Morocco
Morocco
Constitutional monarchy on the northwestern coast of Africa. In 1219 five of the earliest disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saints Berard of Carbio, Peter de Sangeminiano, Accuriius, Otho, and Adjutus, were missionaries to this region; they and seven others sent later were tortured and beheaded. Franciscans and Dominicans continued to labor there, and c.1234 the See of Morocco was erected. In the 15th century there were bishoprics also at Ceuta and Tangier. Today the country is almost entirely Muslim with only about 1% of the population being Christian or Jewish. Ecclesiastically, the country is governed from two archdioceses,
Rabat
Tanger
See also,
Catholic-Hierarchy.Org
World Fact Book
Wikipedia
New Catholic Dictionary
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Morocco
(Prefecture Apostolic of Morocco).
The country known as Morocco (from Marrakesh, the name of one of its chief cities) forms the northwest corner of the Continent of Africa, being separated from French Algeria by an imaginary line, about 217 miles in length, running from Nemours to Tenish es Sassi. It is the Gatulia or Mauretania Tingitana (from Tingos = Tangier) of the ancient Romans. The natives call it Gharb (West), or Magreb el Aksa (Extreme West). The total area is a little more than 308,000 square miles; the population, about 10,000,000. Excepting Abyssinia, it is now the only independent native state in Africa, and is one of the most difficult countries for Europeans to penetrate. Though Morocco is often spoken of as an empire, the authority of the sovereign is a mere fiction throughout the greater part of its territory, which is, on this account, divided, more or less precisely, into the Bled el Maksen, or “country subject to taxes”, and Bled es Siba, or “unsubdued country”. Physically, the surface is broken up into three parallel mountain-chains: the most important of these, the Great Atlas, forms a plateau, forty to fifty miles in width, from which rise peaks, often snow-clad, 10,000 to 13,000 feet high. Facing the Mediterranean are the mountains of the Riff, below which stretches the well-watered and fertile range of the Tell. On the other side, to the extreme south lies the arid Sahara, broken only by a few oases. Between the Mediterranean littoral and the Sahara, the Atlas Plateau, broken by ravines and valleys, rivers and smaller streams, contains many tracts of marvellously fertile country. The sea-coast of Morocco is for the most part dangerous, and offers few advantages for commerce. The best harbours are those of Tangier, Mogador, and Agadir. El Araids, or Larache, and Tangier are the maritime outlets for Fez, which is one of the three capitals of Morocco, the other two being Marrakesh and Meknes. Owing to the high mountains, the sea breezes and the openness of the country, the climate is healthy, temperate, and equable. The temperature is much higher in the south than in the north, the heat, in certain districts, becoming at times insufferable. The soil is adapted to every kind of crop, and sometimes yields three harvests a year. Cattle-breeding is also carried on. There is very little industry, and commerce is chiefly in the hands of Europeans and Jews.
From the earliest period known to history, Morocco has been inhabited by the Berbers (whence the name Barbary). These people were known to the Romans as Numidae, but to the Phoenicians as Mahurin (Westerners); from the Phoenician name the Greeks, and, after them, Latin writers, made Mauri, whence the English Moors. These Moors, Numidians, or Berbers, were subjugated by the Romans, then by the Vandals, the Byzantines, the Visigoths, and, lastly, the Arabs, whose political and religious conquest began in 681. Arabs and Berbers together crossed over into Spain, and thence into France, where their progress was stopped at Poitiers (732) by Charles Martel. Not until 1492, when Granada fell, were the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula definitively rid of the Moors on European soil, and able to carry the war against them into Africa. Portugal no longer retains any of her possessions in Morocco; but Spain still holds eight ports, known as the presidios, one on the Atlantic Coast and seven on the Mediterranean. Besides the Berbers, the population of Morocco includes Jews, who in all the cities are confined to separate quarters (mellah), Sudanese negroes, mostly slaves, and Europeans engaged in commerce on the coast, chiefly at Tangier and Mogador. For two hundred years Morocco has been ruled by a dynasty of Arab sherifs, who claim descent from Ali, the uncle and son-in-law of Mohammed. The sherif, or sultan, is theoretically supreme in both temporal and spiritual affairs, his wishes being carried out by viziers, or secretaries, in the various branches of the administration (maghzen). As a matter of fact, the normal condition of the country is revolution and anarchy. In 1906 the International Conference of Algeciras provided for a combined French and Spanish system of police, but the Morocco question is still (1910) unsettled.
