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Are you stuck at home or perhaps having a generally difficult week?
Come, take a walk with me.
This time, we'll meet in Tetouan, in Northern Morocco. As we explore the former capital of the Spanish Protectorate, we will peel away colonialism to reveal layers of history.
Come, take a walk with me.
This time, we'll meet in Tetouan, in Northern Morocco. As we explore the former capital of the Spanish Protectorate, we will peel away colonialism to reveal layers of history.
Not as well-known as Marrakech, Fès or Meknès, Tétouan is one of my favourites - it's a beautiful city and has a more relaxed vibe. It's not too big so easy to walk around. But mainly, we're here because it opens a window onto a different history.
We'll start just outside the walls of the old city (~~Unesco World Heritage certified~~). Until the 20th century, this was the entire city, contained with walls for defence from outsiders. Inside lays a dense network of small streets, houses with patios, markets, fountains.
But to the west, there are no walls. Instead, the city extends into long straight streets lined with tall buildings.
This is an effect of Spanish colonialism. In 1912, France and Spain took over Morocco, and Tetouan became the capital of the northern Spanish zone.
This is an effect of Spanish colonialism. In 1912, France and Spain took over Morocco, and Tetouan became the capital of the northern Spanish zone.
From 1916, the Spanish authorities developed an urban plan for an Ensanche, an 'extension' of the city out of the old walls into a modern city with straight streets. It's very visible if you look at a map of the city, and even visible as you walk along it.
So far, we seem to be following a classic pattern in colonialism in North Africa: Europeans built a 'new city' alongside the old 'médina' in a pattern of urban segregation. This is the case for instance in Fes, Meknes, or most famously Rabat, studied by Janet Abu-Lughod
Except Tetouan does not really fit this pattern. The Spanish city planners were basing themselves on previous ensanches in Spanish cities, extensions out of old city walls. The first and most famous of these was the Barcelona one developed in 1860, ~l'Eixample by Ildefons Cerdà
So, from a Spanish perspective, Tetouan was like any other old Spanish city, with its useless medieval walls and crowded streets, in need of reform to look more like Haussmann's Paris.
and here we begin to notice the weird and intimate nature of Spanish colonialism in Morocco -
and here we begin to notice the weird and intimate nature of Spanish colonialism in Morocco -
Because on the one hand, the Protectorate in 1912 was part of the wider European Scramble for Africa, and an attempt by Spain to get a splash of colour on the map alongside its rivals (in orange here). But like most maps, this one obscures as much as it reveals.
Yes, the Spaniards running Tetouan very much thought of themselves as embarking in a colonial enterprise.
This is why the architecture of the Ensanche looks familiar to other colonial cities: there's a big post office (now the Istituto Cervantes)...
This is why the architecture of the Ensanche looks familiar to other colonial cities: there's a big post office (now the Istituto Cervantes)...
there's even, like in Algiers, a fun fake mosque, the Equitativa insurance building (1945) by Casto Fernández Shaw with its decorative minaret.
https://belenmenendezsolar.blogspot.com/2012/04/edificio-la-equitativa-ben-larbi-torres.html
https://belenmenendezsolar.blogspot.com/2012/04/edificio-la-equitativa-ben-larbi-torres.html
BUT - what's more confusing here is that in many ways, the old city was also Spanish. Let's loop back to the médina.
Tetouan was founded in the late 15th century by Muslims and Jews fleeing Spain. A small settlement existed before, but it was Andalusi families that refounded it
Tetouan was founded in the late 15th century by Muslims and Jews fleeing Spain. A small settlement existed before, but it was Andalusi families that refounded it
just opposite Granada, conquered in 1492 by the Catholic monarchs, close to the sea but protected by the beginnings of the Rif Mountains, Tetouan was the ideal place to hide from the attacks of the Portuguese and later Spanish in Ceuta, and fight back.
We often think of al-Andalus, Islamic rule in the Iberian peninsula, as ending in 1492, but Tetouan shows how this history extended well beyond.
In 1609, Moriscos evicted from the Alpujarras near Granada flooded to the city and expanded it dramatically.
In 1609, Moriscos evicted from the Alpujarras near Granada flooded to the city and expanded it dramatically.
so most of the families in the old city of Tetouan cultivate, to this day, an Andalusi culture - they may have last names that evoke Spain, use certain words in Spanish or cultivate Andalusi music.
cf. the late 19th century house of the Torres family in the medina.
cf. the late 19th century house of the Torres family in the medina.
Spanish rule was different to other forms of colonialism because this was the latest of a series of backs-and-forths across the strait for centuries.
The Spaniards rebuilding Tetouan in 1916 thought that they were colonizing their own past.
(left S Spain, right N Morocco)
The Spaniards rebuilding Tetouan in 1916 thought that they were colonizing their own past.
(left S Spain, right N Morocco)
This did not mean that it was any less violent, only strangely more... intimate.
Tetouan, because of nearby Ceuta (a quick taxi ride these days) was inextricably connected with Spanish history.
Let's walk along the old city walls from the top and I'll show you how
Tetouan, because of nearby Ceuta (a quick taxi ride these days) was inextricably connected with Spanish history.
Let's walk along the old city walls from the top and I'll show you how
Well before the Protectorate, Tetouan had been occupied by Spanish troops. In 1859, facing a domestic political crisis, the Spanish government decided to invade Morocco, and troops stationed outside the old city walls.
The Guerra de África was a political success: it united Spaniards against the ancient evil Muslim enemy, and proved very popular. An area of Madrid, where the returning troops stationed for the victory parade, is still known as Tetuán de las Victorias
But if we walk further along, we reach the former military barracks of the Regulares (the view is great from here). These were for Moroccan soldiers recruited in the Spanish army. In 1936, their close proximity to Spain played a decisive role in Franco's coup against the Republic
Spaniards continue to see Tetouan as a frozen fragment of their own past. Today, the government of Andalucía for instance funds renovations in the old city.
What this has sometimes obscured is that Moroccans have been and continue to be part of Spain's present too.
What this has sometimes obscured is that Moroccans have been and continue to be part of Spain's present too.
So I'll leave you here for today (it's quite a climb up the hill), with some resources.
There is a great online project by Spanish and Moroccan historians on the Protectorate called La Historia Trascendida, available here, with lots of visual sources http://lahistoriatrascendida.es
There is a great online project by Spanish and Moroccan historians on the Protectorate called La Historia Trascendida, available here, with lots of visual sources http://lahistoriatrascendida.es
One of the few works on the protectorate and its relationship to al-Andalus in English is Eric Calderwood's "Colonial Al Andalus" https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674980327
And finally more specifically on the history of Tétouan, in French, is "Tétouan: ville andalouse marocaine", by Jean-Louis Miège, M'hammad Benaboud and Nadia Erzini
Gracias por caminar conmigo hoy, y ojalá nos volvamos a encontrar en Tetuán
https://books.openedition.org/editionscnrs/1274
Gracias por caminar conmigo hoy, y ojalá nos volvamos a encontrar en Tetuán
https://books.openedition.org/editionscnrs/1274
ps: algún día, si queréis, os contaré historia más personal sobre mi familia, Tetuán, y un león 
And if you enjoyed this, you have three juicy walks through Algiers here and one through Casablanca https://twitter.com/arthurasseraf/status/1318145202993942529
