A brief history of Kénitra

Kénitra is, needless to say, one of Morocco’s largest cities and the most important in the north-west of the Kingdom.

Located on the southern bank of the Sebou, 12 km from its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean near the resort of Mehdia, and at the crossroads of the main trade routes linking the east, north and centre of the Kingdom (Fez, Meknes, Tetouan, Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca), the city is of very recent origin, like the economic capital and unlike many other Moroccan cities.

Kénitra’s own history goes back no more than 120 years, although it is closely linked to the Kasbah of Mehdia, built in the 6th century BC by Hanno the Carthaginian on a rocky plateau at the mouth of the Sebou, on the ruins of the city of “Thymiateria”.

The site was also known as “Halq al-Maamora” and “Halq Sebou”. It was occupied by the Portuguese in 1515 and the Spanish in 1614, before the Alaouite sultan Moulay Ismail liberated the fortress in 1681.

With the arrival of French colonialism and the Protectorate in 1912, Resident-General Lyautey decided to build a port near the kasbah established in 1895 to house a military garrison, close to the bridge (“al-qantara”) built by the Makhzen caid Ali Ouaddi at the end of the 17th century and destroyed by the colonial authorities in 1928.

The residential decree of 1 January 1913, which opened Kénitra’s river port to commercial shipping, was a decisive turning point that strengthened the city’s role and extended its influence.

The port was at first used only for military purposes: colonial troops, military equipment, supplies and goods were landed there and sent inland towards Fez and the surrounding regions along the traditional Makhzen roads, in order to put down popular uprisings against the occupation.

The port’s success attracted investment, particularly in industry (food processing, chemicals, metalworking) and in construction. Low taxes, wages and family costs all contributed to this remarkable industrial growth.

These economic changes drew large numbers of Moroccans from every part of the Kingdom to the young city, especially from today’s Gharb – Chrarda – Beni Hssen region, fuelling strong population growth and the expansion of the urban area. The city also attracted many Europeans and settlers. As part of the segregation policy at the heart of the colonial system, the Protectorate authorities, especially after the municipal commission was created at the end of 1914, divided Kénitra into three main areas:

• the military estate, reserved for army services and facilities;
• the modern European town, which also included the “Val Fleuri” and “Mestaajil” districts;
• the residential districts for Moroccans, referred to as “natives”, which lacked basic infrastructure and services and contained the main shanty towns, part of which was devastated by a terrible fire in 1946.