With the exception of the European residents, the segregated Jews mentioned above, and a body of aborigines (Berbers), living in the Atlas, who have proved refractory to Islam, the whole population of Morocco is Mohammedan, and is inaccessible to Christian propaganda. The first Catholic mission to this country was organized in 1234, when Father Angelo, a Franciscan friar and papal legate, was appointed Bishop of Morocco. The succession lasted until 1566, when the see was suppressed, and its jurisdiction given to the Archbishop of Seville. In 1631 the Prefecture Apostolic of Morocco was founded; its first incumbent, Blessed Giovanni da Prado, O.F.M., was martyred at Marrakesh in that year, and his feast is kept by the Franciscan Order on 29 May. Other missionaries continued to exercise their ministry through trials and persecutions of every kind until 1859, when the prefecture was reorganized on its present basis. It is administered by the Franciscans of the College of Compostela. There are in Morocco about 10,000 Catholics, nearly all Europeans; 24 missionaries, 8 stations (in the leading ports), 16 schools, with 1200 children, and a hospital at Tangier, where the prefect Apostolic resides.
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Statesman’s Year Book (London, 1910); Missiones Catholicae (Rome, 1907), 372.
A. LE ROY Transcribed by R. Wiemann
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Morocco
(or MAROCCO), called by the natives Maghreb-el-Aksa, i.e., “the extreme west,” an empire or sultanate in the north-west of Africa. is bounded on the E. by Algeria, on the N. and W. by the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and on the S. by a line which runs from Cape Nun (Lat. 283 45′ 43″ N.) in an easterly direction through the Sahara to the Algerian frontier, in long. 2 E. It includes at the present day the former kingdoms of Maghrib, Fez, and Tafilelet, covering 190,560 English square miles, with a population of about 6,00,000, according to Behm (Geographisches Jahbuck, 1866).
The inhabitants, like those of Barbary (the entire country of North Africa, from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the Mediterranean to the Greater Atlas) in general, consist of Moors, Berbers, Arabs, Negroes, and Jews, with various intermixtures between these races. The Arabians, who have kept their identity notwithstanding the long. period of time they have dwelt in the country, are mostly given to cultivation of the land; indeed, they are about the only agriculturists of the country. They dwell mainly in the valleys. The Moors (q.v.) are the most numerous in the cities, and are the dominant race in Morocco, numbering about 4,000,000; next to them are the Berbers, or Amaziyehs, who amount to about 3,000,000, and include the Berbers of the Riff coast and the Shelluks of the Great Atlas. Very few Europeans reside in Morocco. The state of civilization is very low, and many of the Amaziyehs are complete savages. Excepting the Jews and the few Europeans, the whole population is Mohammedan. The negroes, numbering only about 20,000, were generally brought into the country as slaves from Soudan, until the abolition of the African slave- trade.
The country is generally mountainous, the Atlas range traversing it in several parallel chains from the southwest to north-east, and sending numerous spurs to both the coast country and the desert. There are, however, many level tracts throughout Morocco, especially at its western and eastern extremities, and on the borders of the desert. Morocco is divided into four territories-Fez, Morocco, Suse, and Tafilelet. For convenience of administration, the empire is subdivided into thirty-three governments or districts (“ammala”), each under the superintendence of a “caid,” whose chief duty it is to collect the imposts; but the semi- independent tribes are ruled by their own chiefs, and scarcely acknowledge the authority of the sultan. The government is purely despotic, and in the absence of written laws the will of the sultan and his subordinates decides everything. The public officials eke out their allowances by practicing extortion on those under their charge, and are in turn plundered by their superiors. The sovereign of Morocco, called by Europeans emperor, is known among his subjects as sultan, and assumes the titles of Enii ul- mumenin, or “Prince of the Believers,” and Khalietallah-fi chalkihi, or “Vicegerent of God upon Earth.” The title is hereditary in the male line, but does not necessarily descend to the eldest son. The revenue of the emperor consists of a tenth upon every article of consumption, as allowed by the Koran; an annual tax upon the Jews; custom-house and excise duties; tributes exacted from his own subjects, foreign states, and European merchants, in the form of presents; which last articles form the chief source of his income. The duties and tributes are so frequently changed that it is impossible to estimate their annual amount with any degree of certainty.
Among the chief products of the country are wheat, barley, rice, maize, durra, and sugar-cane; and among fruits, the fig, pomegranate, lemon, orange, and date are common; while cotton, tobacco, hemp, etc., are largely produced both for home use and export. Morocco is rich in mineral treasures; plentiful supplies of copper are obtained at Teseleght, near the source of the Assaker, and gold and silver occur in several places. Iron, antimony, lead, tin, and rock-salt, the last three in considerable quantity, are also found. Owing to the character of the country and its thin population (thirty-five to the English square mile), the country is much infested with wild animals. Lions, panthers, hyenas, wild-boars, and various kinds of deer, gazelles, etc., abound in suitable localities, and occasional devastations are committed by locusts. Ostriches are found in Tafilelet. The Moorish horses, formerly so famous, are now much degenerated. The breeding of sheep, oxen, goats, camels, mules, and asses forms an important item of national industry. Oxen and bulls are chiefly employed in field labor.
