Ifni War

The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (la Guerra Olvidada), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.

The war, which may be seen as part of the general movement of decolonization that swept Africa throughout the later half of the 20th century, was conducted primarily by elements of the Moroccan Army of Liberation which, no longer tied down in conflicts with the French, committed a significant portion of its resources and manpower to the capture of Spanish possessions.

Causes

The city of Sidi Ifni was incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire in 1860. The following decades of Franco-Spanish collaboration resulted in the establishment and extension of Spanish protectorates south of the city; Spanish influence obtained international recognition in the Berlin Conference of 1884. In 1946, the region's various coastal and inland colonies were consolidated as Spanish West Africa.

Ifni

Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.

It had a total area of 1,502 km² (580 sq mi), and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing.

History

Spain's presence in the area can be traced to a settlement called Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, founded in 1476. After attacks by the Berbers the Spanish decided to focus on colonizing other areas of North Africa and abandoned the region.

In the mid-19th century the European powers looked again to Africa for resources, Spain suddenly mooted an interest in its lost medieval fortress in order to stake a claim to the southern part of Morocco. This served as a pretext for a short war with Morocco in 1859.

The territory and its main town of Sidi Ifni were ceded to Spain by Morocco on 26 April 1860, but there was little interest in this colonial acquisition until 1934 when the governor-general of Spanish Sahara took up residence.

During Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the colony was made into a Spanish province in order to forestall United Nations criticism of continued colonization.