CASABLANCA

The Kingdom Business

The abundance of lithic deposits, the discovery of "the man of Sidi Abderrahmane" show a very ancient human settlement on the site of the current Casablanca, though the origins of the city and its original name, Anfa remain our very imprecise days.

According to Leo Africanus, born in 1490, Anfa was founded by the Romans, for Marmol, his contemporary, its origin is Phoenician, however there is no support for these hypotheses.

For Ezzayani, historian, statesman (1734-1833), the foundation of the city would Berber "the Zenata settled Tamesna Tadla and the Senhadja Doukkala. The emirs of Zenata built the city of Anfa Tamesna and City Day in Tadla, "the author does not specify the time of the foundation or the original sources of information.

The name of Anfa, which appears in many different spellings in portolans and cartographers in the 14th and 15th century Niffe, Anafé, Anife, Anafa, Nafé, it is also very controversial. Some see the Arabic word Anf (nose, beak, headland), others Berber word Anfa (top, hill, top).
Its inhabitants were sailors and pirates who did not hesitate to attack the boats especially the Portuguese. Them and to protect their trade invaded and completely destroyed Anfa to 1468 years, in 1515, the Portuguese wanted to build a fortress, but their defeat by Merinids dissuaded, then, the city sank into oblivion and leaving only Mausoleum Sid Allal Quairaouani as a witness to a thriving civilization.

Under the reign of the Alawite dynasty at the time of Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdellah Sid (1757-1790) the city was reborn from the ashes and became "Dar Al Baida" (White House) or Casablanca under the Spanish name, through taxes imposed on tribes Chaouia, Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdellah was able to build a fortress that served first time camp for soldiers and became a destination tribes Doukkala and KwaZulu later.
By 1830, trade in Casablanca knew a slow but steady growth, this growth has increased in a significant way during the reign of Moulay Hassan 1er to the extent that Casablanca became a point of attraction for merchants and artisans the kingdom in general and Fez and Marrakech in particular.
In 1912, it was decided that the construction of the first great modern Casablanca port in the Kingdom. It was a historical turning point that affected the fate of Casablanca. The economic development of the region has increased by port activity and drained domestic and foreign investment and giving birth to a modern city now become the economic capital of the Kingdom.