Editing Casablanca (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Casablanca}}
{{For timeline}}

=== Early history ===
The area that is today Casablanca was founded and settled by [[Berber people|Berbers]] by the seventh century BC.<ref name=JVL>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Casablanca.html |title=''Casablanca'' |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=17 April 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717065408/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Casablanca.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was used as a port by the Phoenicians, then the Romans.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} In his book ''[[Description of Africa (1550 book)|Description of Africa]]'', [[Leo Africanus]] refers to ancient Casablanca as "[[Anfa]]", a great city founded in the Berber kingdom of [[Barghawata]] in 744&nbsp;AD. He believed Anfa was the most "prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum/creatingcommunity.shtml |title=Museum of History & Holocaust Education: Creating Community Collaboration |publisher=Kennesaw.edu |access-date=17 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719222242/https://www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum/creatingcommunity.shtml |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the [[Almoravid]]s in 1068. After the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, [[Arab]] tribes of [[Banu Hilal|Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym|Sulaym]] descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, which led to widespread [[Arabization]].<ref>Britannica, [https://www.britannica.com/place/Casablanca-Morocco Casablanca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804112116/https://www.britannica.com/place/Casablanca-Morocco |date=2016-08-04 }}, britannica.com, USA, accessed on 7 July 2019</ref><ref name="Levy12">S. Lévy, ''Pour une histoire linguistique du Maroc'', in ''Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb occidental: dialectologie et histoire'', 1998, pp.11–26 ({{ISBN|84-86839-85-8}})</ref> During the 14th century, under the [[Merinid]]s, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a [[1465 Moroccan revolt|popular revolt]] in 1465.<ref name="VauchezDobson2000">{{cite book|last1=Vauchez|first1=André|last2=Dobson|first2=Richard Barrie|last3=Lapidge|first3=Michael|title=Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=om4olQhrE84C&pg=PA941|access-date=22 April 2012|year=2000|publisher=Editions du Cerf|isbn=978-1-57958-282-1|page=941}}</ref>

=== Portuguese conquest and Spanish influence ===
{{main|Anfa expedition (1468)}}
[[File:Braun Anfa UBHD.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Casablanca in 1572, still called "Anfa" in this coloured engraving, although the Portuguese had already renamed it "Casa Branca" – "White House" – later Hispanicised to "Casablanca".]]
In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and [[privateers]]. The Portuguese consequently bombarded the town into ruins in 1468.<ref name="Britain)1987">{{cite book|title=Guide to places of the world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ9dAAAAMAAJ|access-date=22 April 2012|date=April 1987|publisher=Reader's Digest Association|page=133|isbn = 9780276398261}}</ref> The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, meaning "white house" in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].

The town was finally rebuilt between 1756 and 1790 by [[Sultan]] [[Mohammed ben Abdallah]], the grandson of [[Moulay Ismail]] and an ally of [[George Washington]], with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. The town was called ''ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ'' (الدار البيضاء), the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] translation of the Portuguese ''Casa Branca''.

=== Colonial struggle ===

In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as it became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and shipping traffic increased (the British, in return, began importing [[gunpowder tea]], used in Morocco's national drink, [[Maghrebi mint tea|mint tea]]).<ref name="Srhir2005">{{cite book|last=Srhir|first=Khalid Ben|title=Britain And Morocco During The Embassy Of John Drummond Hay, 1845–1886|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Wf_Av7-hIoC&pg=PA126|access-date=22 April 2012|date=19 April 2005|publisher=RoutledgeCurzon|isbn=978-0-7146-5432-4|page=126}}</ref> By the 1860s, around 5,000 residents were there, and the population grew to around 10,000 by the late 1880s.<ref>Pennel, CR: ''Morocco from Empire to Independence'', Oneworld, Oxford, 2003, p 121</ref> Casablanca remained a modestly sized port, with a population reaching around 12,000 within a few years of the French conquest and arrival of [[French colonial empires|French colonialists]] in 1906. By 1921, this rose to 110,000,<ref>Pennel, CR: ''Morocco from Empire to Independence'', Oneworld, Oxford, 2003, p 149.</ref> largely through the development of [[shanty town]]s.

