ABSTRACT
The Spanish Civil War had its origins in the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco, which in turn originated from Spain's loss of its overseas possessions in Cuba and the Philippines in 1898 after a war with the United States. A few years after the Spanish-American War, the country was presented with an opportunity to regain membership into the colonial club by dividing Morocco with France. In 1983, American historian Shannon E. Fleming published 'Spanish Morocco and the Alzamiento Nacional' focusing on the military, political and economic mobilization of Spanish Morocco. Over the decades the Spanish Civil War has generated thousands of historical studies, including many that centred on popular themes, like foreign involvement such as the International Brigades – but also on the German Condor Legion and the Italian troops. Somehow, Moroccan volunteers escaped being the subject of any dedicated historical studies. They figured in war memoirs, usually in passing, though with interest in their exotic nature.
