Corrections? By 2001 tens of thousands of Sahrawis, including numerous Polisario Front soldiers, had relocated to semipermanent refugee camps in Algeria. Morocco gained the northern two-thirds of the area and, consequently, control over the phosphates; Mauritania gained the southern third. The Almoravids were pious Sanhaja marabouts , who left the Sahara to go north where they conquered Morocco. ​The region has also been claimed by the Polisario Front, a guerrilla group fighting for a separate state, since 1975. In 1973, the Frente Polisario was established and launched a resistance campaign against Spain. It is through trades with the British, that tea was introduced to the Saharawis. Former headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Legion at Al-Dakhla (formerly Villa Cisneros), Western Sahara. The Romans also had some contact with the Saharan peoples. Support for Western Sahara as a nation has ebbed over the past few years because of the growing importance of Morocco's $110 billion economy – the fifth largest in Africa. Sporadic fighting developed between the Polisario Front, which was supported by and based in Algeria, and the Moroccan forces. Prehistory. The Front also claims to be the sole representatives of the Sahrawis; it has received support from neighbouring Algeria. 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The history of the people of Sanhaja Berber and Arab blood who inhabit Western Sahara goes back hundreds of years. Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world. "It's a positive step for the people of Western Sahara," he added. A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. The Spanish Sahara was created. The principal city is Laayoune, the old colonial capital. 33 years ago, Morocco quit the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity because of the 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 history of the people of Sanhaja Berber and Arab blood who inhabit Western Sahara goes back hundreds of years. In the XIth century, a confederation of tribes, the "veiled Sanhaja", formed the Almoravid State. The Spanish colonization began in 1884-1885, the year of the Berlin conference in which the European states shared the African continent by table. Sources of potash and iron ore are at Agracha and elsewhere, and vast phosphate deposits are at Bu Craa, southeast of Laayoune. The outline map of Western Sahara represents the disputed territory of Western Sahara. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. 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. 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. The Almoravids were pious Sanhaja marabouts , who left the Sahara to go north where they conquered Morocco. (2007 est.) 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. The coastal region was little explored by Europeans until Scottish and Spanish merchants arrived in the mid-19th century, although in 1476 a short-lived trading post, Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña, was established by Diego García de Herrera, a Spaniard. This site uses cookies. 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. It was not until the late fifties, when the phosphate deposits were discovered in the town of Bu Craa, that Spain became interested in Western Sahara. 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 … Western Sahara, territory occupying an extensive desert Atlantic-coastal area of northwest Africa. Phosphate extraction, however, presents problems because of the shortage of water. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was established by the Polisario Front as a government-in-exile. Morocco became independent in 1956, while Western Sahara remained under Spanish rule until 1975. In 1975, colonial power Spain, that had governed the Western Sahara, left the region. In 1912, France established its own colonial protectorate over the lion’s share of Morocco. Today, the vast, hostile Sahara remains the mother of all deserts. Who needs enemies when you have friends like MBS? Dakhla (Arabic: الداخلة ‎, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, Spanish: Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. There is little agriculture in the region; camels, goats, and sheep are raised, and dried fish is exported to the Canary Islands. History of Western Sahara. 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. How did Sahrawis respond to Morocco's readmission? "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 … So why is the fate of the Western Sahara important? 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. Morocco believes that the area is part of its sovereign land. Infoplease has everything you need to know about Western Sahara (Disputed). Shortly after Spain left, war broke out. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and northwest, by Morocco on the north, by Algeria for a few miles in the northeast, and by Mauritania on the east and south. 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. The Kingdom of Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara and administers the territory that it controls. Media in category "History of Western Sahara" The following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. 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 is the largest and the most populous city in the region of Western Sahara, accounting for approximately 40% of the population. 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. Laayoune was founded in 1938 by Antonio de Oro, a Spanish explorer. Located in Northwest Africa, Western Sahara was a Spanish protectorate from 1884-1976. Morocco believes that the area is part of its sovereign land. The continued negotiations bore little fruit, however, and the UN renewed its peacekeeping mission nonetheless. 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. Africa is indispensable to Morocco and Morocco is indispensable to Africa.". The U.S. announcement adds to a string of incremental wins. 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. 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. In 2007 Morocco proposed autonomy but made no offer for a referendum. 489,000. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. "Africa is my home and I am coming back home," King Mohammed said in January's AU summit. RECENT HISTORY OF WESTERN SAHARA . After the United States insisted in 2018 that the continued presence of UN peacekeeping forces be contingent on progress made toward settling the long-running dispute, Morocco and the Polisario Front met in December of that year to renew discussion over the situation. 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 Polisario Front, politico-military organization in Western Sahara seeking independence. Earlier this year, it rejoined the pan-African body. 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. There were no ancient western civilizations, they are modern fakes and degrade China: General: 21: Mar 24, 2021: SH Archive Is the Sahara part of the land that the Israelites attacked? So why is the fate of the Western Sahara important? In 1884 Emilio Bonelli, of the Sociedad Española de Africanistas y Colonistas (“Spanish Society of Africanists and Colonists”), went to Río de Oro bay and signed treaties with the coastal peoples. 1963. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. It is home to barely 500,000 people—equivalent to the city of Fresno, California—spread over a … 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. 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 A picture is worth a thousand words. We hope that Morocco will have the goodwill to resolve this conflict and withdraw its troops.". Check out our countryprofile, full of essential information about Western Sahara (Disputed)'sgeography, history,government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. The Somali invasion of the Ogaden, Libyan intrusions into Chad and Sudan,…. Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa. Today we know the indigenous people of Western Sahara as Saharawis. After years of fighting, the U.N. brokered a cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front in 1991. 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. The area’s prehistory is relatively unknown. Motorable tracks abound in the country’s extremely flat terrain, but there are few paved roads. Shortly after Spain left, war broke out. "After 33 years, Morocco has realised that it has to sit with the Sahrawi Republic. 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. In many ways, the Western Sahara conflict intensified in its modern, ongoing form when Algeria used the creation of the Polisario Front in 1973 to its advantage. Since 1991, Rabat has held onto its own plan for the area's autonomy. "I have missed you all. Given its long history of conflict, some might even view its shape to resemble that of a pistol. It became a protectorate of Spain in the 19th century and was later claimed by Morocco… By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. In 1346 the Portuguese discovered a bay that they mistakenly identified with a more southerly Río de Oro, probably the Sénégal River. "From the moment Morocco did not set conditions on its return, we take their word and we accept that Morocco is admitted to the African Union," Salek said. 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.