==== Bombardment of Casablanca ====
The [[Algeciras Conference|Treaty of Algeciras]] of 1906 formalized French preeminence in Morocco and included three measures that directly impacted Casablanca: that French officers would control operations at the customs office and seize revenue as collateral for loans given by France, that the French holding company ''[[Compagnie Marocaine|La Compagnie Marocaine]]'' would develop the [[port of Casablanca]], and that a French-and-Spanish-trained police force would be assembled to patrol the port.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adam |first=André |title=Histoire de Casablanca, des origines à 1914 |publisher=Éditions Ophrys |year=1968 |pages=107}}</ref>

To build the port's breakwater, [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] track was laid in June 1907 for a small [[Decauville]] locomotive to connect the port to a quarry in [[Roches Noires, Morocco|Roches Noires]], passing through the sacred Sidi Belyout graveyard. In resistance to this and the measures of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras, tribesmen of the [[Chaouia (Morocco)|Chaouia]] attacked the locomotive, killing 9 [[Compagnie Marocaine]] laborers—3 French, 3 Italians, and 3 Spanish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adam |first=André |title=Histoire de Casablanca, des origines à 1914 |publisher=Éditions Ophrys |year=1968 |pages=112}}</ref>

In response, the French [[Bombardment of Casablanca (1907)|bombarded the city]] in August 1907 with multiple gunboats and landed troops inside the town, causing severe damage and killing between 600 and 3,000 Moroccans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hachim |first=Mouna |author-link=Mouna Hachim |date=April 2020 |title=Casablanca, mon amour: Il y a 100 ans, le bombardement... Par Mouna Hachim, écrivain-chercheur |url=http://www.leconomiste.com/article/casablanca-mon-amour-il-y-100-ans-le-bombardement-br-par-mouna-hachim-ecrivain-chercheur |access-date=7 November 2022 |website=L'Economiste |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107151146/https://www.leconomiste.com/article/casablanca-mon-amour-il-y-100-ans-le-bombardement-br-par-mouna-hachim-ecrivain-chercheur |url-status=live }}</ref> Estimates for the total casualties are as high as 15,000 dead and wounded. In the immediate aftermath of the bombardment and the deployment of French troops, the European homes and the ''[[Mellah]]'', or Jewish quarter, were sacked, and the latter was also set ablaze.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adam |first=André |title=Histoire de Casablanca: des origines à 1914 |publisher=Ophrys |year=1968 |location=Aix-en-Provence |pages=133}}</ref>

As [[Oujda]] had already been occupied, the bombardment and military invasion of the city opened a western front to the [[French conquest of Morocco|French military conquest of Morocco]]. <gallery mode="packed">
File:Derailed locomotive in Casablanca 1907.jpg|A man inspects the derailed [[Decauville]] locomotive at the scene of the attack that served as the pretext for the French bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Jean-Louis |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49225856 |title=Casablanca: Colonial Myths and Architectural Ventures |date=2002 |author2=Monique Eleb |isbn=1-58093-087-5 |location=New York |publisher=Monacelli Press |oclc=49225856 |access-date=2021-04-03 |archive-date=2020-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706132451/http://worldcat.org/oclc/49225856 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2" />
File:الدار البيضاء 1907 01.jpg|A postcard showing the French cruiser ''[[French cruiser Gloire (1900)|Gloire]]'' recoiling from firing artillery at the city during the [[Bombardment of Casablanca (1907)|bombardment of Casablanca]] August 1907.
File:قائد الدار البيضاء محتجز على متن سفينة فرنسية.jpg|The [[Qaid]] of Casablanca, [[Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Zaid as-Slawi|Si Boubker Ben Bouzid Slaoui]], captive on the French cruiser ''[[French cruiser Galilée|Galilée]]''.
File:الدار البيضاء 1907 مقبرة جماعية.jpg|Moroccan cadavers in a [[mass grave]] in 1907. 
</gallery>

