Modern genetic analyses have confirmed that various populations have contributed to the present-day population, including, in addition to the main ethnic groups - Berbers and Arabs - Phoenicians, Sephardic Jews, and sub-Saharan Africans.
Independence
On March 2 1956 Morocco recovered its political independence and in April 7 1956 France officially relinquished its protectorate in Morocco. Between1956 -1958 Moroccan control over certain Spanish-ruled areas was resolved. The city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956. Hassan II became King of Morocco on March 3, 1961. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south became part of the new Morocco in 1969. Morocco annexed Western Sahara during the 1970s, but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved.
Political reform in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997. In June 2004 Morocco signed free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union.
Casablanca suffered from terrorist attacks in 2003 which were targeted against Western and Jewish places and left 33 civilians dead and more than 100 people injured, mostly Moroccans. In 2006, Morocco celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence. |
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