Casablanca

Casablanca, principal port of Morocco, on the North African Atlantic seaboard.

The origin of the town is not known. An Amazigh (Berber) village called Anfa stood on the present-day site in the 12th century; it became a pirates’ base for harrying Christian ships and was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1468. The Portuguese returned to the area in 1515 and built a new town called Casa Branca (“White House”). It was abandoned in 1755 after a devastating earthquake, but the ʿAlawī sultan Sīdī Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh rebuilt the town in the late 18th century. Spanish merchants, who named it Casablanca, and other European traders began to settle there. The French after a time outnumbered other European settlers, and the name Maison Blanche (also meaning “White House”) became as common as Casablanca.

The town was occupied by the French in 1907, and during the French protectorate (1912–56) Casablanca became the chief port of Morocco. Since then, the growth and development of the city have been continuous and rapid. During World War II (1939–45) the city was the seat of a British-U.S. summit conference in 1943. (See Casablanca Conference.) In 1961 a conference at Casablanca, presided over by King Muḥammad V of Morocco, founded the Casablanca group of African states.

The man-made port of Casablanca is protected from the sea by a breakwater and handles most of Morocco’s foreign trade. It is also a port of call for European ships; Boulevard Hansali, which leads to the port, is lined with shops for tourists. Inland from the docks and the harbour is the old city, or medina, the original Arab town. Still enclosed in parts by its original rampart walls, it is a maze of narrow streets and whitewashed brick or stone houses. In a semicircle outside the walls of the medina is the town built by the French. Avenues radiating from Muḥammad V Square are intersected by ring roads that reach to the coast on either side of the harbour. Muḥammad V Square, near the gateway of the old medina, and United Nations Square are the business and administrative centres of the town, where banks, hotels, and large modern shops are located. Farther south, overlooking the gardens of the Park of the Arab League, is the white Cathedral of the Sacré Coeur. West of the park and stretching toward the coast are the gardens and villas of residential districts, such as Anfa. Large numbers of poor live in shantytowns (bidonvilles) on the outskirts of the city. The shantytowns largely consist of ramshackle constructions made from cinder blocks and sheet metal, many of which lack basic running water and sewage disposal; many, however, sport satellite dishes. The Moroccan government has implemented policies to improve the infrastructure and make these shantytowns more livable.

Buses are the principal means of public transport. A network of petit and grande taxis provide service for travelers within the city and within the surrounding region, respectively. Roads connect Casablanca with other major cities. There is also a railway line that runs northeastward to Tangier—and, during periods of political stability, eastward into Algeria and Tunisia. The Casablanca-Anfa airport, to the southwest, and the Casablanca-Nouaceur airport, to the east of the city, provide international service.

The rapid commercial progress of Casablanca, especially the growth of its port, has established it as the economic capital of Morocco. It accounts for more than half of the bank transactions and industrial production of the country. Casablanca’s industries include textiles, electronics, leather works, food canning, and the production of beer, spirits, and soft drinks. Fishing is important in coastal waters, where a fairly wide continental shelf provides a good fishing ground. The catch includes soles, red mullet, turbot, sea eels, crabs, and shrimps.

Casablanca has Arabic- and French-language schools at different educational levels. There are also various cultural and utilitarian institutes, such as the Goethe-Institut, the Municipal College of Fine Arts, the Municipal Library, a prehistory society, an institute of fishing, and a horticultural society. The Ḥasan II mosque, situated partly on reclaimed land along the coast, is one of the largest and most ornate mosques in the world.

As Morocco’s principal centre for recreation, Casablanca has a number of pleasant beaches, parks, and attractive promenades along the seafront. Pop. (2004) 2,933,684; (2014) 3,357,173.