=== French rule and influence ===
{{Main|French protectorate of Morocco}}
[[File:Casa residenceFrance.jpg|thumb|''Résidence'' or mansion erected for [[Hubert Lyautey]] in the Medina shortly after the establishment of the protectorate, designed by architect Pierre Bousquet<ref>{{citation |author=Jean-Louis Cohen & Monique Eleb |publisher=Institut Français d'Architecture |title=Portrait de ville : Casablanca |location=Paris |year=1999}}</ref>{{rp|49}}]]
[[File:ساحة فرنسا الدار البيضاء 1917.jpg|thumb|''Place de France'' (now [[United Nations Square (Casablanca)|United Nations Square]]) in 1917.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Comité des foires du Maroc Auteur du texte |date=15 August 1917 |title=France-Maroc : revue mensuelle illustrée : organe du Comité des foires du Maroc / directeur Alfred de Tarde |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k62124674 |access-date=17 October 2019 |website=Gallica |language=fr |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003085046/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k62124674 |url-status=live }}</ref> With its landmark [[Casablanca Clock Tower|Clock Tower]], this space became a contact point between what the colonists called the ''ville indigène'' to the left—comprising the ''[[Mellah]]'' and the Medina—and the European ''nouvelle ville'' to the right.]]
[[File:تخطيط الدار البيضاء من تصميم هنري بروست.jpg|thumb|[[Henri Prost]]'s plans to extend 4éme Zouaves Street (now Félix Houphouët-Boigny Street) from the [[Port of Casablanca|port]] to the ''[[United Nations Square (Casablanca)|Place de France]]'' (now [[United Nations Square (Casablanca)|United Nations Square]]), part of his redesigns of Casablanca's urban landscape.|alt=]]
French control of Casablanca was formalized March 1912 when the [[Treaty of Fez|Treaty of Fes]] established the [[French protectorate in Morocco|French ''Protectorat'']].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=Susan Gilson|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855022840|title=A history of modern Morocco|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-62469-5|location=New York|oclc=855022840|access-date=2019-07-13|archive-date=2020-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430064037/https://www.worldcat.org/title/history-of-modern-morocco/oclc/855022840|url-status=live}}</ref> Under French imperial control, Casablanca became a port of colonial extraction.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Bosa |first1=Miguel Suárez |title=The Port of Casablanca in the First Stage of the Protectorate |date=2014 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137327987_4 |work=Atlantic Ports and the First Globalisation, c. 1850–1930 |pages=70–89 |editor-last=Bosa |editor-first=Miguel Suárez |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137327987_4 |isbn=978-1-137-32798-7 |access-date=16 December 2022 |last2=Maziane |first2=Leila}}</ref>

Right at the beginning of the twentieth century when [[Morocco]] was officially declared a French protectorate, the French decided to shift power to Morocco's coastal areas (i.e. [[Rabat]] and Casablanca) at the expense of its interior areas (i.e. Fez and Marrakech). Rabat was made the administrative capital of the country and Casablanca its economic capital.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/154677539 |title=Arabic in the city: issues in dialect contact and language variation |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77311-9 |editor-last=Miller |editor-first=Catherine |series=Routledge Arabic linguistics series |location=London; New York |oclc=154677539 |quote=Rabat was made the administrative capital of the country and Casablanca its economic capital.}}</ref>

General [[Hubert Lyautey]] assigned the planning of the new colonial port city to [[Henri Prost]]. As he did in other Moroccan cities, Prost designed a European ''ville nouvelle'' outside the walls of the [[Medina quarter|medina]]. In Casablanca, he also designed a new "''[[Hubous (Casablanca)|ville indigène]]''" to house Moroccans arriving from other cities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hodebert|first=Laurent|title="Laprade et Prost, du Maroc à Génissiat, du sol des villes aux édifices", journal de l'exposition "De la construction au récit" au CAUE 74|url=https://www.academia.edu/26035381|journal=Journal de l'exposition de la construction au récit, être de son temps et de son lieu pour l'architecture du XXe siècle|language=en|access-date=2019-07-06|archive-date=2021-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003030718/https://www.academia.edu/26035381|url-status=live}}</ref>

