Major Moroccan companies and many of the largest American and European companies operating in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show that Casablanca is the main industrial zone in the country.
Before the 15th century, the settlement at what is now Casablanca had been calledAnfa, rendered in European sources variously as El-Anfa, Anafa or Anaffa, Anafe, Anife, Anafee, Nafe, and Nafee.[8]Ibn Khaldun ascribed the name to theAnfaça, a branch of theAwraba tribe of theMaghreb, though the sociologistAndré Adam refuted this claim due to the absence of the third syllable.[8]Nahum Slouschz gave aHebrew etymology, citing theLexicon ofGesenius:anâphâh (a type of bird) oranaph (face, figure), though Adam refuted this arguing that even aJudaized population would still have spokenTamazight.[8] Adam also refuted anArabic etymology,أنف (anf, "nose"), as the city predated the linguisticArabization of the country, and the termanf was not used to describe geographic areas.[8] Adam affirmed a Tamazight etymology—fromanfa "hill",anfa "promontory on the sea",ifni "sandy beach", oranfa "threshing floor"—although he determined the available information insufficient to establish exactly which.[8]
The name "Anfa" was used in maps until around 1830—in some until 1851—which Adam attributes to the tendency of cartographers to replicate previous maps.[9]
The origins of the name "Casablanca" are unclear, although several theories have been suggested.André Adam mentions the legend of theSufi saint and merchantAllal al-Qairawani, who supposedly came fromTunisia and settled in Casablanca with his wife Lalla al-Baiḍāʾ (لالة البيضاءWhite Lady).[9] The villagers ofMediouna would reportedly provision themselves at "Dar al-Baiḍāʾ" (دار البيضاءHouse of the White).[9]
In fact, on a low hill slightly inland above theruins of Anfa and just to the west of today's city centre, it appears there was awhite-washed structure, possibly a Sufizawiya that acted as a landmark to sailors.[10] The Portuguese cartographerDuarte Pacheco wrote in the early 16th century that the city could easily be identified by a tower, and nautical guides from the late 19th century still mentioned a "white tower" as a point of reference.[9] The Portuguese marinerscalqued the modern Arabic name to "Casa Branca" ([kazɐ'bɾɐ̃kɐ]White House) in place of Anfa.[9] The name "Casablanca" was then acalque of the Portuguese name when the Spanish took over trade through theIberian Union.[9]
During theFrench protectorate in Morocco, the name remained Casablanca (pronounced[kazablɑ̃ka]). Today, Moroccans still call the city Casablanca orCasa for short, or by its Arabic name, pronouncedd-Dār l-Biḍā in Moroccan Arabic orad-Dāru-l-Bayḍā' inStandard Arabic.[11]
The area that is today Casablanca was founded and settled byBerbers by the seventh century BC.[12] It was used as a port by the Phoenicians, then the Romans.[citation needed] In his bookDescription of Africa,Leo Africanus refers to ancient Casablanca as "Anfa", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom ofBarghawata in 744 AD. He believed Anfa was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land."[13] Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by theAlmoravids in 1068. After the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century,Arab tribes ofHilal andSulaym descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, which led to widespreadArabization.[14][15] During the 14th century, under theMerinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by apopular revolt in 1465.[16]
Casablanca in 1572, still called "Anfa" in this coloured engraving, although the Portuguese had already renamed it "Casa Branca" – "White House" – later Hispanicised to "Casablanca".
In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates andprivateers. The Portuguese consequently bombarded the town into ruins in 1468.[17] The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, meaning "white house" inPortuguese.
The town was finally rebuilt between 1756 and 1790 bySultanMohammed ben Abdallah, the grandson ofMoulay Ismail. The town was calledad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ (الدار البيضاء), theArabic translation of the PortugueseCasa Branca.
