20:
80:', a period of intense competition between European powers in the later 19th century for territory and influence in Africa. The process culminated in the Berlin Conference of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result of this process, Spain announced its intention to declare a protectorate over the north-west African coast between
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96:
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on the matter in
October 1975 stated that neither the Moroccan nor Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara were strong enough to justify annexation, and that the Saharawi people should be allowed to determine their own future. Morocco thereafter sought to settle the matter militarily, and in November
119:). This boundary was then extended by a treaty of 3 October 1904 north up to what is now the tripoint with Algeria and then west along the parallel of 27°40'N, this latter line forming the modern Morocco-Western Sahara boundary; the new Spanish territory thus formed was named
123:. Another Franco-Spanish treaty was signed on 27 November 1912 which created a French protectorate over most of Morocco, whilst ceding parts of the country to Spain viz. the Mediterranean littoral (the 'Northern Zone', or more commonly
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was at this time near-death, and the country was unwilling to respond militarily at such a delicate time, keen to avoid the kind of drawn-out colonial war that had bedevilled
Portugal in its African colonies. Spain therefore signed
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with
Morocco and Mauritania, splitting Spanish Sahara roughly in two, roughly two-thirds in Morocco's favour. Morocco thereafter the absorbed their section into Morocco and the Morocco–Western Sahara border
64:
The border starts in the west at the
Atlantic coast and consists of a single horizontal line, terminating in the east at the Algerian tripoint. The border traverses a thinly populated section of the
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in 1957). Morocco then turned its sights to
Spanish Sahara, however Mauritania (independent since 1960) also contested the territory, claiming the former colony of Rio de Oro as part of '
557:
363:
Campos-Serrano, Alicia; Rodríguez-Esteban, José Antonio (January 2017). "Imagined territories and histories in conflict during the struggles for
Western Sahara, 1956–1979".
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In the 1980s, in an effort to control the territory and stymie the
Polisario, Morocco began building a number of elaborate walls (or 'berms'), eventually completing the
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José Luis
Villanova, "La organización política del territorio de Ifni duranta la dominación colonial española (1934–1969)",
162:), thereby re-instating the 1904 border. Ifni was ceded in 1969 (following a failed Moroccan attempt to capture the region
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154:', claimed all of Spanish West Africa as Moroccan land. In 1958 Spain merged Rio de Oro and Saguia el-Hamara in 1958 as
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174:, seeking independence for the whole of Spanish Sahara as Western Sahara, and began a low-level guerrilla campaign. An
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135:/Tarfaya Strip (aka the 'Southern Zone'), the latter forming what is now the far south of Morocco proper, between the
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From 1946 to 1958 Spanish
Morocco, the Tarfaya Strip, Ifni, Rio de Oro and Saguia el Hamra were united as
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which remain part of Spain today). The newly independent state, inspired by the idea of creating a '
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On 27 June 1900 France and Spain signed a treaty which created a border between Rio de Oro and
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against
Morocco and Mauritania. Unwilling to continue the conflict, Mauritania pulled out of
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146:. Morocco gained independence from France in 1956, including Spanish Morocco (minus the
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Map showing the berm - Morocco controls all areas west of it, Polisario those east
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of the wall (roughly 80% of Western Sahara), with Polisario controlling those
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317:. Institute for International Affairs, Hurst and Co. pp. 149–58.
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International Boundary Study No. 9 – Morocco-Western Sahara Boundary
158:; that same year Spain ceded the Tarfaya Strip to Morocco (via the
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starting at Ras Nouadhibou and terminating at the junction of the
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438:. International Court of Justice. 16 October 1975. Archived from
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based on the boundaries of Spanish Sahara, thus starting a long
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and the Saguia el-Hamra border at 27°40'N agreed upon in 1904.
88:(Cape Blanco/Cap Blanc), which was formally created as the
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ignoring the border entirely. Polisario forces declared a
432:"Case Summaries : WESTERN SAHARA: Advisory Opinion"
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is 444 kilometres (276 mi) in length and runs from
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African Boundaries: A Legal and Diplomatic Encyclopedia
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Anales: Revista de Estudios Ibéricos e Iberoamericanos
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in 1991 ending the war; Morocco retained control of
170:'. Saharawi nationalists had meanwhile formed the
46:in the east. The border has existed purely in a
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99:Former Spanish territories in north-west Africa
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403:(Nouvelles Éditions Latines, 1975), p. 101.
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200:ceased to exist, with subsequent Moroccan
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231:in 1987. Morocco and Polisario signed a
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262:CIA World Factbook – Western Sahara
42:in the west, to the tripoint with
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206:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
117:Mauritania–Western Sahara border
627:Territorial disputes of Morocco
365:Journal of Historical Geography
76:The border emerged during the '
622:Disputed territories in Africa
202:administrative reorganisations
176:International Court of Justice
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115:(i.e. the bulk of the modern
229:Moroccan Western Sahara Wall
54:annexation of Western Sahara
92:colony the following year.
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464:, page 2. Website of the
454:Milestones of the conflict
421:(2007): 49–82, esp. 62–72.
612:Borders of Western Sahara
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566:Borders of Western Sahara
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377:10.1016/j.jhg.2016.11.009
160:Treaty of Angra de Cintra
459:21 February 2007 at the
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52:sense since Morocco's
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617:International borders
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442:on 11 February 2002.
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16:International border
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233:ceasefire agreement
148:plazas de soberanía
144:Spanish West Africa
113:26th parallel north
78:Scramble for Africa
607:Borders of Morocco
505:Borders of Morocco
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168:Greater Mauritania
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109:12th meridian west
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82:Cape Bojador
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436:icj-cij.org
184:Green March
60:Description
601:Categories
581:Mauritania
349:23 January
273:23 January
247:References
237:areas west
214:their zone
137:Draa River
90:Rio de Oro
172:Polisario
133:Cape Juby
457:Archived
313:(1979).
198:de facto
193:a treaty
164:by force
131:and the
111:and the
586:Morocco
576:Algeria
515:Algeria
72:History
49:de jure
44:Algeria
30:Morocco
371:: 47.
179:ruling
36:border
520:Spain
343:(PDF)
351:2020
275:2020
241:east
129:Ifni
84:and
27:The
381:hdl
373:doi
210:war
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379:.
369:55
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323:^
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32:–
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