The only industrial arts prosecuted to any considerable extent are the manufacture of caps, fine silk, and leather. In the production of the last article the Moroccans far surpass Europeans. There is an important caravan trade between Morocco and Soudan, and also with Mecca and the Levant. The intercourse with Algiers has in very recent times become a source of great trouble, and there is danger of war between France and Morocco unless the emperor’s subjects shall hereafter prove more considerate of French interests. The Jews of Algeria, who largely control the caravan trade, have been very unkindly treated, and their complaints have been made the subject of special diplomatic service, the end of which is not yet (April 1875). Education consists in learning to read, write, and recite portions of the Koran, and this quantum of education is pretty generally diffused among the people; but the art of printing is unknown, and the arts and sciences are at a very low ebb.
The religion of Morocco was no doubt Christian until, in the 7th and 8th centuries, the Saracens overran it, and made converts of the native population. SEE AFRICA, in volume 1, page 94. Since this changed condition Morocco has been faithful to the Moslem faith. Yet toleration is granted in some measure to any sect which does not teach a plurality of gods; and on proper application is permitted to appropriate a place for public worship. There are Roman Catholic establishments in Morocco, Mequinez, Mogadore, and Tangier, but the number of communicants is not much over 200. Protestants are scarcely known in the country, and thus far no missionary efforts have been made in this part of Africa. Until 1814 Christians were frequently held as slaves, but since the power of France asserted itself on the African coast this abuse has terminated. Some of the practices of the natives are very peculiar. Thus through all the country there are buildings of an octagonal form called Zawiat, or sanctuaries, with an unenclosed piece of ground attached to each for the interment of the dead. In these places is a priest or saint, who superintends divine service and the burial of the dead, and who is often applied to as arbiter in disputes. In these consecrated places the wealthy inhabitants often deposit their treasures for security, and criminals find ,protection against the hands of justice. Polygamy is practiced in the country generally. The emperor himself supports a large harem, but has one superior wife, who is sultaness, and three other wives. Besides these he has a large number of concubines. Many of these are Moorish women, as the Moors consider it an honor to have their daughters in the harem; some of them European slaves; several are negresses: in all there are usually from sixty to one hundred, besides their slaves and domestics. Priestesses, who are so far learned as to read and write, are employed to teach the younger part of the harem to repeat their prayers, and to instruct the older females in the principles of their religion. The other religious institutions of the empire are so similar to those of most Mohammedan countries as to render a separate account of them altogether superfluous. SEE MOHAMMEDANISM.
The history of Morocco is, generally speaking, similar to that of the rest of Northern Africa (q.v.) down to the end of the 15th century. About that time it was formed into a monarchy, and, notwithstanding internal divisions, enjoyed considerable prosperity, and the confines of the empire were extended as far as Timbuctoo. This empire fell to pieces, and was succeeded in 1647 by that of the Sherifs of Tafilelet, who conquered both Morocco Proper and Fez, and united the whole country under one government. This is the present ruling dynasty. In the middle of the 17th century the empire of Morocco embraced part of the present province of Algeria, and extended south as far as Guinea, where it came into collision with the Portuguese settlements. Since the commencement of the 19th century the rebellions of the wild mountain tribes, the disturbances in Algeria, and difficulties with foreign states, caused by the aggressions of the Riff pirates, have greatly retarded the well-conceived measures of the various rulers for the development of the resources and increase in the civilization of Morocco. In 1817 piracy was prohibited throughout Morocco. In 1844 Morocco took part in the war of Abd-el-Kader against the French, in the course of which Tangier was bombarded and Mogadore occupied; but peace was concluded in the same year. In 1851 and 1856 complications took place with France concerning some French vessels which had been plundered by the Riff pirates, but in each case compensation was given by the sultan. In 1859 the Spanish government, smarting under a series of similar outrages, demanded compensation, and also an apology for an insult to the Spanish flag at Ceuta; and on the sultan’s disclaiming all responsibility for these acts, war was declared by Spain October 22, 1859. A short invasion brought the sultan to terms on March 25, 1860, and a treaty was accordingly signed April 27, 1860, by which the sultan ceded great commercial and social advantages to Spaniards. Christianity was by special treaty afforded many advantages also, but of course they are confined to Roman Catholics. As a consequence of these treaties a mission-house was opened at Fez, which promises to do something, but has as yet accomplished very little for the conversion of natives to Christianity. See Specchio geografico e statistico dell’ imperio di Marocco (Genoa, 1833); Calderon, Cuadro geografico, stadistico, historico, e politico del imperio de Marrucos (Madrid, 1844); Renou, Description geographique de l’empire de Maroc (Paris, 1846); Augustin, Marokko in seinen geographischen, historischen, religiosen, politischen, etc., Zustanden (Pesth, 1845); Rohlf, “Reiseberichte” in Petermann’s Mittheilungen (1863-65).