In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as it became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry inBritain and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importinggunpowder tea, used in Morocco's national drink,mint tea).[18] By the 1860s, around 5,000 residents were there, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s.[19] Casablanca remained a modestly sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival ofFrench colonialists in 1906. By 1921, this rose to 110,000,[20] largely through the development ofshanty towns.[citation needed]
TheTreaty of Algeciras of 1906 formalized French preeminence in Morocco and included three measures that directly impacted Casablanca: that French officers would control operations at the customs office and seize revenue as collateral for loans given by France, that the French holding companyLa Compagnie Marocaine would develop theport of Casablanca, and that a French-and-Spanish-trained police force would be assembled to patrol the port.[21]
To build the port's breakwater,narrow-gauge track was laid in June 1907 for a smallDecauville locomotive to connect the port to a quarry inRoches Noires, passing through the sacred Sidi Belyout graveyard. In resistance to this and the measures of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras, tribesmen of theChaouia attacked the locomotive, killing 9Compagnie Marocaine laborers—3 French, 3 Italians, and 3 Spanish.[22]
In response, the Frenchbombarded the city in August 1907 with multiple gunboats and landed troops inside the town, causing severe damage and killing between 600 and 3,000 Moroccans.[23] Estimates for the total casualties are as high as 15,000 dead and wounded. In the immediate aftermath of the bombardment and the deployment of French troops, the European homes and theMellah, or Jewish quarter, were sacked, and the latter was also set ablaze.[24]
A man inspects the derailedDecauville locomotive at the scene of the attack that served as the pretext for the French bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.[25][26]
A postcard showing the French cruiserGloire recoiling from firing artillery at the city during thebombardment of Casablanca August 1907.
Résidence or mansion erected forHubert Lyautey in the Medina shortly after the establishment of the protectorate, designed by architect Pierre Bousquet[27]: 49 Place de France (nowUnited Nations Square) in 1917.[28] With its landmarkClock Tower, this space became a contact point between what the colonists called theville indigène to the left—comprising theMellah and the Medina—and the Europeannouvelle ville to the right.Henri Prost's plans to extend4ème Zouaves Street (nowFélix Houphouët-Boigny Street) from theport to thePlace de France (nowUnited Nations Square), part of his redesigns of Casablanca's urban landscape.
French control of Casablanca was formalized March 1912 when theTreaty of Fes established theFrenchProtectorat.[29] Under French imperial control, Casablanca became a port of colonial extraction.[30]
Right at the beginning of the twentieth century whenMorocco was officially declared a French protectorate, the French decided to shift power to Morocco's coastal areas (i.e.Rabat and Casablanca) at the expense of its interior areas (i.e. Fez and Marrakech). Rabat was made the administrative capital of the country and Casablanca its economic capital.[31]
GeneralHubert Lyautey assigned the planning of the new colonial port city toHenri Prost. As he did in other Moroccan cities, Prost designed a Europeanville nouvelle outside the walls of themedina. In Casablanca, he also designed a new "ville indigène" to house Moroccans arriving from other cities.[32]
Europeans formed almost half the population of Casablanca.[33]
A 1937–1938typhoid fever outbreak was exploited by colonial authorities to justify the appropriation of urban spaces in Casablanca.[34][35] Moroccans residing ininformal housing were cleared out of the center and displaced, notably toCarrières Centrales.[34]
AfterPhilippe Pétain ofFrance signed thearmistice with theNazis, he ordered French troops inFrance's colonial empire to defend French territory against any aggressors—Allied or otherwise—applying a policy of "asymmetrical neutrality" in favour of the Germans.[36] French colonists in Morocco generally supported Pétain, while Moroccans tended to favourde Gaulle and theAllies.[37]
It was at this conference that the Allies adopted the doctrine of "unconditional surrender", meaning that theAxis powers would be fought until their defeat.Roosevelt also met privately with SultanMuhammad V and expressed his support for Moroccan independence after the war.[39] This became a turning point, as Moroccan nationalists were emboldened to openly seek complete independence.[39]
Morocco gained independence from France in 1956. The post-independence era witnessed significant urban transformations and socio-economic shifts, particularly in neighborhoods like Hay Mohammadi, which were deeply impacted by neoliberal policies and state-led urban redevelopment projects.[43]
Casablanca was a major departure point for Jews leaving Morocco throughOperation Yachin, an operation conducted byMossad to secretly migrateMoroccan Jews toIsrael between November 1961 and spring 1964.[46]
The1965 student protests organized by theNational Union of Popular Forces-affiliated National Union of Moroccan Students, which spread to cities around the country and devolved into riots, started on 22 March 1965, in front ofLycée Mohammed V in Casablanca.[47][48][49] The protests started as a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Morocco, but expanded to include concerns of labourers, the unemployed, and other marginalized segments of society, and devolved into vandalism and rioting.[50] The riots were violently repressed by security forces with tanks and armoured vehicles; Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths while theUNFP reported more than 1,000.[47] This violent suppression happened under theminister of interiorMohamed Oufkir's direction.[51] He personally machine-gunned rioters from his helicopter.[52]
KingHassan II blamed the events on teachers and parents, and declared in a speech to the nation on 30 March 1965: "There is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate."[53][54]