Europeans formed almost half the population of Casablanca.<ref name="A history of the Arab peoples">Albert Habib Hourani, Malise Ruthven (2002). "''[https://books.google.com/books?id=egbOb0mewz4C&pg=PA323 A history of the Arab peoples]''". Harvard University Press. p.323. {{ISBN|0-674-01017-5}}</ref>

A 1937-1938 [[typhoid fever]] outbreak was exploited by colonial authorities to justify the appropriation of urban spaces in Casablanca.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=House |first=Jim |date=2012 |title=L'impossible contrôle d'une ville coloniale ? |journal=Genèses |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=78–103 |doi=10.3917/gen.086.0078 |issn=1155-3219|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 August 2018 |title=Casablanca 1952: Architecture For the Anti-Colonial Struggle or the Counter-Revolution |url=https://thefunambulist.net/history/casablanca-1952-architects-and-the-colonial-counter-revolution |access-date=18 October 2019 |website=THE FUNAMBULIST MAGAZINE |language=en-US |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190948/https://thefunambulist.net/editorials/casablanca-1952-architects-and-the-colonial-counter-revolution |url-status=live }}</ref> Moroccans residing in [[informal housing]] were cleared out of the center and displaced, notably to {{Lang|fr|[[Carrières Centrales]]}}.<ref name=":42" />

=== World War II ===
{{Further|Operation Torch}}
After [[Philippe Pétain]] of [[French Third Republic|France]] signed the [[Armistice of 22 June 1940|armistice]] with the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]], he ordered French troops in [[French colonial empire|France's colonial empire]] to defend French territory against any aggressors—[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] or otherwise—applying a policy of "asymmetrical neutrality" in favour of the Germans.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98JmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22neutralit%C3%A9+dissym%C3%A9trique%22+petain|title=Relations internationales Paris|date=2001|publisher=Société d'études historiques des relations internationales contemporaines|pages=358|language=fr}}</ref> French colonists in Morocco generally supported Pétain, while Moroccans tended to favour [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of modern Morocco|last=Miller|first=Susan Gilson|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139624695|location=New York|pages=142|oclc=855022840}}</ref>

[[Operation Torch]], which started on 8 November 1942, was the British-American invasion of [[French North Africa]] during the North African campaign of [[World War II]]. The Western Task Force, composed of American units led by [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[George S. Patton]] and [[Rear Admiral]] [[Henry Kent Hewitt]], carried out the invasions of [[Kenitra|Mehdia]], [[Mohammedia|Fedhala]], and [[Safi, Morocco|Asfi]]. American forces captured Casablanca from Vichy control when France surrendered 11 November 1942, but the [[Naval Battle of Casablanca]] continued until American forces sank [[German submarine U-173]] on 16 November.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-north-africa-campaign/naval-battle-of-casablanca.html|title=1942: November 8-16: Naval Battle of Casablanca|website=NHHC|language=en-US|access-date=13 July 2019}}</ref>

Casablanca was the site of the Berrechid Airfield, a large American air base used as the staging area for all American aircraft for the [[European Theatre of Operations]] during World War II. The airfield has since become [[Mohammed V International Airport]].

==== Anfa Conference ====
{{Main|Casablanca Conference}}
Casablanca hosted the [[Casablanca Conference (1943)|Anfa Conference]] (also called the [[Casablanca Conference]]) in January 1943. Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] and President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] discussed the progress of the war. Also in attendance were the [[Free France]] generals [[Charles de Gaulle]] and [[Henri Giraud]], though they played minor roles and didn't participate in the military planning.

It was at this conference that the Allies adopted the doctrine of "unconditional surrender", meaning that the [[Axis powers]] would be fought until their defeat. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] also met privately with Sultan [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammad V]] and expressed his support for Moroccan independence after the war.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A history of modern Morocco|last=Miller|first=Susan Gilson|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139624695|location=New York|pages=144|oclc=855022840}}</ref> This became a turning point, as Moroccan nationalists were emboldened to openly seek complete independence.<ref name=":0" />

=== Toward independence ===
During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting.

