Tangier << tan JEER >> (pop. 947,952), also spelled Tanger, is a city on the northern coast of Morocco. It lies along the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Tangier is the capital of the province of Tangier. It ranks second only to Casablanca among Morocco’s seaports and is the country’s main port for passenger vessels. From the sea, the city looks like an amphitheater, with rows of white houses lining its hills.
Most of the people of Tangier are Arabs or Berbers. But Spanish and French—as well as Arabic and Berber—are widely spoken there. Tangier is a center of shipping and tourism. It has few manufacturing industries.
In ancient times, Phoenicians and Romans built settlements near what is now Tangier. The city came under Arab control in the 700’s. Portugal, Spain, and England held Tangier at different times from the 1400’s until the late 1600’s, when the sultan of Morocco gained control. In 1912, Morocco fell under the control of France and Spain. But Tangier remained free from control by any one European nation, though the sultan granted special privileges to several European countries. In 1923, the major European powers placed the city under international control.
Tangier came back under full control of Morocco after the country gained its independence from France and Spain in 1956. During that year, the sultan of Morocco called a conference of the nations that controlled Tangier. The nations voted to end the city’s international status, and to give up most of their former rights in the area.
