MOROCCO.^ 



By Theobald Fischer. 



To the man of general culture the word " Morocco ■' calls up a 

 vague notion of a country in the northwest corner of Africa, and even 

 among the better informed a clear idea does not prevail that under the 

 name '' ^lorocco " is comprehended a group of countries and districts 

 (]uite loosely tied together only by religious bonds, and that only a 

 few of these constitute a sort of political union, the boundaries of 

 which are ever changing, antl which owes its existence to the domi- 

 Tiant natural feature of the country, the Atlas range. The govern- 

 ment and the people, perhaps for different reasons, have been alike 

 at all times in maintaining the most distant attitude toward Euro- 

 I^eans. 



It has been only within the last twenty A^ears that we have suc- 

 ceeded in throwing light upon even the main features of this extreme 

 portion of the I)ark Continent. Political aims have played a large 

 part in bringing about this result, and it is therefore not surprising 

 that French investigators, who are almost without exception officers 

 in active service or pensioned, have accomplished most. The work 

 of the Vicomte de Foucauld and, it seems, that of the Marquis de 

 Segonzac — for his book has not yet appeared — belong to the highest 

 achievements in the field of research on African soil. Much that is 

 valuable, notably chartographic material, collected by French officers, 

 especially of the mission militaire, on their travels through the coun- 

 try is probably h'ing un.used in the maps of the French ministry of 

 war. Other names worthy of mention are those of the Englishmen, 

 Hooker, Maw, Ball, Harris, and of the Germans, Von Fritsch and 

 Rein. I nwself have devoted special attention to Morocco for many 

 years, and in 1888, 1899, and 1901, I traveled through the country for 

 purposes of investigation. 



No presentation at all satisfactory from a scientific standpoint is 

 in existence. The best map is that of R. de Flotte Roquevaire, on a 



a Translated, by permission, from Geographische Zeitschrift, Leipzig, T'eb- 

 ruary 12, 1903. Translation revised by author. 



355 