On 7 April 1947, a [[Massacre of April 7, 1947|massacre]] of working class Moroccans, carried out by [[Senegalese Tirailleurs]] in the service of the [[Troupes coloniales|French colonial army]], was instigated just as Sultan [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammed V]] was due to make a speech in [[Tangier]] appealing for independence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlasinfo.fr/Evenements-du-7-avril-1947-a-Casablanca-un-tournant-decisif-dans-la-lutte-pour-la-liberte-et-l-independance_a70631.html|title=Evènements du 7 avril 1947 à Casablanca, un tournant décisif dans la lutte pour la liberté et l'indépendance|website=Atlasinfo.fr: l'essentiel de l'actualité de la France et du Maghreb|date=6 April 2016|language=fr|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829112737/https://www.atlasinfo.fr/Evenements-du-7-avril-1947-a-Casablanca-un-tournant-decisif-dans-la-lutte-pour-la-liberte-et-l-independance_a70631.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Casablanca Uprisings of 1952|Riots]] in Casablanca took place from 7–8 December 1952, in response to the assassination of the Tunisian labor unionist [[Farhat Hached]] by ''[[La Main Rouge]]''—the clandestine militant wing of [[Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage|French intelligence]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/49006/decembre-1952-quand-casablancais-sont.html|title=7-8 décembre 1952 : Quand les Casablancais se sont soulevés contre l'assassinat de Ferhat Hached|website=www.yabiladi.com|language=fr|access-date=16 March 2019|archive-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208131932/https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/49006/decembre-1952-quand-casablancais-sont.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Then, on 25 December 1953 (Christmas Day), [[Muhammad Zarqtuni]] orchestrated a bombing of Casablanca's [[Central Market (Casablanca)|Central Market]] in response to the forced exile of Sultan [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammad V]] and the royal family on 20 August ([[Eid al-Adha]]) of that year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/12/25/archives/16-dead-in-casablanca-blast.html|title=16 Dead in Casablanca Blast|date=25 December 1953|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=4 October 2010|url-access=subscription|archive-date=5 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105145032/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C12FF3E59177B93C7AB1789D95F478585F9&scp=3&sq=casablanca+bomb&st=p|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Since independence ===
Morocco gained independence from France in 1956. The post-independence era witnessed significant urban transformations and socio-economic shifts, particularly in neighborhoods like Hay Mohammadi, which were deeply impacted by neoliberal policies and state-led urban redevelopment projects.<ref>Strava, C. (2021). Precarious modernities: Assembling State, Space and Society on the Urban Margins in Morocco. Bloomsbury Publishing. P. 3</ref>

==== Casablanca Group ====
On 4–7 January 1961, the city hosted an ensemble of progressive African leaders during the [[Casablanca Group|Casablanca Conference of 1961]]. Among those received by King [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammad V]] were [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Gamal Abd An-Nasser]], [[Kwame Nkrumah]], [[Modibo Keïta]], and [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]], [[Ferhat Abbas]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://zamane.ma/fr/la-conference-de-casablanca/|title=La Conférence de Casablanca|date=30 November 2012|website=Zamane|language=fr-FR|access-date=1 June 2019|archive-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422085149/https://zamane.ma/fr/la-conference-de-casablanca/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/49827/janvier-1961-conference-casablanca-prelude.html|title=4 au 7 janvier 1961 : La Conférence de Casablanca, prélude à la création de l'OUA|website=www.yabiladi.com|language=fr|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528012201/https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/49827/janvier-1961-conference-casablanca-prelude.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100002995|title=African States of the Casablanca Charter {{!}} UIA Yearbook Profile {{!}} Union of International Associations|website=uia.org|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528012210/https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100002995|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Jewish emigration ====
Casablanca was a major departure point for Jews leaving Morocco through [[Operation Yachin]], an operation conducted by [[Mossad]] to secretly migrate [[Moroccan Jews]] to [[Israel]] between November 1961 and spring 1964.<ref>{{cite web |first=Frédéric |last=Abécassis |title=Questions about jewish migrations from Morocco |date=June 2012 |location=Jerusalem, Israel |publisher=HAL Open Science |pp=73–82 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/778664/filename/NEW_DIASPORAS._THE_JERUSALEM_WORKSHOP._JUNE_2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505154204/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/778664/filename/NEW_DIASPORAS._THE_JERUSALEM_WORKSHOP._JUNE_2012.pdf |archive-date=2021-05-05}}</ref>

