Hispano-Moroccan mimesis in the Spanish war on Tetouan and its occupation (1859–62)

ABSTRACT

The ‘War of Africa’/‘War of Tetouan’ (1859–60) and the subsequent Spanish occupation of Tetouan (1860–62) have commonly been considered a historical landmark signalling the end of Morocco’s independence. While it is hardly arguable that Spain consolidated its position in Morocco throughout the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to the favourable conditions established in the treaties that followed the end of the war, the goal of this article is to nuance the reification of the power of the colonisers and the powerlessness of the colonised that many historiographical narratives have purported. I will analyse the political change that took place among the Spaniards who were on the ground during the initial stage of the occupation of Tetouan. Despite mainly relying on Spanish sources, I will also highlight the ways in which Moroccan diplomacy, the city’s inhabitants, and local practices shaped this transformation by creating anxieties that permeated the Spanish colonisation. I argue that the Spaniards on the ground increasingly empathised with – and even admired – the local population, and consequently constructed notions of Hispano-Moroccan similarity. This colonial mimesis went hand in hand with the perception of Moroccans as unyielding, which ultimately led the Spanish to admit the difficulty, even impossibility, of their colonialist venture.

KEYWORDS:

• Agency
• colonisation
• mimesis
• Spain
• Morocco
• Tetouan

Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Eric Calderwood and David Stenner for their thorough revision and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Although Tetouani historian Abdelaziz Assaoud has referred to the war in different ways, his choice in one of his papers is similar to mine. See Assaoud 2010.

2 See, for example, Farneti 2015; Palaver 2013; Polat 2012; Fuchs 2001; Irigaray 1996; Taussig 1993; and Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture since 1994.

3 A detailed list of the pre- and post-occupation names of Tetouani towers, gates, streets, mosques and other public places can be found in Daoud 1964a, V: 321–324.

4 Similar reactions to Algerians’ attitudes can be found in French military authorities’ writings. See Marnia Lazreg (1994, 24).