On 6 June 1981, theCasablanca Bread Riots took place,[55] which were sparked by a sharp increase in the price of necessities such as butter, sugar, wheat flour, and cooking oil following a period of severe drought.[56] Hassan II appointed the French-trained interior ministerDriss Basri as hardliner, who would later become a symbol of theYears of Lead, with quelling the protests.[57] The government stated that 66 people were killed and 100 were injured, while opposition leaders put the number of dead at 637, saying that many of these were killed by police and army gunfire.[55]
In March 2000, more than 60 women's groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country.[58] About 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban onpolygamy and the introduction ofdivorce law (divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although the counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential onKing Mohammed VI, and he enacted a newmudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.[59]
On 16 May 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured when Casablanca was hit by amultiple suicide bomb attack carried out by Moroccans and claimed by some to have been linked toal-Qaeda. Twelve suicide bombers struck five locations in the city.[60]
Another series of suicide bombings struck the city in early 2007.[61][62][63] These events illustrated some of the persistent challenges the city faces in addressing poverty and integrating disadvantaged neighborhoods and populations.[64] One initiative to improve conditions in the city's disadvantaged neighborhoods was the creation of theSidi Moumen Cultural Center.[64]
As calls for reform spread through the Arab world in 2011, Moroccans joined in, but concessions by the ruler led to acceptance.[citation needed] However, in December, thousands of people demonstrated in several parts of the city[citation needed], especially the city center near la Fontaine, desiring more significant political reforms. On 1 November 2023, Casablanca along withOuarzazate joined UNESCO'sCreative Cities Network.[65][66]
Casablanca is located on the Atlantic coast of theChaouia Plains, which have historically been thebreadbasket of Morocco.[67] Apart from the Atlantic coast, theBouskoura forest is the only natural attraction in the city.[68] The forest was planted in the 20th century and consists mostly ofeucalyptus,palm, andpine trees.[69] It is located halfway to the city's international airport.[citation needed]
The only watercourse in Casablanca isoued Bouskoura,[70] a small seasonal creek that until 1912 reached theAtlantic Ocean near the actual port. Most of oued Bouskoura's bed has been covered due to urbanization and only the part south ofEl Jadida road can now be seen. The closest permanent river to Casablanca isOum Rabia, 70 km (43.50 mi) to the south-east.[citation needed]
Casablanca has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classificationCsa). The coolCanary Current off the Atlantic coast moderates temperature variation, which results in a climate remarkably similar to that of coastalLos Angeles, with similar temperature ranges. The city has an annual average of 72 days with significant precipitation, which amounts to 412 mm (16.2 in) per year. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the city are 40.5 °C (104.9 °F) and −2.7 °C (27.1 °F), respectively. The highest amount of rainfall recorded in a single day is 178 mm (7.0 in) on 30 November 2010.[citation needed]
Climate data for Casablanca (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1941–present)
A 2019 paper published inPLOS One estimated that underRepresentative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario ofclimate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Casablanca in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate ofTripoli, Libya. The annual temperature would increase by 1.7 °C (3.1 °F), and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.6 °C (2.9 °F), while the temperature of the coldest month would actually decrease by 0.2 °C (0.36 °F).[77][78]
Moreover, according to the 2022IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Casablanca is one of 12 major African cities (Abidjan,Alexandria,Algiers,Cape Town, Casablanca,Dakar,Dar es Salaam,Durban,Lagos,Lomé,Luanda andMaputo) which would be the most severely affected by futuresea level rise. It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of US$65 billion under RCP 4.5 and US$86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact frommarine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$137.5 billion in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to US$187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, US$206 billion for RCP8.5 and US$397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario.[79] Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures.[80]
TheGrand Casablanca region is considered the locomotive of the development of theMoroccan economy. It attracts 32% of the country's production units and 56% ofindustrial labor. The region uses 30% of the national electricity production. With MAD 93 billion, the region contributes to 44% of the industrial production of the kingdom. About 33% of national industrial exports, MAD 27 billion, comes from the Grand Casablanca; 30% of the Moroccan banking network is concentrated in Casablanca.[81]
One of the most important exports of Casablanca is phosphate. Other industries include fishing, fish canning, sawmills, furniture production, building materials, glass, textiles, electronics, leather work, processed food, spirits, soft drinks, and cigarettes.[82]
TheCasablanca andMohammedia seaports activity represent 50% of the international commercial flows of Morocco.[citation needed] Almost the entire Casablanca waterfront is under development, mainly the construction of huge entertainment centres between the port and Hassan II Mosque, the Anfa Resort project near the business, entertainment and living centre of Megarama, the shopping and entertainment complex ofMorocco Mall, as well as a complete renovation of the coastal walkway. The Sindbad park was also renewed with rides, games and entertainment services.[83]
Maintaining any cultural asset given to the district by the municipality[87]
Each year, the 16 districts all receive a small budget from the municipality of Casablanca. However, they each determine how to use that budget. Each district has a President who is accountable to 15 to 20 district council members.
