Casablanca (Spanish for white (blanca) house (casa) ; Amazigh: Anfa; Standard Arabic: الدار البيضاء; Moroccan Arabic: dar beïda الدار البيضا ) is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Greater Casablanca region.With a population of 3.1 million (3.85 million in the "greater Casablanca" (September 2005 census), Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It's also the biggest city in the Maghreb and the sixth biggest city in the entire continent of Africa. Casablanca is considered the economic capital of Morocco because it is the heart of Moroccan business; the political capital is Rabat. It is also the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Casablanca is the leading city hosting headquarters and main industrial facilities for the leading Moroccan and international companies based in Morocco. Industrial statistics show Casablanca retains its historic position as the main industrial zone of the country. The Port of Casablanca is considered as Morocco's chief port and as one of the largest artificial ports in the world. It is also the largest port of the Maghreb and North Afric.
History
Before the French Protectorate
The area which is today Casablanca was settled by Berbers by at least the 7th century. A small independent kingdom, in the area then named Anfa, arose in the area around that time in response to Arab Muslim rule, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068
.During 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and privateers, leading to it being targeted by the Portuguese, who destroyed the town in 1468.
The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515. The town that grew up around it was called "Casabranca", meaning "White House" in Portuguese.
Between 1580-1640 was part of Spain, and later part of Portugal again. They eventually abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an earthquake which destroyed most of the town.
The town was finally reconstructed by sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (1756-1790), the grandson of Moulay Ismail and ally of George Washington. The town was called Dar el Beida (white house) in Arabic and Casa Blanca in Spanish.
In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as Casablanca became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importing Morocco's now famous national drink, gunpowder tea). By the 1860s, there were around 5,000 residents, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s. Casablanca remained a modestly-sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival of French colonialists in the town, at first administrators within a sovereign sultanate, in 1906. By 1921, this was to rise to 110,000, largely through the development of bidonvilles.
French rule
In June 1907, the French attempted to build a light railway near the port and passing through a graveyard. Residents attacked the French workers, and riots ensued. French troops were
landed in order to restore order, which was achieved only after severe damage to the town. The French then took control of Casablanca. This effectively began the process of colonialisation, although French control of Casablanca was not formalised until 1910.The famous 1942 film Casablanca underlined the city's colonial status at the time -- depicting it as the scene of a power struggle between competing European powers, carried out with little reference to the local population. The film's vast cosmopolitan cast of characters (American, French, German, Czech, Norse, Bulgarian, Russian and some other nationalities) includes only a single (uncredited) Arab character, "Abdul" the doorman whose role is marginal.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting. A terrorist bomb on Christmas Day of 1953 caused terrible casualties.
The Casablanca Conference
Casablanca was an important strategic port during World War II and hosted the Casablanca Conference in 1943, in which Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. Casablanca was the site of a large American air base, which was the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
Since independence
Morocco regained independence from France on the 2nd of March, 1956.
In 1930, Casablanca hosted a Grand Prix. The race was held at the new Anfa Racecourse. In 1958, the race was held at Ain-Diab circuit - . In 1983, Casablanca hosted the Mediterranean
Games.The city is now developing a tourism industry. Casablanca has become the economic and business capital of Morocco, while Rabat is the political capital.
In March 2000, women's groups organised demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country. 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on polygamy and the introduction of divorce 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 on King Mohammed VI, and he enacted a new Mudawana, or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.
Economy
The Greater Casablanca region is considered the locomotive of the development of the Moroccan economy. It attracts 32% of the country’s production units and 56% of industrial 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. 33% of national industrial exportations, MAD 27 billions, which is comparably with US $ 3.6 billion, come from the Greater Casablanca. 30% of Moroccan banking network is concentrated in Casablanca.
One of the most important Casablancan exports is phosphorate. Other industries include fishing, fish canning, sawmilling, furniture making, building materials, glass, textiles, electronics, leather work, processed food, beer, spirits, soft drinks, and cigarettes.
The Casablanca and Mohammedia seaports activity represent 50% of the international commercial flows of Morocco.
Demographics
The population of Grand Casablanca was estimated in 2005 at 3.85 million. 98% of them live in urban areas. Around 25% of them are under 15 and 9% are over 60 years old. The population of the city is about 11% of the total population of Morocco. Greater Casablanca is also the largest urban area in the Maghreb. The number of inhabitants is however disputed by the locals, who point to a number between 5 and 6 million, citing recent drought years as a reason for many people moving into the city to find work.
Jews in Casablanca
There was a Sephardic Jewish community in Anfa up to its destruction by the Portuguese in 1468. Jews were slow to return to the town, but by 1750 the Rabbi Elijah Synagogue was built as the first Jewish temple in Casablanca. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the earthquake of 1755.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Casablanca was home to about 6,000 Jews - more than a quarter of the population. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Casablanca has been associated with Judaism more than any other city in North Africa. The Jewish population snowballed in the mid 20th century, partly because of the development of social support structures for Jewish incomers and partly, after the European Holocaust, because of an increased desire of some Jews for the protection of a large Jewish community.
Between the 1940s and 1960s, the Jewish population of Casablanca was around 70,000. Emigration to France, Canada, the United States and Israel from Casablanca has been substantial since then, however. Large numbers of expatriates retain Moroccan citizenship and a Moroccan identity. Fewer than 5,000 Jews remain in the city today. Here is a list of a few synagogues in Casablanca:
- Council of Moroccan Jewish Communities, (Conseil des Communautés Israélites du Maroc), 1, rue Adrienne Lecouver
- Synagogue Beth-El - 67, Verlet-Hanus
- Synagogue Téhila Le David - Bd du 11 Janvier
- Synagogue Benarrosh - Rue de Lusitania
- Synagogue Em-Habanime - Rue de Lusitania
An Israeli theatre play, extremely popular in the 1950s and 1960's and later made into a film, was called Casablan, depicting the difficult life in a Jaffa slum of the eponymous young Morrocan Jewish immigrant, evidently originating from Casablanca.
Notable physical landmarks
The French period New Town of Casablanca was designed by the French architect Henri Prost and was a model of a new town at that time. The main streets of the New Town (Ville Nouvelle in French) radiate south and east from Place des Nations Unies, where the main market of Anfa had been. The New Town is possibly the most impressive in Morocco. Former administ
rative buildings and modern hotels populate the area. Their style is a combination of Hispano-Mauresque and Art Deco styles.Casablanca is home to the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau. It is situated on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic, which can be seen through a gigantic glass floor with room for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be accommodated in the mosque's courtyard. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 210 metres.Work on the mosque was started in 1980, and was intended to be completed for the 60th birthday of the former Moroccan king, Hassan II, in 1989. However, the building was not inaugurated until 1993. Authorities spent an estimated $800 million in the construction of the building.
The Parc de la Ligue Arabe (formally called Lyautey) is the city's largest public park. On its edge is situated the Cathedrale du Sacré Coeur, which is disused, but is a splendid example of Mauresque architecture.
The Old Medina (the part of town pre-dating the French protectorate) attracts fewer tourists than the medinas of other Moroccan towns, such as Fes and Marrakech. However, it has undergone some restoration in recent years. Included in this project have been the western walls of the medina, its skala, or bastion, and its colonial-period clock tower.
The city is served by Anfa Airport and Mohammed V International Airport, and its port is one of the largest artificial ports in the world.
