth to negotiate an alliance against Spain.[11] The Moroccan ruler wanted the help of an English fleet to invade Spain. Elizabeth refused but welcomed the embassy as a sign of insurance and instead accepted to establish commercial agreements.[11][6] Elizabeth and Ahmad continued to discuss various plans for combined military operations, with Elizabeth requesting a payment of 100,000 pounds in advance to king Ahmad for the supply of a fleet and Ahmad asking for a tall ship to be sent to get the money. Discussions, however, remained inconclusive, and both rulers had died within two years of the embassy.[12]
In 1660, Britain took control of Tangier in Morocco following the marriage of Catherine of Braganza to King Charles II in 1661. Along with a large sum of money, the British crown took control of the city, intending to turn it into a major trade gateway into the Mediterranean. Difficulties with administering the city were compounded by religious divisions between the Protestant king in London and the Catholic administrators in Tangier hindered the ability to capitalize on the city's potential as a trade gateway, which culminated in a British withdrawal in 1683.[13]
Later relations
The English Garrison of the Colony of Tangier was almost constantly under attack by locals who considered themselves mujahideen fighting a holy war. The Earl of Teviot and around 470 members of the garrison were killed in an ambush beside Jew's Hill.[14] Although the attempt by Sultan Moulay Ismail of Morocco to seize the Tangier had been unsuccessful, a crippling blockade by the Jaysh al-Rifi ultimately forced the English to withdraw.
A treaty signed in 1728 extended the privileges, especially those pertaining to the safe-conduct of English nationals.[15]
19th century
The Sultan banned piracy against European merchants in 1818, and the British perceived this warming of economic relations as a key piece to securing friendly passage into the Mediterranean for strategic and mercantile purposes. In the mid-19th century,
World War II and Pre-Independence
During
British journalism played an important role in pushing for Moroccan independence abroad, particularly in the west. BBC journalist Nina Epton traveled to Morocco in 1946, visiting the notably international city of Tangier. In Tangier, she met with Allal al-Fassi, who told her to "tell people abroad the truth" about Morocco's need for independence. Upon returning to London, Epton wrote in favor of the nationalists multiple times, which helped the independence movement gain traction internationally.[22] Her positive coverage of the nationalist movement included recounting meetings with nationalist leaders, and their alignment to western ideals, in particular the contemporary Atlantic Charter. This coverage was received poorly by colonial officials, however, and Epton was increasingly harassed, even one time being detained and called a highly effective British intelligence agent.[22]
Economic relations
From 26 February 1996 until 30 December 2020, trade between Morocco and the UK was governed by the Morocco–European Union Association Agreement, while the United Kingdom was a member.[24] Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the UK and Morocco signed a continuity trade agreement on 26 October 2019, based on the EU free trade agreement; the agreement entered into force on 1 January 2021.[25][26] Trade value between Morocco and the United Kingdom was worth £3,288 million in 2022.[27]
Diplomatic relations
The Moroccan embassy is located in London.[28]
- Ambassador Hakim Hajoui[29]
The United Kingdom embassy is located in Rabat.[30]
- Ambassador Simon Martin[30]
See also
- List of Ambassadors of Morocco to the United Kingdom
- Anglo-Moroccan alliance
- British Moroccans
- Foreign relations of Morocco
- Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
Notes
- ^ Britain and Morocco during the embassy of John Drummond Hay, 1845–1886 by Khalid Ben Srhir, Malcolm Williams, Gavin Waterson p.13 [1]
- ISBN 9789960892931. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9780815329633. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ ISBN 9780521845847. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9780521523479. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Nicoll, p.90
- ISBN 9781584771968. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0812240764. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9780754650225. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 0-415-93228-9
- ^ a b Vaughan, p.57
- ^ Nicoll, p.96
- ^ OCLC 1252419648.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Lévi-Provençal, Évariste (1936), "Tangier", Encyclopaedia of Islam (1st ed.), Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 650–652.
- ^ Cawston, p.226
- ^ "The People of Gibraltar". Retrieved 2020-03-19.
- JSTOR 2142701.
- ^ "The Levant". The Times of London. 3 October 1853. p. 10.
- ^ Barbe, Adam (August 2016). Public debt and European expansionism in Morocco From 1860 to 1956 (PDF). Paris School of Economics.
- S2CID 145067317.
- JSTOR 4321825.
- ^ OCLC 1082294927.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ https://www.judaisme-marocain.org/objets_popup.php?id=469
- ^ "EU - Morocco". World Trade Organization. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Burns, Conor (26 October 2019). "UK and Morocco sign continuity agreement". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2024.UK–Morocco FTA
- ^ "UK, Morocco sign continuity agreement". The Arab Weekly. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "UK trade agreements in effect". GOV.UK. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO". moroccanembassylondon.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ Latrech, Oumaima. "Parliamentarian Lauds Diaspora for Promoting Morocco Worldwide". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b "British Embassy Rabat - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
References
- Virginia Mason Vaughan Performing Blackness on English Stages, 1500–1800 Cambridge University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-521-84584-X
- Allardyce Nicoll Shakespeare Survey. The Last Plays Cambridge University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-521-52347-8
- George Cawston, ISBN 1-58477-196-8
-
Ambassador Admiral Abdallah ben Aisha, 1685.
-
Moroccan Ambassador Mohammed Ben Ali Abgali in 1725.
-
Ambassador AdmiralAbdelkader Perez, 1723–1737.
-
Ambassador Zebdi 1876.