Example:The President of Anfa is accountable to the Council of Anfa. Only people living in Anfa can vote for the Anfa council.
Each of the 16 local councils meets 3 times a year, in January, June, and September.[87]
These 3 meetings are mandatory and generally open to the public.[87]
The President of the 16 Districts can ask the Mayor of Casablanca to give them special powers.[87]
Casablanca is divided into 8 prefectures. Each prefecture is led by a Governor who is appointed by the Moroccan government.[citation needed]
8 prefectures, 8 governors
A governor typically oversees 2 or 3 districts.
Example: The Governor of Prefecture de Casablanca-Anfa overseesAnfa,Sidi Belyout andMaarif.
Governors can cancel decisions voted by a council if the proper legal procedures were not respected. They can also ask a judge to remove a District President from office if there is evidence he doesn't show up at council meetings.[citation needed]
Jews have along history in Casablanca. ASephardic Jewish community was inAnfa up to the destruction of the city by the Portuguese in 1468. Jews were slow to return to the town, but by 1750, the Rabbi Elijahsynagogue was built as the first Jewish synagogue in Casablanca. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the1755 Lisbon earthquake.[12]
In the mid-19th century, with commercial development through European economic penetration, industrial imports from Europe drove traditional Jewish crafts out of the market, costing many Jews in the interior their traditional livelihoods.[92][93]Moroccan Jews started migrating from the interior to coastal cities such asEssaouira,Mazagan,Asfi, and later Casablanca for economic opportunity, participating in trade with Europeans and the development of those cities.[94]
Jean-Louis Cohen highlights the role of Jewish patrons in thearchitecture and urban development of Casablanca, particularly in construction of the overwhelming majority of the city's tallest buildings during the interwar period.[96] One notable example of this trend is theLévy-Bendayan Building designed by Marius Boyer.[96]
Today, theJewish cemetery of Casablanca is one of the major cemeteries of the city, and many synagogues remain in service, but the city's Jewish community has dwindled. TheMoroccan Jewish Museum is a museum established in the city in 1997.[100]
Raja CA, founded in 1949, compete inBotola and play their home games at theStade Mohammed V. The club is known for their supporters and is one of the most supported teams in Africa.Wydad AC, founded in 1937, also compete in Botola and play their home games at theStade Mohammed V. Both have a strong reputation on continental competitions, having both won theCAF Champions League three times.
