526 



MOROCCO. 



finest productions of German poetry. He 

 wrote: " Maler Nolten," a novel (1832); 

 " Das Stuttgarter Hutzelmannlein " (1853) ; 

 "Vier Erzahlungen" (1856); and "Mozart 

 auf der Reise nach Prag " (1856). His opera, 

 "Die Regenbriider " (1839), was set to music 

 by Lachner ; many of his songs and ballads 

 by Kaufmann and Hetsch. He also published 

 translations of Anacreon and Theocritus. 



MOROCCO, a country in Northern Africa. 

 Sultan, Muley Hassan, born 1831, eldest son of 

 Sidi-Muley-Mohammed, ascended the throne 

 at the death of his father, September 20, 

 1873. The crown was formerly hereditary in 

 the male line, after the custom of succession 

 obeyed in the Ottoman Empire, under which 

 the crown falls, at the demise of the sovereign, 

 to the surviving eldest member of the reigning 

 family. The custom, however, was set aside 

 at the death of the late Sultan, Sidi-Muley-Mo- 

 hammed, when the succession was secured not 

 to either of his two surviving brothers, but to 

 his eldest son, the present Sultan. The form 

 of government is that of absolute despotism, 

 unrestricted by any laws civil or religious. 

 The authority of the Sultan as spiritual ruler is 

 not limited, as in Turkey and other Moham- 

 medan countries, by the expounders of the 

 Koran. The Sultan has no regular ministers, but 

 receives advice from and carries on the ex- 

 ecutive usually through special favorites near 

 his person, the principal of whom is generally 

 invested with the title of Mula-el-tesserad, or 

 steward of the imperial household. The armed 

 force consists of about 8,000 men, 5,000 of 

 whom constitute the imperial body-guard, one 

 half infantry and the other half cavalry. The 

 country is divided into twenty-eight provinces, 

 each of which is governed by a kaid, or gov- 

 ernor, who holds absolute power within his 

 own district. The revenue of the Sultan is es- 

 timated at about $2,500,000. 



The western frontier of the country, toward 

 the Sahara, is not fixed, and the claims of the 

 Sultan are disputed by a number of nomad 

 tribes. The area is estimated by Behm and 

 Wagner (" Bevolkerung der Erde," vol. iii., 

 1875) at about 250,000 square miles ; the esti- 

 mates of population vary from 2,500,000 to 



8,000,000. In accordance with the statements 

 of G. Rohlfs ("Mein erster Aufenthalt in Mo- 

 rocco," Bremen, 1873), Behm and Wagner as- 

 sume it to be about 6,500,000. More than 

 two-thirds of the population belong to the 

 race commonly called Moors, the remaining 

 third consisting mainly of Bedouin Arabs, 

 Jews, estimated at 340,000, and negroes. The 

 number of Christians is very small, not ex- 

 ceeding 500. 



The trade of Morocco, though not yet con- 

 siderable, has greatly increased since the year 

 1856, when a treaty of commerce was con- 

 cluded between Great Britain and Morocco. 

 The value of imports and exports in 1871 was 

 as follows (in francs) : 



The value of the principal articles of import 

 and export in 1874 was as follows: 



IMPORTS. 

 Franc*. 

 Textures 1 6,820,000 



Sugar 2,730,000 



1,530,000 



Raw silk. . 



Franca. 

 Tea 750,000 



Cloths 930,000 



Iron 420,000 



EXPORTS. 



Francs. 



Wool 7,060,000 



Hides and skins. . . . 8,880,000 



Corn 8.200,000 



Peas and beans 2,270,000 



Almonds 1,950,000 



Olive-oil 1,620,000 



Hemp-seed 710,000 



Gums. 



Franc*. 



610,000 

 Ostrich-feathers. . . . 680,000 



Dates 280,000 



Beeves 1,000,000 



Wax 560,000 



Shoes 1,500,000 



Woolen stuffs. 



290,000 



The movement of shipping was as follows in 



1874: 



The movement of shipping, arranged accord- 

 ing to nationalities and ports, was as follows : 



The following countries were represented in 

 Morocco, in 1875, by consuls and diplomatic 

 agents : United States, Belgium, Brazil, Den- 

 mark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, 

 Netherlands, Austro-Hungary, Portugal, Swe- 



den and Norway, and Spain. The consul-gen- 

 eral of the United States is Hon. F. Mathews. 

 In January, 1875, serious disturbances oc- 

 curred on the frontier, between Morocco and 

 Algeria, caused by the appointment of Sheik 



