Britain recognized Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces as early as 1721 through a peace treaty that acknowledged Sultan Moulay Ismail's rule over the Sahara. This recognition was reaffirmed in a later agreement, the 1895 Anglo-Moroccan treaty, which explicitly stated that the lands between Wad Draa and Cape Bojador belong to Morocco. On June 1, diplomatic relations between London and Rabat reached a major milestone when the United Kingdom endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara, describing it as the «most credible, viable, and pragmatic basis for a lasting settlement» of the territorial dispute. With this move, the UK became the third permanent member of the UN Security Council to support the North African kingdom's 2007 proposal, after the United States and France, which went a step further by recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara. But Britain had also recognized Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces centuries ago. This is what a letter sent and published in The Guardian earlier this week highlighted. In fact, in 1721, the two nations signed a peace treaty that «laid the groundwork for renewed bilateral relations», between the two nations, wrote the British Embassy in Morocco in 2021, marking the 300th anniversary of the treaty. Signed in Fez on January 23, 1721, during the 7th year of King George I's reign, the treaty «allowed the movement of people and goods between two nations of different cultures and protected the rights and property of their citizens», noted the British Embassy in Morocco. An explicit recognition Comprising 15 articles, the treaty holds particular historical significance concerning the Sahara. In its address to Sultan Moulay Ismail, who ruled Morocco at the time, Great Britain explicitly acknowledged his sovereignty over the region. Just as King George I was introduced as the ruler of «Great Britain, France, and Ireland», Moulay Ismail was formally referred to as «King of Fez, Mequinez, Morocco, and all the West of Africa». This early agreement paved the way for subsequent treaties, including the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856, signed in Tangier. That accord granted diplomatic privileges to British consuls and opened Moroccan trade by fixing customs tariffs at 10%. Another key treaty reaffirming British recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara was the Anglo-Moroccan Agreement of March 13, 1895. It concerned Morocco's purchase of the property of the North West Africa Company (Cape Juby), a trading post founded by Donald MacKenzie in 1874 to conduct caravan trade between the Noun River and Timbuktu. In that 1895 agreement, Great Britain explicitly stated that «the lands between Wad Draa and Cape Bojador belong to Morocco». Through this statement, Great Britain recognizes that Moroccan territory extends to Cabo Bojador, including Sakiet El Hamra. Article 1 of teh agreement further emphasized: «No one shall claim the lands between Wad Draa and Cape Bojador, known as TarfayaNot to be confused with the city of Tarfaya) and all its hinterland, as they are part of the territory of Morocco». «Such Lands not to be given to any other Power», stressed the agreement. Despite this recognition, Great Britain's stance toward Morocco shifted following the 1904 secret treaty with France, which exchanged influence in Egypt for French control in Morocco. Although Morocco was still a sovereign state, Britain undermined its earlier recognition by colluding with France to allocate a «sphere of influence» to Spain in southern Morocco.