TheHassan II Stadium is the planned football stadium to be built in the city. Once completed in 2025, it will be used mostly for football matches and will serve as the home ofRaja Casablanca,Wydad Casablanca, and theMorocco national football team. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 93,000 spectators, making it one of the highest-capacity stadiums in Africa. Once completed, it will replace theStade Mohamed V. The initial idea of the stadium was for the2010 FIFA World Cup, for which Morocco lost their bid toSouth Africa. Nevertheless, the Moroccan government supported the decision to go ahead with the plans. It will be completed in 2025. The idea of the stadium was also for the2026 FIFA World Cup, for which Morocco lost their bid toCanada,Mexico andUnited States. It will now host the2030 FIFA World Cup which Morocco will co-host with two European nationsSpain andPortugal. It is expected to be complete by 2028.[113]
The city is host to the International Casablanca Marathon, a 26.2-mile road race that draws international competition. The race was founded in 2008 and is a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races.[114]
Tayeb Saddiki, described as the father of Moroccan theater, grew up in Casablanca and made his career there.[128]Hanane el-Fadili andHassan El Fad are popular comedians from Casablanca.Gad Elmaleh is another comedian from Casablanca, though he has made his career abroad.[129]
Marcelin Flandrin (1889–1957), a French military photographer, settled in Casablanca and recorded much of the early colonial period in Morocco with his photography.[137] With his staged nude postcard photos taken in Casablanca'scolonial brothel quarter, Flandrin was also responsible for disseminating theorientalist image of Moroccan women as sexual objects.[138]
Casablanca has a thrivingstreet photography scene.[139]Yoriyas is prominent among photographers capturing the economic capital's street scenes, and has attracted international attention.[140]
The 1942 American filmCasablanca is set in Casablanca and has had a lasting impact on the city's image although it was filmed in the United States.[144]Rick's Café Casablanca, which opened in 2004, was inspired by the film.
Casablanca's architecture and urban development are historically significant. The city is home to many notable buildings in a variety of styles, including traditional Moroccan architecture, various colonial architectural styles,Art Nouveau,Art Deco,Neo-Mauresque,Streamline Moderne,Modernism,Brutalism, and more. During theFrench Protectorate, the French government described Casablanca as a "laboratory of urbanism".[151]
Casablanca has also implemented a rapid bus transit system known as theCasablanca Busway, a high-level bus network serving the city. As of 2024, the network consists of two lines, BW1 and BW2.[157][158]
Since the 1970s, Casablanca had planned to build ametro system to offer some relief to the problems of traffic congestion and poor air quality.[159][160] However, the city council voted to abandon the metro project in 2014 due to high costs, and decided to continue expanding the already operatingtram system instead.[161]
Compagnie de Transports au Maroc (CTM) offers private intercity coach buses on various lines run servicing most notable Moroccan towns, as well as a number of European cities. These run from the CTM Bus Station on Leo Africanus Street near theCentral Market in downtown Casablanca. Supratours, an affiliate ofONCF, also offers coach bus service at a slightly lower cost, departing from a station on Wilad Zian Street.[162] There is another bus station farther down on the same street called theWilad Zian Bus Station; this station is the country's largest bus station, serving over 800 buses daily, catering more to Morocco's lower income population.[163][164]
TheHassan II Mosque, which is the second largest mosque in Africa and the seventh-largest in the world, is the city's main tourist attraction.[167][168] Visitors also come to see the city's rich architectural heritage.[169]
^abcdeAndré, Adam (1969).Histoire de Casablanca '(des origines à 1914) '. Ophrys. pp. 14–17.OCLC479295174.
^abcdefghAndré., Adam (1969).Histoire de Casablanca '(des origines à 1914) '. Ophrys. pp. 67–68.OCLC479295174.
^Deroy, Louis (1994).Dictionnaire des noms de lieux (in French). France: Dictionnaires Le Robert. p. 94.ISBN2-85036-195-X.
^Hachimi, Atiqa (2007). "Becoming Casablancan: Fessis in Casablanca as a case study". In Miller, Catherine; Al-Wer, Enam; Caubet, Dominique; Watson, Janet C. E. (eds.).Arabic in the City: Issues in Dialect Contact and Language Variation. Routledge. p. 100.ISBN978-1-135-97876-1.Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved2023-03-09.However, in the sixteenth century the Portuguese decided to come back to the area and settle in it permanently. They built the city and named itCasa Branca "the white house". In 1755, the Portuguese abandoned the city after an earthquake that destroyed it completely. After the departure of the Portuguese, Casablanca remained deserted until the Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah rebuilt it near the end of the eighteenth century. He renamed itAddaru lbayḍaʔ, which is the literal Arabic translation forCasa Branca. The city acquired its Spanish nameCasa Blanca when Spanish companies established themselves in the city in 1781. Today the city is known by its Standard Arabic nameaddaru lbayḍaʔ, andd-dar(l)biḍa in Moroccan Arabic, as well asCasablanca orCasa for short.
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^Goulven, Joseph; Flandrin, Marcelin (1928).Casablanca: de 1889 à nos jours : album de photographies rétrospectives et modernes montrant le développement de la ville (in French). Casablanca: Editions photographiques Mars.OCLC470477579.
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