One of the main factors that distinguished Morocco from its neighbours is that it was never conquered by the Turks, never became part of the Ottoman Empire. Always fiercely independent, it threw off invader after invader, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, French and the English from Tangier in the 17th century.
When they occasionally ceded ports, they frequently turned this to their advantage using them as a gateway to the wider world. In the first half of the 20th century, revolts against Spain and the French Protectorate eventually succeeded.
Mohamed V 1947 – Tangier Discours
