Casablanca, called “Casa” is the dynamic showcase of modern Morocco. A true economic and financial engine of the national economy, it now generates 50% of the national GDP. Its port drains three quarters of national trade, its international airport is the first in the country. The metropolis is also undergoing a change in its economy and is now deploying its strengths in the tertiary sector and services, particularly in technology.
In a century, the humble village of Anfa has grown into a metropolis of over four million people and one of Africa’s largest cities. But if Casa was born at the beginning of the 19th century, the site has been occupied for a long time: in Sidi –Abderrahmane, near Anfa, the remains of a Neolithic settlement have been found. In the 17th century the Phoenicians made the site a stopover on the road to Essaouira. The city will experience its new development thanks to Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah endowing it with a large mosque and Zaouïas and the city then took Dar el-Beïda, the “white house”.
It was from 1781, when the Spaniards installed counters there, that the Spanish translation, Casa Blanca, spread. European traders settled there and at the beginning of the 19th century, the French got Sultan Abdelaziz to build a port. Casablanca, considered the first port of Morocco from 1920, it also became, in 1925, the first stopover for the Latécoère airlines (the future Aéropostal) connecting Toulouse to Dakar After the establishment of the Protectorate, Lyautey and its architect Henri Prost embarked on the realization of the modern city center by building wide boulevards bordered by tall and pretty buildings. It is in this city that the first factory will be built and that the first union will be launched. In 1950, Casablanca was a dynamic shopping center with a booming urban planning. The unions, which had their headquarters there, played an important role in the nationalist struggle, especially during the riots of 1952 and the insurgencies of 1953 and 1955.
The unforgettable 1942 film “Casablanca” by Michael Curtiz, starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, made the city famous around the world. We still spoke of Casablanca when Marcel Cerdan, who had grown up in the district of Mer Sultan, became world boxing champion in 1948. A year later, he died in a plane crash while preparing to marry singer Edith Piaf.
Casablanca — A story, a soul …
Historians interchangeably called Anfa, Anafa or Anafi, the geographic air that Casablanca currently occupies. Nonetheless, neither of them determined with precision the true founder of Anfa. Some, like Ibnou El Ouazzane (Leon the African) claimed that the city was founded in Roman times, others argued more in favor of the Phoenicians.
However, the majority of historians claim that it was the Berbers of Zenata who built Anfa. It was famous for its Ulemas, its soldiers and its flourishing trade.
Under the aegis of the Merinid dynasty, Anfa remains a small town open to maritime transactions with foreign countries, particularly with Spain and Portugal.
Its inhabitants were sailors and pirates who did not hesitate to attack ships, especially the Portuguese. The latter and to protect their trade invaded and completely destroyed Anfa around the year 1468. In 1515, the Portuguese wanted to build a fortress, but their defeat by the Merinids dissuaded them. Then, the city sank into oblivion, leaving only the mausoleum of Sidi Allal Quairaouani as a witness to a flourishing civilization.
Under the reign of the Alaouite dynasty at the time of Sultan Mohammed Ben abdellah (1757–1790) the city rose from its ashes and became “Dar Al Baida” (White House) or Casablanca according to the Spanish denomination. Thanks to the taxes imposed on the tribes of Chaouia, Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdellah was able to build a fortress which initially served as a camp for the soldiers and which later became a privileged destination for the tribes of Doukkala and Chaouia.
Around 1830, trade in Casablanca was developing slowly but steadily. This growth increased significantly under the reign of Moulay Hassan I to such an extent that Casablanca became a point of attraction for traders and artisans of the kingdom in general and of Fez and Marrakech in particular.
It was in 1912 that the decision was taken to build the Kingdom’s first large modern port in Casablanca. It was a historic turning point that affected the fate of Casablanca. The region’s economic development has intensified through port activity and drained national and foreign investments, thus giving birth to a modern city which has now become the economic capital of the Kingdom.
AZNAGU
New York @ 09/18/20
