Mainly American forces landed and faced brief fighting with Vichy French forces. This provided an opening to end the French Protectorate, but under what terms? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Morocco’s status as a Protectorate complicates the French Moroccan stamp issues. They use the tradition of showing exotic views of the empire outpost, but edit out the French overlay. This was perhaps a tacit admission that the French were on their way out.
Todays stamp is issue A37, a 10 Centimes stamp issued by French Morocco in 1947. It was a 15 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents unused.
The Sultan of Morocco had acquiesced to French Protectorate status. In return he retained his position. Previously there had been a similar arrangement with the Ottomans but they expected a tribute from Morocco instead of the reverse as the Sultan got from France. In the French area, there was a marked increase in economic activity, but that mainly involved colonials and long resident Jews, leaving out the Muslim majority.
In 1937 the French banned a left leaning, Muslim independence movement. The World War II years saw the French administration side with the pro German Vichy French government. The successful American landing of Operation Torch changed that. America communicated openly that at the war’s conclusion the Moroccan people could decide how they wish to be governed. This was not the position of the tiny Free French presence.
Into this, pro independence Muslims crafted a Proclamation of the Independence of Morocco. It was the same figures of the left as before but attempted to display a united front by talking up the quite modest participation of Moroccans on the Allied side of the war and claiming they wanted to be ruled by the Sultan as a King. This was in early 1944 when there was still an American military presence in Morocco.
The Sultan at first did not rise to the challenge/opportunity and the Free French were able reestablish their administration. The Sultan finally gave a speech in the then international city of Tangier referring to the Proclamation of three years before and demanding that French Morocco, Spanish Morocco, Tangier, and the Spanish Sahara be returned to him. The people responded with anti French and anti Jewish riots in the major cities. 1947 was a time when security forces were again being lead by French. Senegalese Tirailleurs were then sent in to put down the riots which they did in what Moroccans considered brutal fashion. The Sultan was sent into exile in Madagascar and the French tried to recognize his cousin as Sultan. The independence forces then on Christmas Eve set off a huge bomb in the market of Casablanca.
The increase in violence disturbed the French and the Sultan in exile promised he could end it if he was allowed to return to his Throne. The cousin was forced into exile, first in Tangier and then in Nice, France.
One by one, the areas to Morocco have indeed come under the Sultan who rebranded himself King of Morocco. The lefty independence forces immediately passed into opposition to the Monarchy. The biggest change though was to change the place from an international place where different people mix to non Muslims voting with their feet and leaving. Even some Muslim Moroccans voted with their feet. About 1.5 million of them live in France.
Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting.