The groundbreaking 2004 U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement is the most recent of many official measures that have helped to cement the long-standing and always cordial relationship between the United States and the Royal Kingdom of Morocco.
1750 – 1912
During the American Revolution, so many American ships called at the port of Tangier that the Continental Congress sought recognition from the "Emperor" of Morocco. This was accorded, in effect, in 1777, making Morocco the first country to recognize the fledging American republic. Negotiation of a formal treaty began in 1783, and resulted in the signing in 1786 of the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both future U.S. Presidents, were the American signatories.
During the American Civil War, Morocco reaffirmed its diplomatic alliance with the United States by assuring Washington that the Kingdom, “being a sincere friend of the American nation, would never air or give countenance to the [Confederate] insurgents.”
The first international convention ever signed by the United States, the 1865 Spartel Lighthouse Treaty, dealt with a navigational aid erected on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Treaty, ratified by Morocco, President Andrew Johnson and nine European heads of state, granted neutrality to the lighthouse with the condition that the ten naval powers signing the agreement assumed responsibility for its maintenance.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, as European colonizers gazed hungrily at Morocco’s resources and strategically located harbors, the United States strongly defended the Kingdom’s right to its continued sovereignty at the 1880 Madrid Conference and at the Algeciras Conference in 1906.
In 1912, after Morocco became a protectorate of Spain and France, American diplomats called upon the European powers to exercise colonial rule that guaranteed racial and religious tolerance: “In short,” the U.S. Consul in Tangier declared,” fair play is what the United States asks for Morocco and all interested parties.”
During the American Civil War, Morocco reaffirmed its diplomatic alliance with the United States by assuring Washington that the Kingdom, “being a sincere friend of the American nation, would never air or give countenance to the [Confederate] insurgents.”
The first international convention ever signed by the United States, the 1865 Spartel Lighthouse Treaty, dealt with a navigational aid erected on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Treaty, ratified by Morocco, President Andrew Johnson and nine European heads of state, granted neutrality to the lighthouse with the condition that the ten naval powers signing the agreement assumed responsibility for its maintenance.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, as European colonizers gazed hungrily at Morocco’s resources and strategically located harbors, the United States strongly defended the Kingdom’s right to its continued sovereignty at the 1880 Madrid Conference and at the Algeciras Conference in 1906.
In 1912, after Morocco became a protectorate of Spain and France, American diplomats called upon the European powers to exercise colonial rule that guaranteed racial and religious tolerance: “In short,” the U.S. Consul in Tangier declared,” fair play is what the United States asks for Morocco and all interested parties.”
World War I - World War II
During World War I, Morocco was aligned with the Allied forces. In 1917 and 1918, Moroccan soldiers fought victoriously alongside U.S. Marines at Château Thierry, Mont Blanc and Soissons.
With France occupied by the Nazis during World War II, colonial French Morocco sided with the Axis Powers. When the Allies invaded Morocco on November 8, 1942, Moroccan defenders quickly yielded to the American and British invaders. Shortly after Morocco surrendered, President Franklin Roosevelt sent a message to Morocco’s King, Mohammed V, commending him on the “admirable spirit of cooperation that is animating you and your people in their relationships with the forces of my country. Our victory over the Germans will, I know, inaugurate a period of peace and prosperity, during which the Moroccan and French people of North Africa will flourish and thrive in a manner that befits its glorious past.”
With France occupied by the Nazis during World War II, colonial French Morocco sided with the Axis Powers. When the Allies invaded Morocco on November 8, 1942, Moroccan defenders quickly yielded to the American and British invaders. Shortly after Morocco surrendered, President Franklin Roosevelt sent a message to Morocco’s King, Mohammed V, commending him on the “admirable spirit of cooperation that is animating you and your people in their relationships with the forces of my country. Our victory over the Germans will, I know, inaugurate a period of peace and prosperity, during which the Moroccan and French people of North Africa will flourish and thrive in a manner that befits its glorious past.”
In what was to be the most pivotal meeting of Allied leaders during World War II, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Free French commander General Charles De Gaulle, met for four days in the Casablanca suburb of Anfa in January 1943 to discuss the war. During the Anfa Conference, the Allies agreed that the only acceptable outcome of the conflict was the “unconditional surrender” of the Axis forces. Roosevelt also conferred privately with King Mohammed V to assure him that the United States would support Morocco’s quest for independence.
1956 – Present
When Morocco finally gained independence on March 2, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower sent a congratulatory message to King Mohammed V: “My government renews it wishes for the peace and prosperity of Morocco, and expresses its gratification that Morocco has freely chosen, as a sovereign nation, to continue in the path of its traditional friendships.”
In November 1957, King Mohammed V traveled to Washington to pay an official call on President Eisenhower. Two years later, Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, traveled to Rabat to meet with the King.
In 1961, King Hassan II, Mohammed V’s successor, made the first of several diplomatic visits to the United States to confer with President John F. Kennedy. King Hassan II would later journey to Washington to meet Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
President Clinton personally flew to Rabat in July 1999 to attend King Hassan II’s funeral, and to meet the son who succeeded him, King Mohammed VI. One year later, King Mohammed VI made his first official visit to Washington.
In the 21st century, both countries have become close allies in the global war on terror. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Morocco shared valuable information with the United States about al Qaeda. Conversely, when Casablanca was the victim of terrorist bombings on May 16, 2003, the U.S. government offered Morocco – one of it oldest allies -- the full resources of its military and intelligence community.
It is this extensive network of relations – political and diplomatic, commercial and economic, military and security, and our common sense of purpose and commitment to economic reform and development that underscore the strength of the Moroccan-US relationship.