==== 1965 riots ====
The [[1965 Moroccan riots|1965 student protests]] organized by the [[National Union of Popular Forces]]-affiliated National Union of Moroccan Students, which spread to cities around the country and devolved into riots, started on 22 March 1965, in front of [[Lycée Mohammed V]] in Casablanca.<ref name="Brousky20052">Par Omar Brouksy, "[http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/LIN20035quesesramel0/ Que s'est-il vraiment passé le 23 mars 1965?]", ''Jeune Afrique'', 21 March 2005. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140810132950/http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/LIN20035quesesramel0/ Archived]}}.</ref><ref>"Il y avait au moins quinze mille lycéens. Je n'avais jamais vu un rassemblement d'adolescents aussi impressionnant" as quoted in Brousky, 2005.</ref><ref>Parker & Boum, ''Historical Dictionary of Morocco'' (2006), p. 213.</ref> The protests started as a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Morocco, but expanded to include concerns of labourers, the unemployed, and other marginalized segments of society, and devolved into vandalism and rioting.<ref name="Miller2013">Miller, ''A History of Modern Morocco'' (2013), pp. 162–[https://books.google.com/books?id=peGyku_eREkC&pg=PA168 168]–169.</ref> The riots were violently repressed by security forces with tanks and armoured vehicles; Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths while the [[National Union of Popular Forces|UNFP]] reported more than 1,000.<ref name="Brousky20052"/>

King [[Hassan II of Morocco|Hassan II]] blamed the events on teachers and parents, and declared in a speech to the nation on 30 March 1965: "There is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate."<ref>''"Permettez-moi de vous dire qu'il n'y a pas de danger aussi grave pour l'Etat que celui d'un prétendu intellectuel. Il aurait mieux valu que vous soyez tous illettrés."'' Quoted in Rollinde, ''Le Mouvement marocain des droits de l'Homme'' (2003), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qrst5uqJTKEC&pg=PA123 123].</ref><ref>Susan Ossman, ''Picturing Casablanca: Portraits of Power in a Modern City''; University of California Press, 1994; p. [https://archive.org/details/picturingcasabla0000ossm/page/37 37].</ref>

==== 1981 riots ====
On 6 June 1981, the [[Casablanca Bread Riots]] took place,<ref name=":3" /> which were sparked by a sharp increase in the price of necessities such as butter, sugar, wheat flour, and cooking oil following a period of severe drought.<ref>{{Cite web |title=66 die in Morocco riot |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/06/23/66-die-in-Morocco-riot/8708362116800/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> Hassan II appointed the French-trained interior minister [[Driss Basri]] as hardliner, who would later become a symbol of the [[Years of Lead (Morocco)|Years of Lead]], with quelling the protests.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of modern Morocco|last=Miller, Susan Gilson.|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-62469-5|location=New York|pages=185|oclc=855022840}}</ref> The government stated that 66 people were killed and 100 were injured, while opposition leaders put the number of dead at 637, saying that many of these were killed by police and army gunfire.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/08/25/a-black-saturday-shadows-the-future-of-hassans-morocco/8a5cb6ce-39b4-42b9-bb48-f3a196706961/|title=A 'Black Saturday' Shadows the Future Of Hassan's Morocco|last=Cooley|first=John K.|date=25 August 1981|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=22 January 2020|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818134111/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/08/25/a-black-saturday-shadows-the-future-of-hassans-morocco/8a5cb6ce-39b4-42b9-bb48-f3a196706961/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== ''Mudawana'' ====
In March 2000, more than 60 women's groups organized demonstrations in Casablanca proposing reforms to the legal status of women in the country.<ref name="ParkBoum2006">{{cite book|last1=Park|first1=Thomas Kerlin|last2=Boum|first2=Aomar|title=Historical Dictionary of Morocco|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC&pg=PA256|access-date=22 April 2012|year=2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5341-6|page=256|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331161624/https://books.google.com/books?id=8KiCl5-MxMMC&pg=PA256#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> About 40,000 women attended, calling for a ban on [[polygamy]] and the introduction of [[Talaq (Nikah)|divorce law]] (divorce being a purely religious procedure at that time). Although the counter-demonstration attracted half a million participants, the movement for change started in 2000 was influential on [[Mohammed VI of Morocco|King Mohammed VI]], and he enacted a new ''[[mudawana]]'', or family law, in early 2004, meeting some of the demands of women's rights activists.<ref name="MiliNewark2009">{{cite book|last=Mili|first=Amel|title=Exploring the Relation Between Gender Politics and Representative Government in the Maghreb: Analytical and Empirical Observations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YM1RcocOxugC&pg=PA161|access-date=22 April 2012|year=2009|isbn=978-1-109-20412-4|page=161}}</ref>

