ABSTRACT
Morocco is isolated by the sea on two sides and by the desert on the south, while high ranges on the east cut it off from Algeria; contact with the latter is restricted to the narrow Taza Corridor. On the north the Spanish Riff is a leased entity apart; Tangier is internationalized; Morocco proper is a wide plain of great fertility in the west, but in the east a rugged mountainous region. When the grab for Africa began in earnest, tenure of Morocco by France became imperative for sake of Algeria, the boundary with which had been vaguely drawn in 1845. Modern penetration, resulting in clashes of the native power with Spain and France began in 1859. Political power had normally fluctuated perhaps more significantly than in the other Barbary states. The invasions from the east died before penetrating the Maghreb. The Arabs merely touched Morocco, the Turks entered it not at all, while the successive dynasties of Idrissides.
