Casablanca

The name of Casablanca takes its name from the fact that formerly the Spanish sailors who skirted this location, identified by a small white house perched on the hill of Anfa, "Casa Bianca". Sewing up with the local languages, it has come to Casablanca.

History

We find the name of Anfa in texts of the eleventh century, and by tracing its foundation (by Zenetes) at that time. Leo Africanus mentions it also as a small city in the fifteenth century. In retaliation, the Portuguese at the end of the century, decided to attack, 50 ships and 10 000 men in charge. The inhabitants of Anfa, not being able to defend the city, the desert permanently for Rabat and Salé. The city will be destroyed and remain uninhabited for three centuries.

In 1770, Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah decided to rebuild this place to preserve the landing of a Portuguese who had lost when the city of Mazagan (El Jadida). The city is called Dar El Beida (white house or casa blanca in Spanish). At the outset, the sultan gives it a mosque, a madrasah and a hammam.

From the nineteenth century, the city developed thanks to the boom of the textile industry where Casablanca is one of the major suppliers of wool. In 1860 there were 4 000 to 9 000 in the late 1880s. The city decides to build a modern port, aided by France. The population is 1921 110 000 largely due to the slums.

Casablanca Conference (1943), President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.
In June 1907, the French develop the rail network near the port but it passed through a cemetery, which resulted in riots between French workers and residents. The France sends troops to restore order and take control of the city and began the process of colonization. During the 1940s and 1950s, many anti-occupation riots occurred, including an attack at the central market of Casablanca on Christmas Day 1953 (18 deaths).

Geography and Urbanization

The city is bordered by the sea to the west but extends further to the north east and south. It is also marked by a high concentration of slums in the suburbs, prompting the government to introduce policies aimed at the total suppression of this phenomenon that still gnaws at the city in 2012.
Urbanization and architecture of Casablanca are marked by different styles, from neo-Moorish to art deco, as, for several decades a "city laboratory" for the great architects of the world. On the other hand, the city has seen a proliferation of gigantic projects like the Hassan II mosque (in the '80s) or the "Marina de Casablanca," and seems to attract more investors in real estate.