====Further history====
On 16 May 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured when Casablanca was hit by a [[2003 Casablanca bombings|multiple suicide bomb attack]] carried out by Moroccans and claimed by some to have been linked to [[al-Qaeda]]. Twelve suicide bombers struck five locations in the city.<ref name="DakwarWatch2004">{{cite book|last1=Dakwar|first1=Jamil|last2=Goldstein|first2=Eric|title=Morocco: Human Rights at a Crossroads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OT9bK03HEZkC&pg=PA25|access-date=22 April 2012|year=2004|publisher=Human Rights Watch|page=25|id=GGKEY:WTWR4502X87|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331161626/https://books.google.com/books?id=OT9bK03HEZkC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another series of suicide bombings struck the city in early 2007.<ref name="McClellanDorn2006">{{cite book|last1=McClellan|first1=James Edward|last2=Dorn|first2=Harold|title=Science And Technology in World History: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YnqLfVRJ3AkC&pg=PP127|access-date=22 April 2012|date=14 April 2006|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8360-6|page=127|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331161644/https://books.google.com/books?id=YnqLfVRJ3AkC&pg=PP127#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1260317,00.html |title=Terror Cell: 'Police Hold Fifth Man' |publisher=News.sky.com |access-date=17 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013111743/http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0%2C%2C30000-1260317%2C00.html |archive-date=13 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=Independent Newspapers Online |url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070412144633223C139447 |title=Casablanca on alert after suicide bombings |date=12 April 2007 |access-date=17 April 2011 |archive-date=19 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619143631/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070412144633223C139447 |url-status=live }}</ref> These events illustrated some of the persistent challenges the city faces in addressing poverty and integrating disadvantaged neighborhoods and populations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/world/africa/07iht-M07C-MOROCCO-SLUMS.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/world/africa/07iht-M07C-MOROCCO-SLUMS.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Creating a Children's Refuge in Morocco's Worst Slums|last=McTighe|first=Kristen|date=6 July 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 January 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> One initiative to improve conditions in the city's disadvantaged neighborhoods was the creation of the [[Sidi Moumen Cultural Center]].<ref name=":1" />

As calls for reform spread through the Arab world in 2011, Moroccans joined in, but concessions by the ruler led to acceptance.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} However, in December, thousands of people demonstrated in several parts of the city{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}, especially the city center near la Fontaine, desiring more significant political reforms. On 1 November 2023, Casablanca along with [[Ouarzazate]] joined UNESCO's [[Creative Cities Network]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-01 |title=Moroccan Cities Casablanca and Ouarzazate Join UNESCO's Creative Cities Network |url=https://en.hespress.com/73799-moroccan-cities-casablanca-and-ouarzazate-join-unescos-creative-cities-network.html |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=HESPRESS English - Morocco News |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111143422/https://en.hespress.com/73799-moroccan-cities-casablanca-and-ouarzazate-join-unescos-creative-cities-network.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CreativeCities2023">{{cite web |title=55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/55-new-cities-join-unesco-creative-cities-network-world-cities-day |access-date=31 October 2023 |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130042457/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/55-new-cities-join-unesco-creative-cities-network-world-cities-day |url-status=live }}</ref>