Paper short abstract:

In the area of Chefchaouen (south of Tangier) in Morocco, there are four small villages inhabited by descendants of slaves. They are maroons who established distinct settlements that are now a testimony of the resistance to chattel slavery in Morocco.

Paper long abstract:

There are some entire villages in Morocco that are still considered as outcast groups deprived from basic social and administrative services. The Moroccan government is still acting as the old regime of slavery and denies them any claim to legal ownership of their lands. The most illustrative examples are the villages of Khandaq ar-Rayhan (south of Tangier). The ancestors of the inhabitants of these villages were maroons who established distinct settlements that are now a testimony of the resistance to chattel slavery. There are about 500 families living in this area on the legal and social margins. The dominant culture in the region and the political administration do not recognize them and invoke memories which connect the group's past to an origin of slavery and racial discrimination. We may trace the origin of this group to the 'Alawi ruling dynasty. Primary sources attest to the fact that the dispersion of black people in all Morocco happened during the period of the sultan Mawlay Isma'il (1672-1727). This ruler ordered to enslave all black Moroccans to serve under his authority. Their number reached 240.000 and they were scattered all over Morocco. The enslaved population gradually separated themselves from the government and claimed their original status of freedom. I intend to underlay factors that maintained the Moroccan social identities and examine the historical roots of this marginalized group that led to the present dilemma of racial identity and discrimination in Morocco.