Morocco, the Land of the Extreme West 139 



View in the Grounds of Aidonia. The Flower~Garden 



THE ENTRANCE OF FRENCH INFEUENCE 



On August 6, 1844, the French bom- 

 barded Tangier. This was a retaliation 

 for the protection which the Moorish gov- 

 ernment had afforded the Emir Abd El 

 Kader, who had taken refuge with his 

 forces upon Moorish territory when he 

 was pursued by the French. In i860 a 

 Spanish force under General Primm 

 marched up from Seutta to Tetuan and 

 took that town after six weeks of .severe 

 fighting. Afterward the Moors recovered 

 the place by means of a heavy indemnity ; 

 but they had learned one great lesson, 

 viz, that the wild charges of their own 

 cavalry were helpless to protect them 

 against troops who were supported by 

 modern field artillery. This event led to 

 an extraordinary change in the attitude 

 of the Moorish government and people 



toward foreigners. However, this more 

 amicable behavior of the natives was not 

 due to any liking for us, but rather to the 

 fear entertained of their own authorities, 

 who, under pressure from the foreign 

 consulates, punished with extreme sever- 

 ity any aggressions. 



The natives soon learned to value the 

 intervention of foreigners in their behalf, 

 and even sometimes paid a considerable 

 price for such protection against the cruel 

 exactions of their own governors. Not 

 only did foreigners enjoy a remarkable 

 security, at least in the neighborhood of 

 the coast, but their position during the 

 entire reign of Umlai El Hassan might 

 be described almost as that of privileged 

 guards of the nation — a position which I 

 regret to say was often abused by officials 

 and especially by the native proteges of 

 the various consulates. 



