Hassan I of Morocco

Hassan I in Meknes.

Son of the sultan Muhammad IV, Mawlay (Moulay) Hassan was proclaimed sultan of Morocco on the death of his father in 1873. His first action was to crush an urban revolt in the capital Fes in 1874, which he had to besiege for a few months.[16][17] The tanners rose up in protest "raging like lions and tigers" through the streets of Fes, pillaging the house of Muhammad Bennis, the Minister of Finance, turning Fes into a battleground.[18] Mawlay Hassan I, who was on campaign sent letters calling for the pacification of the city. Shortly after, the hated tax collectors were withdrawn, and the rebellion halted.[18] The tax collectors soon reappeared, leading to the rebellion commencing again more violently. The local Fes militiamen took up positions in minarets of Fes al-Bali and fired down on the army, but the two sides later negotiated peace and the rebellion was definitely terminated.[18] Of strong Arab culture, he did not know any foreign language,[16] although Mawlay Hassan I was a conservative ruler, he realised the need for modernization and the reform policy of his father.[16]

He strived to maintain the cohesion of his kingdom through political, military, and religious action, in the face of European threats on its periphery, and internal rebellions, He initiated reforms. He strived to ensure the loyalty of the great chiefs of the south. He did not hesitate to appoint local qaids like Sheikh Ma al-'Aynayn who gave him the Bay'a, the pledge of allegiance in Islamic Sharia law. He tried to modernize his army, and lead several expeditions to assert his authority, such as to the Sus in 1882 and 1886, to the Rif in 1887, and to Tafilalt in 1893.[16][19]

Sultan Hassan I managed to maintain the independence of Morocco while neighbouring states fell under European influence, such as Tunis which was conquered by France in 1881 and Egypt which was occupied by Britain in 1882.[20]

Both Spain and France hoped for a weak Makhzen government of Morocco, while the British hoped for the opposite, a reformed Moroccan state which could stand on its own.[20] Aware of this, Mawlay Hassan called for an international conference on the issue, and the Treaty of Madrid was signed on 3 July 1880 to limit the practice, an important event of Mawlay Hassan's reign. Instead of reducing foreign interference, the Makhzen had to grant concessions such as granting foreigners rights to own land in the countryside, something which Great Britain was pushing for all along.[20] This was followed by French incursions into the region of Touat in the south, which was considered Moroccan territory.[20] This treaty effectively gave international approval and protection for lands which had been captured by foreign powers. This set the stage for the French protectorate in Morocco beginning in 1912.[20]

Since 1879, the British occupied Tarfaya and built a fortification there in 1882 known as Port Victoria. It was not until 1886 that the sultan sent a military expedition there, damaging the fort and forcing Donald MacKenzie to leave.[21] The sultan's expedition to Sus in 1886 was followed a year later by the Spanish occupation of Dakhla on the Saharan coast. Mawlay Hassan responded by appointing a khalifa (governor) over the Sahara, Ma al-'Aynayn.[21] In 1888 Timbuktu requested that Moulay Hassan send a governor to help the town against the French forces advancing into the Niger basin.[22]

Mawlay Hassan I continued to expand the military reforms started by his father Muhammad IV. The new and reformed 'Askar al-Nizami introduced by sultan Abd al-Rahman in 1845 after the Battle of Isly was expanded by Mawlay Hassan I to the size of 25,000 men and 1,000 artillery. The sultan also enhanced the Moroccan coastal defences with batteries of large caliber cannon, and in 1888 built an arms factory in Fes known as Dar al-Makina, however production in it was little and costly.[23] To train the reformed Moroccan army, Mawlay Hassan I sent students to London, but in 1876, the sultan hired Harry MacLean, a British officer based in Gibraltar, who designed a military uniform in Arab-style, and learned to speak excellent Arabic.[24]

Every year from spring to fall, Mawlay Hassan I was on campaign, and lead expeditions to all parts of the kingdom. One of Mawlay Hassan's campaigns was dealing with the Darqawa uprising near Figuig in the fall of 1887, which was quickly suppressed.[23] Particularly well known is the journey Hassan I undertook in 1893. He went from Fes (leaving on 29 June) to Marrakech, passing through the Tafilalt, the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, the valley of the Dades with the majestic gorges of the Todra, Warzazat, the Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, the high passage along Telouet, the Tichka pass (2260 m) in the high Atlas, Guelmim port of the Western Sahara. The voyage took six months and succeeded in its objective of reuniting and pacifying the tribes of several regions. The Krupp cannon he gave on this occasion to the qaid of Telouet (member of the now famous Glaoua family) is still on display in the center of Warzazat. In 1881 he founded Tiznit.[25]

Map of Morocco during the reign of Hassan I alongside French Algeria to the east.

Hassan I appointed Mouha Zayani as qaid of the Zayanes in Khenifra in 1877. Mouha Zayani was to be an important figure in the 20th century colonial war against France. In 1887 he appointed sheikh Ma al-'Aynayn as his qaid in Western Sahara. Ma al-'Aynayn too played an important role in the struggle for independence of Morocco.[25]

Moulay Hassan decided to reinstate the old Moroccan administration in the Gourara-Touat-Tidikelt. The first Moroccan envoys reached the Saharan oases in 1889 and in 1890. In 1891 Moulay Hassan called on the oases peoples to begin paying taxes, thus formalizing the recognition of his suzerainty. That same year the Touat and the oases which lay along the Oued Saoura were placed under the authority of the son of the Moroccan khalifa who resided in the Tafilalt. Then, in 1892, a complete administrative organization was established in all of the Gourara-Touat-Tidikelt. The Moroccan Government even went so far as to extend to the qaids of the Touareg of the Ahenet and the Hoggar a formal recognition that they were dependent subjects of the Sultan. In 1892 and 1893, the Moroccans further solidified their control in the Guir-Zouzfana basin and along the oued Saoura by investing with official authority the qaids from all of the nomadic and sedentary tribes of the region (this included the Doui Menia and Oulad Djerir tribes, the most important nomads of the Guir-Zousfana basin; the oasis of Igli; and the sedentary Beni Goumi people who lived along the banks of the Oued Zouzfana).[26]

On 9 June 1894, Mawlay Hassan I died from illness near Wadi al-Ubayd in the region of Tadla. Since the army was still in enemy territory, his chamberlain and Grand Wazir Ahmad bin Musa kept the death a secret, ordering the ministers to not reveal the news.[27] The sultan's body was taken to Rabat and buried there,[28][29] in a qubba next to Dar al-Makhzen[30] which also contains the tomb of his ancestor Sidi Mohammed III.[30] Mawlay Hassan was succeeded by his son Abd al-Aziz, thirteen years old at the time, and ruled under the regency of his father's former Grand Wazir, Ahmad bin Musa, until his death from heart failure in 1900.[28]