Moroccan rebellion during the Spanish Civil War

[Gorro Rubio]

Sorry to triple post, but there’s a very ironic twist in the story of Franco crushing down the miners’ rebellion in Asturias in 1934 on behalf of the Republic relaying mainly on Moroccan troops. Asturias is famous for being the place where Count Pelagius started the rebellion against the Umayyads that kicked off the Reconquista.

 

[Gary Oswald]

And oh yeah, Spain without Moroccan colonies wouldn’t remotely resemble modern day Spain. You probably need a POD centuries in the past to avoid it, as it had been identified as an area of strategic importance since the reign of Ferdinand III of Castile in the 13th century.

I think it depends on what you define as Moroccan colonies. Ceuta, Melilla, Ifni etc. are a lot harder than the protectorate.

The treaty to end the Castilian Civil War, had Castile agree to restrain from attacking Morocco as that was a Portuguese area of interest. They did ask, and receive, permission from Portugal to take Melilla despite that but it's only really only once the Iberian Union happens that you see it change from Portugal as the main invaders to Spain. So 15th and 16th century PODs are probably needed to end that, though I don't think a stronger Morocco taking back those cities in the 17th or 18th centuries are impossible, they came close on a few occasions.

But, and I'd assume you know more than me, isn't it quite possible for the Rif to be abandoned after Annual in 1921? I though there were serious talks in that direction, prior to the French entry into the war.

 

[Gorro Rubio]

I think it depends on what you define as Moroccan colonies. Ceuta, Melilla, Ifni etc. are a lot harder than the protectorate.

The treaty to end the Castilian Civil War, had Castile agree to restrain from attacking Morocco as that was a Portuguese area of interest. They did ask, and receive, permission from Portugal to take Melilla despite that but it's only really only once the Iberian Union happens that you see it change from Portugal as the main invaders to Spain. So 15th and 16th century PODs are probably needed to end that, though I don't think a stronger Morocco taking back those cities in the 17th or 18th centuries are impossible, they came close on a few occasions.

But, and I'd assume you know more than me, isn't it quite possible for the Rif to be abandoned after Annual in 1921? I though there were serious talks in that direction, prior to the French entry into the war.

I remember reading about those plans (and some others that Alphonse XIII directly proposed to George V about swapping Gibraltar and Ceuta). I think there was a bit of sunk cost fallacy involved, Morocco was a nightmare for Spanish governments since the turn of the century.

Have you heard of Barcelona’s Semana Trágica? tl;dr Maura’s government declares a levy of troops among the working classes of Barcelona to be sent to the Rif, the trade unions announce a general strike, shit hits the fan with riots and the killings of patrons and leading trade unionists which causes the fall of the government in Madrid a couple weeks later. This was in 1909 and there were still more than 20 years of that.

My best friend’s grandma’s father was a mining prospector in the Rif and the whole family settled there in the late 20s. She’s 96 but very lucid and remembers her Moroccan stint quite well, when covid is over I may try to interview her as she’s really the last of her kind.

 

[Gorro Rubio]

There’s also the fact that for many in the ruling classes Spain couldn’t afford to lose more face after the clown show that was 1898. Getting obliterated by Berber goat herders would have been even more humiliating and explains quite a lot of why they kept pushing.

 

[lerk]

And oh yeah, Spain without Moroccan colonies wouldn’t remotely resemble modern day Spain. You probably need a POD centuries in the past to avoid it, as it had been identified as an area of strategic importance since the reign of Ferdinand III of Castile in the 13th century.

My grandparents still remember the Moorish Guard with their fezes and chilabas guarding the gates of El Pardo in the 50s.

Had the Habsburgs never taken control of Spain then there would be a good chance that the Spanish could choose to focus on the Maghreb rather than the complexities of European politics. Everything east of Tripoli could've been Catholic.

 

[Roger II]

Had the Habsburgs never taken control of Spain then there would be a good chance that the Spanish could choose to focus on the Maghreb rather than the complexities of European politics. Everything east of Tripoli could've been Catholic.

Not sure if they would really be able to exert extensive control over much of the Maghreb beyond a fairly narrow costal strip until the 19th century, and lots of time for their hold to weaken.